Ashtar Command creates music that feels like a wide-angle lens for the ears. It is deeply cinematic, characterized by a shimmering blend of organic acoustic instruments and polished electronic textures. The sound is often anchored by gentle, breathy vocals and a sense of cosmic scale, as if the songs are being broadcast from a very high-fidelity satellite. It sits in that sweet spot between the intimacy of a singer-songwriter and the grandiosity of a film score.
What makes them truly distinctive is their collaborative, project-based nature. Led by veteran producers Chris Holmes and Brian Liesegang, the music functions as a canvas for various guest vocalists, allowing each track to adopt a slightly different emotional hue while maintaining a consistent, hazy atmosphere. They excel at the slow build, starting with a simple melodic seed and layering it with analog synths and orchestral flourishes until it reaches a state of euphoric weightlessness.
Start with the album 'American Sunshine' or their contribution to the Red Dead Redemption soundtrack, 'Deadman's Gun.' These tracks perfectly encapsulate their ability to blend Americana-tinged songwriting with a futuristic, psychedelic sheen. It is the ideal music for when you want to feel the scale of the world without being overwhelmed by its noise.
Ashtar Command is the name of an indie rock band composed of Chris Holmes (not to be confused with the former guitar player for the metal band W.A.S.P.) and Brian Liesegang. They have released one album: "Love Songs In Advance of the Landing", one EP: "Holding Out For Love", and have had songs featured in a number of feature films, television series, television commercials, and video games such as one of the first Microsoft Zune commercials, on the FIFA 13 soundtrack list, two Nissan Altima commercials, on The Avengers (1998) Soundtrack, on Spread, on Fragments, on The O.C. television series, and on Rockstar Games' Red Dead Redemption Original Soundtrack and in the video game end credits sequence.
Shares indie rock, dream pop, psychedelic rock (subgenres); reverb heavy, layered dense, analog warmth (production style)
Shares indie rock, dream pop, chamber pop (subgenres); reverb heavy, studio polished, layered dense (production style)
Shares indie rock, dream pop, psychedelic rock (subgenres); reverb heavy, layered dense, studio polished (production style)
Shares indie rock, dream pop, chamber pop (subgenres); reverb heavy, layered dense, analog warmth (production style)
Shares indie rock, dream pop, psychedelic rock (subgenres); layered dense, studio polished, reverb heavy (production style)
Shares indie rock, dream pop, alternative rock (subgenres); reverb heavy, layered dense, studio polished (production style)
Shares psychedelic rock, alternative rock, indie rock (subgenres); dreamy, melancholic, wistful (moods)
Shares indie rock, dream pop, psychedelic rock (subgenres); reverb heavy, analog warmth, layered dense (production style)
Shares indie rock, dream pop, psychedelic rock (subgenres); reverb heavy, layered dense, analog warmth (production style)
Shares alternative rock, indie rock, dream pop (subgenres); reverb heavy, analog warmth, layered dense (production style)
Shares layered dense, dream pop, psychedelic rock, indie rock (signature)
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