THEY are loud, energetic and explosive. Of course, I’m talking about Durban’s powerful indie-pop group Asleep in Transit.
With their recent performance at Live – The Venue, the five-piece outfit mesmerised the audience and had them rocking from the moment they struck their first chord.
The band, who recently released their first EP free to the public, comprises of Allister Christie on vocals and guitar, Irina Buzdugan on vocals and tambourine, Vlad Buzdugan on guitar and synth, Joshua Woolf on bass and Chris Mcnabb on drums.
In an exclusive interview with Tonight, Allister, Vlad and Irina explained what their EP represents: “It’s our first showcase of what we can do as a band.
“There are a couple tracks that are made up of chilled songs and upbeat and electronic beats. We like stuff that has more energy. The band are definitely growing and we’re really happy about the new songs. Every song has its own feel. We’re progressing into indie-pop but I don’t think we will ever lose the acoustic feel or the guitars. We know more about what we want now, there’s a lot more energy in this,” they all agreed.
From winning the Knysna Rocks “Head2Head” band competition, the band has since then played alongside major artists such as Johnny Clegg, Elvis Blue and Prime Circle. They also featured at this year’s Splashy Fen. The band had performed previously at Live and also opened for Spoek Mthambo earlier this year.
On stage, they are charismatic and it is evident that they perform for the pure passion of music. Vocalist Irina is extremely talented and has excellent control of her vocals.
The entire band give their best while performing and their whimsical and upbeat sound keeps you rocking the whole way through.
For Asleep in Transit, their favourite part of the music industry is the fans. Irina said: “It’s so cool when people come up to you, tell you they like your music and they download it and listen to it.”
Vlad continued: “It’s also cool when you meet people who are genuinely helpful and want to help out starting bands. It’s very rare, but it’s nice to work with those people and they do it for the love of SA music.”
As for the Durban music scene, the band agree that it’s relatively small in comparison to other cities. “But I think people in Durban who come out to the shows really appreciate it even more because when three bands are playing on a certain night, that’s a major thing for Durban,” said Irina.
Adding to this, Vlad said: “There’s definitely a lot of room to grow in terms of the Durban scene. It would be awesome if it was as big as Joburg or Cape Town. There’s also only a few places to play in Durban.
“As a band, you may have to consider leaving your city and going elsewhere because of the opportunities. If you’re a band you need to play in different cities.”
The band consist of highly talented artists who are sure to leave their mark in the SA music industry. Asleep in Transit are definitely a band to look out for.
• For info on the band and to download Asleep in Transit’s new EP for free, visit their Facebook page at www.facebook. com/asleepintransit