ASTEROID EKOSYSTEM announce their 2nd studio album Sounds Have Dreams PLUS two rare Sydney only live dates: March 20 & 21st at The Living Room, Marrickville.
Tickets on-sale Wed January 14th via https://livingroomtheatre.org/
The brainchild of avant composer, pianist, and ARIA Award winner Alister Spence, Asteroid Ekosystem brings together an extraordinary ensemble: guitarist and musical pioneer Ed Kuepper, improvisational upright bassist Lloyd Swanton (The Necks), and drummer Toby Hall (The Catholics / Mike Nock)
Featuring twelve original compositions recorded by the band in two days at Rancom St Studios, Sydney in April, 2025. Sounds Have Dreams meshes together Ed’s exploratory, free-flowing, highly coloured guitar brilliance, with acoustic piano, double bass, and drums, sometimes played in unusual and mysterious ways. Alister Spence explains the process:
“In August 2024 I recorded Ed playing electric guitar solo in Brisbane, with the help of sound engineer Derek Bovill. I took sounds and musical phrases that Ed played on the Brisbane session and composed pieces and ideas for improvisation that we could explore as a band. These were recorded by Asteroid Ekosystem in Sydney in April 2025. On the album Ed’s first session guitar recordings have been added to provide introductions, backgrounds, and loops, for all pieces on the album except ‘Open To.’ Most of these we played along to while we were recording. Rock, psychedelia, improvisation, jazz, blend together to form a unique sound that can only be Asteroid Ekosystem!”
“It’s not jazz, it’s not rock…Whatever you want to call it, this is one mighty sonic trip that paints colourful pictures in the mind.” – Noel Mengel
‘What is jazz, what is rock, …, the jingling, crashing brainstorming is LSD-colorful. … Set the controls for the heart of the sun.’ – Rigo Dittmann, Bad Alchemy (GDR).
Asteroid Ekosystem’s self-titled debut album (2020) earned international acclaim and was shortlisted for the 2021 APRA/AMCOS Art Music Awards (Jazz Work of the Year). Sounds Have Dreams continues this evolution, pushing further into expansive, emotionally charged sonic terrain.
Sounds Have Dreams is available February 12th on CD and download via alisterspence.bandcamp.com and at all good independent record stores. The self-titled debut (2020) and Asteroid Ekosystem Live (From the Great Club) are available now.
Alister Spence – piano
Ed Kuepper – electric guitar
Lloyd Swanton – double bass
Toby Hall – drums
Ed Kuepper recorded solo at Production Dungeon, Brisbane, 30th August, 2024
Recorded by Derek Bovill
Editing, looping, composition, by Alister Spence
Asteroid Ekosystem recorded at Rancom St Studios, Sydney, 5-6 April, 2025
Recorded and mixed by Tim Whitten