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Breaking: Deastro

5/6/09, 3:49 pm EST

Who: Twenty-two-year-old Detroit electronic songsmith Randolph Chabot, who constructs rapturous pop out of rushing rainbows of synths. His otherworldly space-pop is cobbled out of whatever instruments and noises cross his path, from a barking dog to a running bathtub to the night of fireworks crackling on “Toxic Crusaders.” “Of course everyone’s hanging out, and I’m nerding out with headphones and a field recorder on the Fourth of July,” Chabot says.

Sounds Like: A hyper-positive mix of dream-pop woosh, nu-electronic beats and enormous hooks. His second album for ultra-sleek electronic label Ghostly, Moondagger, is his biggest yet, coated with the fleshed out feeling of the live band he’s been playing with for the last 11 months.

Vital Stats:

• He originally wanted to call the project Destro, after the G.I. Joe villain, but added an ‘A’ out of lawsuit fears. “I’m very conscious of the law because of my upbringing,” says Chabot, the child of two pastors and a protective older brother of three. “I used to run with this graffiti crew in Minneapolis, but I was so paranoid all the time. They’d be hanging out off a highway overpass. I’d be a total mom, ‘You guys gotta get down from there! Someone’s gonna fall!’ ”

• The triumphant, sunny melodies all over Moondagger are influenced by Chabot’s first musical love: the church. Singing in choirs in the Detroit suburbs until he was 19 showed him music’s power to connect with people. “I sang a solo when I was 16 or 17 years old,” says Chabot. “My grandma came out to see me sing and I remember her crying.” His choir teacher in Romeo must have been doing something right because she also used to teach Kid Rock back in the day. “I loved my choir to death. It was almost like a senior’s choir. Me, my brother and my friend Joel were the only people under 40 who sang in it. There was this guy who used to be a Vegas singer who does the best Jerry Lewis impression I’ve ever seen. We would go all the time just to see this guy do Jerry Lewis.”

• Chabot’s got his first paying gig at seven years old, singing soprano in the Detroit production of Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. “We got paid what seems like a fortune at the time,” says Chabot. “$1,000 for two years of work. For a nine year old, you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, I can buy so much Big League Chew with this.’ ” The production, held in a Detroit Masonic Temple, was led by none other than Christian icon Donny Osmond. “I was really into the cartoon Dennis the Menace and was really into pranks,” says Chabot. “So I poured a bucket of ice water on Donny Osmond’s head. He was a good sport.”

Get It Now: Moondagger isn’t out until June, but photographer/videographer James P. Morse made a “day in the life” video about Chabot (watch it above), and older tunes are available on Deastro’s MySpace.


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Comments

Anonymous | 5/6/2009, 9:59 pm EST

fucking hipsters

Travis | 5/7/2009, 11:02 am EST

Writing from Detroit. We’ve known it was only a matter of time before people caught on to what Randy was up to. Super-nice guy, ton of talent, all the passion in the world. If he comes to your town, you owe it to yourself to check out a Deastro show.

Joel | 5/8/2009, 3:29 pm EST

Wow Anonymous, you’re pretty brave. Making snide remarks without even showing your real name. Have you ever heard Deastro? His music is so uplifting and creative. Chabot has more talent in his fingertips than you can ever dream of possessing.

Mark V | 5/8/2009, 8:10 pm EST

Deastro is music that I can’t seem to shake. I listen to lots of music, but frequently find myself clicking back on Deastro. Excited to see the future for this art project.

michna | 5/8/2009, 10:44 pm EST

and he cooks!

Brad | 5/10/2009, 4:48 pm EST

From what I can tell, his two most popular songs cash in on a simply stuttered twee melody and cheap crescendos. If only the guys who built 80s arcade games were still looking for someone to score that stuff. I don’t see anyone outside Detroit mentioning Deastro come late 2010.

maverick | 5/11/2009, 4:25 pm EST

sounds to me like we have a jealous, Detroit musician posting here

Charles | 5/15/2009, 10:34 am EST

Deastro caught my attention months ago from emusic. I find Deastro dominating my playlist time and time again, and it never gets old. His change from soft acoustic to rockin electronic “instrumentals” if you will show a huge range in creativity. I’m gonna be all over the latest album. And for what it’s worth B-rad, I’m down in Atlanta, way outside of Detroit, and everyone I’ve showed this to is equally hooked. Randy’s here to stay.

Down Deastro in D-Town | 5/15/2009, 11:26 am EST

This guy is for real. He is one of nicest most humble people in the world who would go way out of his way to help you. Add this to all of his talent then watch out He’s here to stay.

Josh E. | 5/15/2009, 1:33 pm EST

Randy is going to help change Detroit for the better–maybe even the world. His talent is obvious, and his resolve is amazing. I don’t know how the internet has negated decades of “If you can’t say something nice” training, but maybe Randy can help change that too

B. | 6/2/2009, 7:07 pm EST

I fell in love with Deastro three months ago through the video posted above. Now, I cannot stop listening to Randy’s music. It’s different, and there’s something very unique and magical about it with all that electronica, the noise, and his passion when he sings. There’s nothing else like this.
He’s truly an artist.

hugefan | 6/12/2009, 10:51 am EST

Randy is an amazing talent and now with the full band the sound is complete and even more amazing.

R.J. | 6/26/2009, 12:09 pm EST

Randy!!!! I don’t know if you’ll read this but my sister just saw you guys last night in LA…she was totally surprised to see you and Jeff…Man, i’m very excited for you and I pray God keeps using you for his awesome purposes. Sending a hug from Michigan.

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