Astronomy Class Explained

Astronomy Class
Origin:Sydney, Australia
Genre:Hip hop / Reggae
Years Active:2006 - present
Label:Elefant Traks
Associated Acts:The Herd
Tooth
Frigid
Website:Official webpage
Current Members:Shannon Kennedy (aka Ozi Batla)
Shane Roberts (aka Sir Robbo)
Chris Hamer-Smith (aka Chasm)

Astronomy Class are an Australian hip-hop / reggae group from Sydney.[1] The group comprises Ozi Batla (Shannon Kennedy), Sir Robbo (Shane Roberts) and Chasm (Chris Hamer-Smith).

Kennedy is a member of The Herd, while Roberts is a member of Frigid and prog, downtempo and Krautrock band Tooth.[2]

Biography

The group formed when Kennedy decided to collaborate with producers Roberts and Hamer-Smith in 2006.

"The original concept for Chasm and I was to do a production album, with various MCs and singers," Roberts says. "We'd both worked separately with Batla in the past, he was our main MC, so we gave him the beats [first]. He was really taken with them and expressed a desire to have them all for himself. That was how it started."[3]

The resulting album, Exit Strategy was released in September 2006 and was selected by Triple J as its first feature album for 2007.[4] [5] The album features guests such as Lotek, Hau from Koolism, Urthboy, Ben Ezra (ESL), Gina Mitchell (Fbi's Basslines), DJ Skoob (NSW DMC Champ), 2Buck, Murda1, Lotek and BVA (Mnemonic Ascent), as well as Jane Tyrell (The Herd). Tracks from the album such as "A Bright Tomorrow", "Done The Sums" and "Rewind The Tape" all receiving airplay on Triple J[6] and community radio stations across Australia.[7] [8] On the back of the album release Astronomy Class undertook a national tour covering five states and seventeen destinations over three months.[9]

When asked how the name of the band came about, Kennedy advised (in an interview with Scene Magazine):

"A theme started to emerge that kind of had an astral flavour. There's a bit of a history in hip hop and also reggae of doing astral/space themes. As I kept writing, there was sort of a narrative coming out about that same theme going on – it just started to stick after a while."[10]

This notion was confirmed in a recent interview with Music Feeds where Ozi Batla discusses his love of sci-fi and related subject matter.[11]

Astronomy Class were the sole support artists for Lily Allen's Brisbane and Sydney tour dates in 2007.[12]

Marking the International Year of Astronomy, Astronomy Class released their second album, Pursuit of Happiness, on 2 May 2009. The album features guest vocals by Vida-Sunshyne, The Tongue, Diafrix, Kween G (KillaQueenz), and Ash Grunwald. The group toured nationally in support of the release between May and June 2009.

Discography

Albums

List of albums, with release date and label shown! Title! Details
Exit Strategy
  • Released: 9 September 2006
  • Label: Elefant Traks (ACE027/ACE028)
  • Formats: CD, 2xLP, Digital download,
Pursuit of Happiness
  • Released: 2 May 2009
  • Label: Elefant Traks (ACE 046)
  • Formats: CD, Digital download
Mekong Delta Sunrise
  • Released: 25 April 2014
  • Label: Elefant Traks (ACE098-ACE0107)
  • Formats: CD, LP, Cassette, Digital download

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987.! |-| 2014| Mekong Delta Sunrise| Best World Music Album| |[13] |-

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Astronomy Class – "This is Hip Hop, Baby" . The Dwarf . 11 April 2007 . 10 March 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080805095420/http://thedwarf.com.au/nd/interviews/astronomy_class_this_is_hip_hop_baby . 5 August 2008 .
  2. Web site: Astronomy Class. Bec. Paton. . November 2006. 10 March 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20110927083044/http://www.cyclicdefrost.com/article.php?article=1336. 27 September 2011. dead.
  3. Web site: Astronomy Class. The Age Newspaper. 10 November 2006 . 10 March 2008.
  4. Web site: Triple J Album review – Exit Strategy. Triple J. 27 December 2006. 10 March 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080322235321/http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/review/album/s1819834.htm. 22 March 2008. live.
  5. Web site: Debut Album From Chasm. https://web.archive.org/web/20150924023752/http://www.grooveon.com.au/content.cfm?alerts=1&article=5246. dead. 24 September 2015. Groove On. 5 February 2008. 10 March 2008.
  6. http://www.jplay.com.au/JSite/ViewArtist.aspx?ArtistID=1036 J Play track listing
  7. Web site: PBS 106.7FM Album review . 10 March 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080726143924/http://www.pbsfm.org.au/Documents.asp?ID=3587&Title=Astronomy+Class+release+debut+album . 26 July 2008 . dead .
  8. Web site: Program Info . FBi Radio . 9 January 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110217081342/http://www.fbi.org.au/program_closeup.php?programtimeid=17%23 . 17 February 2011 . dead .
  9. Web site: Astronomy Class. Beat Magazine. 25 April 2007. 10 March 2008.
  10. Web site: Astronomy Class – Space Madness . Scene Magazine . 6 June 2007 . 13 March 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071028083812/http://www.scenemagazine.com.au/pages/interviews/astronomyclass.html . 28 October 2007 . dead . dmy-all .
  11. Web site: Astronomy Class . Musicfeeds.com.au. Blazer. Zoltan. 26 May 2009. 2 June 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090615092710/http://musicfeeds.com.au/music/astronomy-class/. 15 June 2009. live.
  12. Web site: Astronomy Class support Lily Allen!. Access All Areas . 16 January 2007. 10 March 2008.
  13. ARIA Award previous winners. Web site: ARIA Awards – Winners by Award – Best World Music Album . Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). 12 November 2020.