Members
André Pienaar – Vocals/guitar/keyboards
Rudi Cronjé – Lead guitar/backing vocals
Regardt Nel – Bass/backing vocals
Rupert Nel – Drums
Biography
Winner of the MK Award 2009 for Best Newcomer, Ashtray Electric’s music is dreamy, moody and packed with riffs that resonate - and roll in a different direction. Simply by doing their own thing, Ashtray Electric, with their subtle and magical mix of musical influences, has over the past year continued to leave their unique imprint on the local music scene.
Ashtray Electric launched their debut EP “The Dave Sessions” on 19 October 2007. They were spotted by Levi`s Original Music and performed at a high profile Levi`s Young Guns event in Cape Town in June 2008.
Their first single “The Swing” reached the no 1 position on Tuks FM`s SA Top 10, as well as the no 3 position on the Tuks Fm Top 40. a Video of “The Swing” reached no 3 on MK`s Top 10 Chart.
In 2008, Ashtray Electric recorded a new single “Quite Overstared” for the Bellville Rock City compilation that was released by Rhythm Records in December 2008. “Quite Overstared” was playlisted on campus radiostations nationwide and reached the no 1 position on Tuks FM Top 30 and no 1 on Tuks fm SA Top 10. The video of “Quite Overstared” reached no 1 on MK Top 10 and also aired on MTV Base.
Ashtray Electric released their first full length album “Bonjour” on 29 April 2009. The album consists of 10 new tracks, a 15 minute documentary of the band titled “Lead me to Sea” (filmed and produced by The African Attachment), as well as the video and making of “Quite Overstared.”
The first single on Bonjour “Seasons” has led the way to commercial airplay for Ashtray Electric by being playlisted on Highveld Stereo and East Coast Radio.
“When Sex Becomes a Sport” was playlisted on national campus radio stations and reached no 1 on Tuks FM SA Top 10, while the single “Gallop” enjoyed high rotation play on campus radio stations MFM and Tuks FM.
The music video of “Quite Overstared” was also nominated for a 2010 MK Award in the Skinny Jeans category and Bonjour was named #3 on MFM’s Top 100 albums for 2009, while the music video of “When Sex Becomes A Sport” reached the # 3 position on the MK Top 10 charts and remained on the chart for six weeks in total.
More about the band:
Vocalist André Pienaar grew up in Wellington. He finished his B.Sc degree in Biochemistry at UCT in 2008. Guitarist Rudi Cronje is from Bellville and studied BA with a specialized degree in Copywriting. Rhythm section Regardt and Rupert Nel are brothers and are also from Bellville. Regardt studied sound engineering and Rupert did a course in photography. They have been jamming together for years and both of them have played for various smaller bands over the years.
Rudi, Regardt and Rupert were in the same Highschool (Stellenberg). Rudi met André on a Fokofpolisiekar tour and Ashtray Electric was formed in 2007. Apart from the Nel brothers`piano lessons in primary school, none of the bandmembers have had any formal training in music. André writes the lyrics for all Ashtray Electric songs.
Record Label
Independent
Manager
Rudi Cronje
Agent
Jessica Schnehage
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Bonjour |
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Measured in Falls |
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