about csw
Car Stereo Wars formed in 2000 when Jason ‘Blackie’ White (bass) and Matt Gillman (guitar) met at an extremely nerdy new media course in Melbourne. In an attempt to appear cooler than they were, they decided to start a band and soon recruited singer Alyssa Doe.
The trio then imposed on the generosity of a handful of friends including Ash Naylor (Even), Chris Brodie (The Broken Arrows), and Philippa Nihill (The Underground Lovers) to join them on their first EP ‘Project A.’ The single ‘Broken’ subsequently gained the attention of Triple J and Melbourne’s 3RRR and eventually found it’s way onto a Ministry Of Sound Chillout Sessions Compilation.
In 2001 the band travelled to Texas to play at the South by Southwest Festival, and two years later packed their bags again to play some shows at New York’s CMJ Music Marathon with new band member Graeme “Gra” Luther. On this tour they had the extreme good fortune to get to play a gig at the famous and now extinct CBGB’s.
After all this excitement, the foursome returned to Melbourne, had a good lie down, and signed with Hussle/Ministry of Sound in 2003. They headed back into the studio with long time producer Robbie Rowlands and new member Sean Ashbrooke (guitar) along with guests Steve Hesketh (The Forefathers, Jet) and Shan Vanderwert (Dallas Crane) to record their second EP ‘They Asked Me To be In A Movie’. The song ‘Come To Nothing’ was included on another MOS Chillout Compilation later that year.
In the few years that followed the band went back into the studio to piece together the songs for a future album and amicably parted ways with their label, having agreed that stylistically they were moving away from chill/electronica and into the unknown.
Despite births, deaths and day jobs, the long awaited debut album ‘For Your Comfort and Safety’ was completed in 2008, and showcases the band’s versatility and knack for genre mixing. From the bouncy pop of ‘radio edit’ to the sweeping outer space adventure of ‘smooth’, the music is an eclectic, layered blend of electric, acoustic, orchestral and electronic instruments that may contain traces of nuts.
car stereo wars - still from radio edit video clip
Car Stereo Wars independently released ‘For Your Comfort and Safety’ through Greg Records on the 1st August 2008. It is available on CD for purchase via the band’s website: www.carstereowars.com or download from Apple iTunes, Rhapsody or Amazon Store
In the not to distant future the band will travel to Barbados to film a lavish, nautical themed video clip involving matching white linen outfits in the style of Duran Duran.
