You will soon be able to purchase the very best of Asto Na Pai right here on this website. New publications, News and Concert Announcements will also be placed here in the near future. Asto Na Pai are recording new songs at the moment and a new cd is on the way. Here is the latest Cd of Asto Na Pai. Please contact us if you wish to buy the cd.
If you like our music you can book Asto Na Pai for your own festival! Please feel free to contact us over our webform.
All good visas must come to an end however, so Vassilio went back to Thailand to live in a village called Pai, in the north. In the year 2001, Pai was considered a mystic place by travellers, attracting artists and musicians from around the globe, even to this day. New musicians joined the group, like Aedi from Thailand with the didgeridoo and Toni from France with the saxophone. By 2003, old and new Earth Music Tribe members had gathered to record the band’s first album, Utopai, produced by Raoul and marketed by a recording company in Mexico. The whereabouts of this album, which contains only live recordings, are now unknown, but all good things reappear when necessary, so we say Asto Na Pai for now.
Raoul brought his own special blend of Native American music with Toni’s African Jazz grooves. At that time Pin also joined the group. Australian Pin had studied the lira in Greece for many years and so along with Vassilio they highlighted the Greek element making the music sound more Mediterranean with hints of gypsy, Balkan and Indian-Greek latin. By hand of fate, Vassilio then acquired a bouzouki, the sound of which gave the music a completely different feel, further reminiscent of Greek music.
When Bruce joined the group, he began to create lyrics for the songs and now the melodies began to have words. Bruce had been practising with Vassilio for 14 years on and off, however, rarely performing with him and the band.
In July 2007 Earth Music Tribe met Noi, an extremely talented Thai violin player. Noi had opened a bar in Pai, called Phupai. At the same time a Japanese festival was taking place in Pai, where all members from Earth Music Tribe, including Bruce at this point, were playing. As all these musicians gathered in Pai, Vassilio, Noi and the band started to practice new songs, to perform and to record with a new name, influenced by the name of the city Pai. Asto Na Pai was born.
The first Asto Na Pai cd, “Above and Below the Stars”, was finished in September 2007, after 2 months of recording, but only published and sold on a small scale. It is not currently available, though this is to change in the near future. The name of the album was a reflection of the feeling during the recordings, as all the songs were recorded in bungalows, small studios and natural surroundings, enabling the musicians to always play direct from their hearts.
Performances thereafter had fire dancing, chakra dancing, shadow dancing and belly dancing, among others. It was an amazing feeling when one of the dancers once did a yoga session on stage during the band’s sound check. As a result, the feel of the music was influenced by the dancers and the dancers were influenced by the music, all weaving together to produce the magic that is still Asto Na Pai.
Asto Na Pai is now gathered in vibrant Pai, on the north of Thailand, to play at the 2010 Reggae festival on the 30th of January. The band is also playing nearly every night in various venues, so if you find your self in Pai, keep a look out for our next gig.
Musicians now playing with the band in Pai are Vassilio on bouzouki and banjo, Bruce on guitar and vocals, Eirini and Dido on vocals, Kai on drums, Jo on the accordeon, Jack on the bass, Aedi on percussion and didjeridu and other talented musicians join the band occassionally, such as Jackie on the drums, Toon on the trumpet and Toni on the saxophone.
Eliza and Elena also offer their talents performing with the band at the festival and other venues, Elena master of the hoola hoop and Eliza most elegant professional dancer, they are both gracefully adding colour and movement to our gigs. Eliza and Elena will be heading to the South of Thailand, touring with their own band. We wish you both very very well and…break a leg!
We are grateful to enjoy the moment with you all!
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All Asto Na Pai band members - more to be added as more material is gathered. Other talented and experienced musicians have played with the band and created songs across the years. All credit to them, we will add their pictures here as soon as they become available.
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