PRESS RELEASE - MARSTROPOLIS - BY ROB ASTOR For Immediate Release New Concept Album MARSTROPOLIS By ROB ASTOR Is An Ambitious Double Disc Set Five years after recording the music on his first album, Rob Astor has returned to recording, creating fresh instrumental music on his brand new double CD MARSTROPOLIS. In the creative hands of Rob Astor, you can expect music of quality and imagination. Every single piece of this 39-track set delivers. "MARSTROPOLIS began as concept music for a video game," Rob reveals. "I waste way too much time playing this one game and I was looking for cheat codes late one night. I found this BBS where people were creating a new version of this game. They were looking for people to create graphics, sounds, do game designs, test game play, and even do brand new music. At that moment, I was suddenly very inspired. It was like the Muses had sprinkled their magic gold dust over me. My creative floodgates burst wide open." The time was August 2005. Rob began playing with musical ideas and started recording, quickly amassing several tracks. "I had never felt so good creating new music as I did when I turned out 11 tracks in the space of four or five days," Rob explains. A month after the project started, Rob finished, having worked on a total of 43 pieces of music. "Because the music was geared to a video game, I knew right away I wanted to create enough music to do a double CD," Rob says. "It was an instinct. Something was speaking to me, guiding me on this musical journey. I didn't know how many tracks I would actually record. I started with a long list of possible titles and tailor made music for nearly all the finished pieces. I came up with about 45 titles I wanted to do, as this list evolved. Some titles never became music, while some new titles were added along the way. In the end, I was able to set music to 40 of those titles. Even the album title, MARSTROPOLIS, was a proposed title I was playing around with as an album track. The name sounded good and stuck." With the recording completed, Rob was more than satisfied with the finished product. "Two tracks I left off, while two others are variations of tracks on the CD. In total, MARSTROPOLIS contains about 2 hours and 35 minutes of music." A daunting task for any musician. "I felt very creative, very charged. I didn't rush through this project. I took my time. In fact, some of the tracks took longer to arrange and record. A few of them had parts I re-wrote several times before I was completely happy with them." The concept of MARSTROPOLIS is of a science fiction theme. There is a story told by the album as a whole, and by each individual piece. "MARSTROPOLIS is set on a Mars of the future," Rob explains. "The album was partially inspired by the exploration and future colonization of Mars, as well as by this video game concept. MARSTROPOLIS is about the red planet having huge cities. There is this futuristic society thriving there. It's a glimpse, musically, at a future utopian civilization. I tried to create a place where you really would want to live in the future; something bright, something friendly, something not so far removed from our familiar lives as to make it completely alien. As I was writing and recording, I wrote little stories to go with each track so listeners can immerse themselves into a musical story, much like they would a science fiction novel or a movie. When I was done, I was amazed at what I created. On every level, I achieved the goals I set for myself in this recording, and in the stories I wrote to go with it." MARSTROPOLIS is filled with a broad flavoring of music. Some tracks have a video game feel to them, while others are like listening to true instrumental songs. "Every day, I was creating a brand new favorite!" Rob shares. "I truly understand why it is musicians fall in love with their newest works. You're creating something very special, very personal and it's like giving birth, metaphorically at least. Every title is like a brand new child. If you asked me right now to name any favorites, I would come up with 20 titles without a doubt. That's how much I love what I've done." It seems a two CD package was just enough space to hold all the musical flavorings Rob Astor packed into MARSTROPOLIS. What you will find will stimulate your mind. Much like his first album, QUADRANGULAR OSCILLATIONS, the titles are as imaginative as each piece of music. There are Dance Tracks ("Galaxy Groove", "Holographic Nightclub [Dance Of The Boytaurs]"), Techno Electronica ("Cyberflix", "Video Man"), tracks textured with acoustic guitars ("Canopusopolis Carina", "New Pompeii [Extended Version]"), true instrumental ballads ("Falling Up"), New Age and Trance ("Tholos Restored", "Ambient Wonder"), classical flavoring ("Tragedy Of The Epsilon Queen"), Jazz Fusion ("Gemini Delta", "Temple Of Red"), World Fusion ("Walking Winds", "Pharaoh's Garden") and even Rock & Roll ("Race To Northpoint Station", "Trans Polaris", "Rock & Red"). "I don't think I have broken away from myself as a New Age musician," Rob explains, "I simply broadened my horizons. Even before, all the music on my first album wasn't just New Age. Some of it is Dance and Electronica. There were a lot of influences." You can still hear the influences of artists Rob credits to his sound in his new work; big names like Tangerine Dream and James Horner; New Age and video game influences from Spencer Nilsen; and instrumental artists like Biosphere, Ken Davis, and Liquid Mind. "On MARSTROPOLIS, I was able to use many layers of instrumentation as well as try out some quirky musical ideas. I can think of a part I wrote for one instrument that ended up becoming the flute part in 'A Clear Night In Star City'. There were a lot of piano and guitar parts I used to make mandolin, piano, and synthesizer layers for. I also had a really cool mandolin part that turned out to be a lead electric sitar in 'We Are All Optical Delusions'. Lead electric sitar. Talk about delusional! It was a lot of fun creating these textures and layers. I would listen to the finished tracks and pick up on all the musical influences of things I listen to that have nothing to do with instrumental music. I was really amazed with every new creation." >From the very first track, "Red City Beat", listeners find themselves on another world, created of music. There are at least a dozen standout tracks while others are pure fun to listen to. Take a wild tumble with "Quasi-Satellites", step into a musical dream with "Copernicus Museum", rock out with the "Race To Northpoint Station", dance with "Janet Jetson" (a track done in the style of Janet Jackson's late 1980s and early 1990s music, complete with a break down), go scatter-brained with "Technical Dyslexia", and cuddle up with your lover and enjoy an ethereal "Blue Sunset". The collection also includes a special bonus track. While doing session work for MARSTROPOLIS, Rob began revisiting music from his first CD QUADRANGULAR OSCILLATIONS. "'Echoes Of Raindrops (Xack's Theme)' is one of my favorite compositions. The music is like a spring rain coming to an end. I took the track and remixed it with some rain and forest sounds. This track sounds even more beautiful as a combination of music and nature. I chose to include it in this collection because I am very proud of the new version." Once the recording sessions were finished, Rob Astor designed the MARSTROPOLIS cover art and picked a font for the track listing on each disc. Rob has also been busy setting up Internet sites to help promote his music. "This project is very special and very personal to me and I wanted everything to look just how I imagined the finished CD would be. I'm doing all the work on every level anyway, so, I wanted it to be perfect. I'm a perfectionist when it comes to writing and recording, which is why I took more time completing MARSTROPOLIS. It deserves nothing less than my very best." The extra effort Rob put into this project has paid off. "Overall, this was the most fun I have ever had as a musician. I didn't have all the complications in recording that I did the first time around. It made the experience that much sweeter." Treat yourself to a musical vacation and pick up a copy of Rob Astor's new album MARSTROPOLIS. You can find it on-line CDBaby.com, or popular download sites like iTunes and Rhapsody. MARSTROPOLIS is one musical investment worth making. * * * All tracks on MARSTROPOLIS composed, arranged, performed, recorded, and produced by Rob Astor. MARSTROPOLIS and its packaging © 2005 by Rob Astor. MARSTROPOLIS is manufactured and printed by Rob Astor. You can pick up Rob's CDs at these links: QUADRANGULAR OSCILLATIONS http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/robastor1 MARSTROPOLIS http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/robastor2 Visit Rob Astor on the Internet at the following sites: http://www.myspace.com/robastor At myspace.com, you can find out information on future writing and recording projects by Rob Astor, as well as read messages posted by him. The liner notes for both MARSTROPOLIS and QUADRANGULAR OSCILLATIONS are posted here. http://music.download.com/robastor/ This is a cNet hosted page where you can preview several tracks of Rob's music for free; three from his first CD QUADRANGULAR OSCILLATIONS, and four from MARSTROPOLIS. http://www.icompositions.com/artists/RobAstor/ At this site, you can preview two additional tracks from MARSTROPOLIS. http://www.mindawn.com/artists/RobAstor At mindawn.com, you can download both MARSTROPOLIS and QUADRANGULAR OSCILLATIONS. You can also find them on-line at CDBaby.com, and SOON at over a dozen download sites. Apple iTunes -- AudioLunchbox -- Bitmunk -- BuyMusic -- CatchMusic -- DigiPie -- DigitalKiosk -- Emusic -- Etherstream -- Liquid Digital Media -- LoudEye -- MP3tunes -- Mperia -- MSN Music -- MusicIsHere -- MusicNet -- MusicNow -- Napster -- NetMusic -- OnlinePromo -- PassAlong -- PlayIndies -- Puretracks -- QTRnote -- Rhapsody -- Ruckus -- RuleRadio -- Sony Connect -- TreeTunes -- TrueIndependent -- WrapFactory -- iSound http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AstoriaArtGroup/ This is Rob's Yahoo! group. He invites you to come and read a few good short stories he's written, and take a look at some artwork. You can also find the CD liner notes for MARSTROPOLIS and QUADRANGULAR OSCILLATIONS posted here. MARSTROPOLIS Track Listing CD 1 Red City Beat Quasi-Satellites Techno Industry 5 Radons Please A Clear Night In Star City Gemini Delta Falling Up Copernicus Museum Rigel Center Canopusopolis Carina New Pompeii (Extended Version) Tragedy Of The Epsilon Queen Walking Winds Pharaoh's Garden Dome'ville Cyberflix Galaxy Groove Holographic Nightclub (Dance Of The Boytaurs) Trans Polaris Race To Northpoint Station CD 2 Janet Jetson Millennium 3.5 Technical Dyslexia Take The X Train Next Stop, Europa Tholos Restored Ambient Wonder Flooding Valles Marineris Temple Of Red Legend Of Neith Arcology City Rock & Red Video Man Orbital Arcade (Video Game Carnival Version) 2230 (Techno Beat) We Are All Optical Delusions Trappings Of Time Blue Sunset ·· Bonus Track ·· Echoes Of Raindrops (Xack's Theme) (Rain Forest Effects)
