Astreal

Based in Singapore, Astreal functions as a shoegaze ensemble fronted by a female vocalist. The group originated under the name Breed in 1992, initially made up of Pagit Yong on vocals, Muhammad Alkhatib on guitar, William de Silva on bass, and Alwyn Lim on drums. That configuration produced the demo cassettes Dive Gemma and Chlorine Explosion before Yong left in 1994. After recruiting Melissa Lim as the replacement vocalist, the band adopted the name Astreal in 1996 and went on to issue its debut full-length album, Ouijablush, in 1997. Membership shifts occurred in the years that followed. An extensively revised lineup comprising Ginette Chittick on vocals and bass, Muhammad Alkhatib on guitar, Nick Chan on guitar, and Redzuan Hussin on drums recorded the second Astreal album, Fragments of the Same Dead Star, in 2006.