Write down this name: Azura. They’re a sizzling-hot up-and-coming band you’ll be hearing a lot about very soon. The five-member group is based in Los Angeles. The guys were all high school buddies and musicians who shared a love for music and began jamming together. Soon, however, they realized their chemistry could allow them to build something special.
Azura is fronted by the charismatic lead vocalist and keyboards-guitarist Andy Yeganegi. Guitarist Andrew Pae, guitarist/keyboardist Max Farrar, bassist Patrick Mullens and drummer Nitin Bajaj round out the quintet.
The group was officially born with a three-song demo in March 2009. Their influences include Coldplay, Keane, Radiohead and U2.
They’ve been booked up ever since. An enthusiastic response from their early shows led to prime gigs opening for Slash from Guns N’ Roses at the Whiskey on Sunset Blvd. as well as pop star Ryan Cabrera. They were also chosen to perform at Dodger Stadium for a walk-a-thon fundraiser sponsored by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
BNH caught up with Andy and Max, and here is what we found out through a quick Q&A.
BNH: What’s the meaning of your band’s name and why did you choose that name?
ANDY: Oh, how we wish there was some intricately awesome story as to how we decided on our band name. Imagine you’re desperately trying to come up with a special, unique name for your newborn child and because of all the disagreements over most of the names; you reluctantly compromise and choose a name like “Agatha” or something. Not that we think “Azura” is a bad name, but it was the only name that all 5 of us could even remotely agree upon, so that’s the one we chose. We felt like the color azure characterized our music in an obscure way, so we took the word “azure” and replaced the ‘e’ with an ‘a’. How’s that for an awesome story?
BNH: Talk about a couple of your songs that mean a lot to you and why they’re special. What should a newcomer listen to first?
MAX: Not only is “Safe and Sound” the first song we would recommend to a first time listener, but it is also the song that probably means the most to us; simply because it’s the first full song we ever wrote together as a band. The song shows off the big guitar sound, soaring vocals, and driving drum beats that really defines us as a band. Aside from that, we’re just anxious for the new songs that we’re working on because we know we’re capable of writing some great music, and we feel like the songs that are on our debut EP are only a quick glimpse into the bigger future that we we’re working towards.
BNH: Do you guys still have day jobs? How do you work together to keep the band focused?
ANDY: No one in the band really has a day job because some of us are either in school or recently graduated (well, one of us does some freelance composing for commercials and TV on the side). Either way, our commitment to the band doesn’t really allow us to have a steady day job. Being in a new band and performing in the local circuit is similar to a being in a really bad internship; you’re not getting paid, and although you’re learning a lot of things along the way, there’s way more bad gigs than good gigs, so you’re learning is occasionally stunted or it’s mixed in with a bit of demoralization. You’re just working through the hard times because you know it’ll eventually pay off, literally and figuratively speaking.
MAX: When we first started the band, all of us were attending universities, and even now a few of us are still in college while some of us recently graduated. Every individual in our band is extremely dedicated to our music and our progress, but school is an undeniable distraction. Other than the weeks where there are midterms and finals, we stay committed to practicing consistently throughout the week.
BNH: Tell us about the new EP / album
ANDY: The songs on our new EP have an indie rock feel to them but some of them also infuse dance elements as well. If you like ambient, intricate guitar work and catchy, powerful vocals, then we hope you’ll like us. We were very influenced by bands like Radiohead, Coldplay, and Two Door Cinema Club when we wrote these songs. Our newest EP, the first and only one we’ve made up until now, is just a small manifestation of the bigger and better things we feel we’re capable of doing. Our new EP is a representation of our songwriting at it’s most early, novice stages. Each song has an attribute or a musical stylization that is unique to our band’s sound, but we know our sound is going to expand a lot more after this EP because of all the lessons we learned while making it. We’ve just recently been infusing a lot of different genres like punk and baroque pop into the new songs we’re currently writing. We’re proud of what we’ve done on these 6 soon-to-be-released songs, but to be bluntly honest we couldn’t be happier to be writing new songs and working on our songwriting as our band continues to evolve.
BNH: In creating music and lyrics, where do you draw from? What are the key inspirations or elements when it comes to AZURA creating new music?
ANDY: The biggest inspiration for our music right now is other people’s art. Songs, novels, poetry, films, paintings… The dreams, the love, the tribulations, and the angst that can be felt in our songs aren’t necessarily inspired by real-life experiences. As of now, our lives are simple. We sit in a rehearsal room for most of our waking hours doing what we love the most, we play live shows, and we promote our music. We haven’t toured across the world; we haven’t experienced any extreme lows or extreme highs. So, you could say that our lives are unfortunately very normal. That is why other people’s art fuels our imagination more than anything as of now.
Next up: Their EP “Safe and Sound,” (available on itunes) backed up by a tour around the Southland throughout the summer.
CLICK HERE for the group’s official website.
CLICK HERE for Azura’s Facebook page.
