Q&A: Electro-pop band ASTR talks debut EP ‘Varsity’

In the corridor of a greenroom at The Echo before their show, Adam Pallin and Zoe Silverman, who prefer to be referred to by their first name when representing their electro-pop band, ASTR, were casually kicking back, eating strawberries and shooting home videos. Zoe and Adam are quirky and funny, with Zoe spontaneously singing random bits of conversation and Adam throwing in sarcastic asides. Their music maintains this energetic front.

Self-professed “electronic R&B; duo from NYC that mixes dark vibes and tropical fun stuff,” ASTR recently released a much-buzzed-about debut EP, “Varisty.” The duo completed its Crystal Arcade tour for the EP in Los Angeles and spoke with the Daily Bruin’s Leyla Kumble about the group’s journey, from starting the band to finding its niche.

Daily Bruin: How did you two meet?

Zoe: We met through my friend at a yoga class … but we met a few times in passing. That’s how New York City is, you don’t know anyone until you meet them casually like five times. So the sixth time we met was at a yoga center, and we spoke that time.

DB: What is the story behind your band name?

Z: The studio that we first started writing at was on Astor Place in the city, and a little deeper than that, Asteria is the goddess of the stars.

Adam: Which came first? That’s a story that will never be told.

DB: How would you explain the dynamics of your duo?

Z: We balance each other out … in the writing process, on stage, when we’re dealing with crazy airport issues – it’s a balancing act.

A: I’m like air traffic control trying to make sure the plane comes in for landing. Make sure that the airport is all set up. She comes in for a smooth landing and we high-five.

DB: What was the process of writing your EP like?

Z: It took us a few years of throwing stuff away and figuring out what our sound was, and then we made a solid batch of songs.

A: I want to say that the story was like over the course of two weekends in the Catskills. … We had a bunch of songs kicking around for a while. They were good, but we wanted to see if we could beat them. So the EP was like a final selection of songs that we were not nauseated by. The best of the best of a period of time.

DB: What was your goal for the EP?

Z: Our goals were to not make music we hated.

A: The goals are not like the big budget goals. Those goals are really convoluted like, “We need to make the most classic album!” We think, “Is this song working? Let’s just fix this and make it as good as we can.”

DB: What do you look for in creating a really good song?

Z: If you hear a really happy song and it feels happy and then there’s happy lyrics that go with it, you miss a depth, and I think the complexities come in when you balance everything out so that it’s not completely in one direction … It’s all about balance. Nothing is super happy all the time and nothing is super dark all the time. They both exist and they have to both be embraced.

A: We’ll destroy a perfectly good song if it’s overly suggestive of a mood.

Z: You want the audience to make their own feeling about it. I don’t like to tell people what to feel, I want them to figure it out.

DB: What has touring been like?

Z: It’s been a whirlwind. I’m always surprised I don’t say the wrong city on stage … It’s such a learning process. You learn the dynamics, you learn things technically and about different spaces and audiences.

DB: Why do you choose to have anonymity in your music?

Z: You don’t want to show too much because you can be labeled quickly for something. But we just put out this music video “Blue Hawaii” (which) shows a lot of ourselves. We are trying to get out there a little more, without forcing anything down people’s throats … We want people to establish their own ideas.

DB: A lot of people mistake you for a cover band. To what extent do you agree with Picasso that “good artists copy, great artists steal”?

A: If you are going to be a painter and you are going to study the greats, you have to absorb everything about them, and at some point, all that gets mixed up and blended up and regurgitated. No one is born and completely sheltered from creativity and other ideas. You do that subconsciously. Whatever we have been showered with, we have been putting out.

Z: I never trust an artist who says, “I don’t listen to what’s out right now.” It’s very good to know who you are and be rooted in what you are and who you are, but music is a collective. We are feeding off of trends and waves, and if you are X-ing that out, you are playing yourself. It’s an entry point for any new band.

DB: How would you promote ASTR to new listeners?

A: If you need a new direction in your life, just follow us. … Please don’t write that down.

Compiled by Leyla Kumble, Bruin contributor.