Antidote

Biography

After playing the London rock scene for five years Guitarist/ songwriter/programmer Ben Astrop felt that a new twist had to be created for rock music for to continue to evolve in the new millennium. Attracted to the continually changing Drum & Bass Electonica scene and with the decline in clubs and live venues for Rock music in London he decided to create a hybrid of rock and hard dance beats. . "I want to bring back the hooks and melodies that made Rock so accessible in the 80's and have the...

After playing the London rock scene for five years Guitarist/ songwriter/programmer Ben Astrop felt that a new twist had to be created for rock music for to continue to evolve in the new millennium.

Attracted to the continually changing Drum & Bass Electonica scene and with the decline in clubs and live venues for Rock music in London he decided to create a hybrid of rock and hard dance beats. . "I want to bring back the hooks and melodies that made Rock so accessible in the 80's and have the excitement of the club culture combined to make a new sound to make a crossover band that appeals to more than one audience"

Utilizing a love for melody and song structure combined with a skewed lyrical gift Astrop points to inspiration from such diverse musical giants as The Police, Soundgarden, and Tom Waits. Bringing these elements together with an eclectic collection of strings, synth and aggressive dance beats has contributed to creating Alien Breed's unique sound. The Breed believes that their musical quest will help break the mold of generic, angst posturing, rap rock formula and take the music to a higher level of showmanship and craft.

Armed with a 4 track demo and a vision, Ben started exposing his sound to radio stations and labels across the U.K., simultaneously, he decided to put a band together

First choice was Matt Bayne a Drummer from Leeds relocated to London and had played across Europe in Acid Jazz and D&B bands. Matt has a unique understanding of dance beats and brings a well-schooled drumming technique to the band mixing up programmed and live beats.

Then came Ed Pepper on Bass, he had also moved to London and played the UK circuit many times before joining The Breed. With a flamboyant style, and healthy appetite for Block Rockin' beats, Pepper is constantly chewing up the bottom end of the Breed's sound. With manic, elastic like moves, and an extra terrestrial look, one might suspect where the Alien part came from.

While the band was rehearsing in London, LA based label Delicious Vinyl founder Michael Ross heard their demo through a friend of a friend. Though he was in London working with a different band, he immediately stopped what he was doing to meet the band. "I was completely floored by the combination of drum and bass rhythms with the monster rock riffs. It was the next level for me, bombastic, melodic, ripping beats and pure rock all in one." With Ross's encouragement the band decided to split the London scene and come to LA to pursue their musical fortune's signing with Delicious Vinyl.

The Breed have spent the past two years fine tuning their progressive sonic assault on the Sunset Strip and in the studio, and are now poised with their first single "Colorblind", to take it to the next level. Get ready for the ride, it's gonna be a wild one! Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.