Emmanuel Mario (aka Astrobal) grew up in Montauban, France. Sounds ranging from Neil Young to Kraftwerk filled the home of young Emmanuel. Motivated by teenage desires, he began taking drum lessons at an early age. His parents didn’t mind the clamoring in the garage while Emmanuel began exploring his creativity. He also had a radio show while in school, making very crude mixes of his favorite music with passages from his favorite literature. Soon he had a four track recorder and capitalized on its ability to record tracks.
Life led him to Toulouse where he would spend two years begrudgingly studying law. Uncomfortable with the atmosphere there, he finally decided to study music instead.
He focused on digital production and bought a computer, buckled down and learned the ropes with Cubase. He started meeting some musicians in Toulouse whose positive feedback on his music inspired some confidence in him. Through a serendipitous recommendation of a friend, his production landed in the hands of Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab. The two developed a friendship and much to Emmanuel’s astonishment, Laetitia asked him to work with her on music.
After spending some time working with Laetitia and Stereolab, Emmanuel began working on his own compositions. Still working with computers, but upgrading to better microphones to record with, the Astrobal project took its form.
The EP is be released through Plug Research on October 4th, 2011. The producer who does side gigs as a drummer for French artists Arnaud Fleurent-Didier and the band Holden, explains the project: “I named the project Poetry & Science-Fiction because I see my music as a mix between fiction and true reality, between space and everyday life, relationship and imagination, between François Truffaut & Philip K. Dick.”
