Golden Ghost

-Can you explain what it’s like being in the group Azura and how you all came together?
Being in Azura is like being with 5 goofy yet intelligent scatterbrains who somehow manage to write descent songs together. 4 of us went to the same high school in L.A., so by the time we were in college and wanted to start a band, it wasn't too difficult to contact each other and organize a jam. At our first band practice ever, we attempted to play Radiohead's “Weird Fishes” and Coldplay's “We Never Change”, and upon realizing that we weren't doing any justice to these songs, we decided that we should probably stick to writing our own songs. Nonetheless, from day one we made it clear to each other that our absolute passion is making music, but above all, we're a family. Our bond as friends, our respect for each other as people... that's the priority. Nothing comes before that, not even the music. We are confident that we can make great songs as long as we maintain the strength of our friendships with one another. And yes, we are well aware that these notions of a band being a family are cliché.


--What motivates you to write and play music?
Right now we're mostly motivated by other people's art in general, whether it's an Arcade Fire song, a Darren Aronofsky film, or a Ray Bradbury novel. Our real-life experiences are pretty limited as of now because we're a new band, and new bands only play in their local towns and sit in a tiny, window-less rehearsal room for months on end trying to write better songs. Eventually when we're better at our craft, we're going to get out there more, play in different countries, experience the wonders of being outside of our own little world, but until then we rely heavily on other art to inspire us.



--What was it like making your first EP? Was there anything that you weren’t expecting?
Making our first EP was a smack in the face signifying that we need to write better songs altogether. When you're in a studio for the first time as a band and you finally get to sit down and hear everyone's parts clearly, from the way the vocal melodies mesh with guitar lines to the way the drums increase or decrease dynamic in certain areas of the song, you unexpectedly start to realize the difference between novice songwriting and great songwriting. We started to notice how a lot of the parts that we initially wrote in the rehearsal room aren't quite fitting together like we thought they would, and we started to see the many flaws in our arrangements. At the same we discovered some of our strengths and saw how capable we are of writing good songs in the future. We learned the importance of vocals and melody as a whole being the priority and the prominent attribute of any great song instead of just writing a bunch of individually cool parts and mashing them together. Although we're not the best songwriters quite yet, we believe that we're definitely moving along in the right direction after learning the lessons we did while making this EP.



--Would you say that your upcoming EP “Safe and Sound” has any common underlying motifs?
For about 2 years in college, all we learned to do was recognize motifs in different texts and write a 5 page paper about it. So we're pretty sure that we can come up with some sort of superficial analysis of the motifs that are present in our songs. Hmm.... Lyrically, the majority of our songs seem to unveil the thoughts of a stubborn yet innocently naïve young adult who is experiencing the tribulations of love, solitude, betrayal, spirituality, and many other of life's most important lessons (I guarantee you that if this were used as a thesis statement for an essay, the essay would receive a C+ at the very most). All joking aside, we're barely into our 20's, so there's an unintentional theme of youth and youthful love in our songs no matter what we do, but there's also a depth and profoundness to them. Our songs are emotionally intelligent and unintelligent at the same time, and it is that irony that sums up the reality of our youth.




--Tell us about your favorite song from the new release.
Our favorite song on the EP is “Safe and Sound” because the very first lyric of the song is “Dinosaurs and evil fairies”. That has to be one of the best opening lines to a song ever!



--What other artists does your group look toward for inspiration? Do you ever include covers of any songs in your sets?
We first started playing music together due to our obsession with Radiohead and Coldplay. Since then we've expanded our influences to bands like Arcade Fire, Animal Collective, The Smiths, The Kinks, The White Stripes, The Strokes, M. Ward, Sigur Ros, and Grizzly Bear. We love and appreciate a lot of the classic bands during the era of The Beatles and Led Zeppelin, but we're currently more into contemporary acts, and we enjoy finding brand new artists who've just come onto the scene. We've done a cover of Muse's “Hysteria” at a few of our shows, and we plan to cover Kings of Leon's “Pyro” at our next show.


--What would a person expect to see and hear at an Azura show?
At our shows you can expect to feel like you're going on an emotional ride but at the same time you can expect to dance with a sense of careless fun. A lot of our newer songs that we're currently writing have a more uptempo feel to them, so we advise anybody who is coming to our shows to not be afraid to dance! Oh, and we're well-dressed. Just thought we'd add that in there. - Grae Magazine

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.
- Brave New Hollywood

SANTA BARBARA, CA – Questo fine settimana era il Memorial Day Weekend, festa della quale buona parte degli americani non sa il significato, ma ne approfitta comunque per festeggiare, avendo un lunedì a disposizione per riprendersi dalla sbronza – o per continuarla, nei casi migliori. Come d’uopo, mi sono unito anch’io alla calca di messicani che si aggirava per Downtown e mi sono diretto al Soho, un locale del centro dove suonano musica dal vivo, che quella sera ospitava gli Azura.Gli Azura sono un ex-gruppo universitario, che prima ancora era un ex-gruppo liceale. In tutti questi anni, nonostante le carriere scolastiche diverse, hanno continuato a suonare insieme, e adesso che sono laureati stanno tentando il salto per diventare professionisti. Ho conosciuto Max, il chitarrista, l’anno scorso, ma non ero riuscito a vederli prima. Ho approfittato di questa domenica per andare al loro spettacolo. Nonostante fossero gli unici a esibirsi, il locale era piuttosto pieno e reattivo, e devo dire di essere rimasto molto sorpreso dal concerto. Sono una band pop-rock, generalmente un genere che non prediligo, e puntano ad un pubblico ‘adolescenziale’. Nonostante questo non sono affatto banali e le loro canzoni entrano facilmente in testa: variano dall’Indie alla Strokes a pezzi più commerciali molto Phantom Planet. Si sente che hanno ancora bisogno di crescere, sono ancora eterogenei e devono definire meglio il loro stile, soprattutto visivo; nonostante questo sono molto efficaci, suonano con disinvoltura e si capiscono al volo – si sente che si conoscono da molti anni. In più il cantante sa coinvolgere il pubblico - e non stona, il che è raro. Dopo il concerto mi sono unito alla Band per chiacchierare, e sono stato trascinato in un’afterparty in una casa lì vicino, di cui non ho ancora individuato il proprietario. Tra una cosa e l’altra, sono tornato sui miei passi solo alle cinque di mattina, decisamente confuso. In un momento di lucidità, mi sono fatto raccontare qualcosa in più, e ne è uscito un discorso molto serio su di loro e la loro musica: sono musicisti e ovviamente vogliono fare quello che gli piace, ma pur sempre devono viverci, e se puntare a un pubblico un po’ più commerciale può aiutarli, di certo non ci rinunceranno. Poi, una volta affermati, quando nessuno potrà toglierli da dove sono, si dedicheranno a quello che gli piace.Il padre di uno di loro era un compositore piuttosto conosciuto negli anni ’80 – quando produceva Prince! Il figlio, scherzandoci sopra, mi ha raccontato degli insegnamenti del padre. “Tutti i genitori vogliono che i propri figli facciano il Dottore o l’Avvocato, perché sanno che questo gli permette di sopravvivere. Ma se anche i genitori sono musicisti, di conseguenza vogliono che i figli siano dei musicisti Pop, perché (tra i musicisti) sono i Dottori e gli Avvocati. Quando siamo in studio e ci sente ascoltare Rihanna o Justin Timberlake salta dentro ed esclama: “Finally you turned Pop!”. Per quanto opinabile possa essere tutto ciò, purtroppo hanno ragione. Los Angeles è affollata di piccole band, e se si vuole sopravvivere, bisogna essere prima di tutto consci di se stessi e capire cosa è più efficace. Loro suonano bene, hanno canzoni orecchiabili, e possono piacere alle ragazzine: perché sprecare un’occasione del genere? Il discorso è poi diventato più sentimentale e, come spesso accade, sono partiti gli abbracci e le dichiarazioni di amore. La serata è stata però molto divertente; di certo non me li perderò se dovessi incappare di nuovo in un loro concerto.Aspettando che esca l’album nuovo, di cui hanno dato un’anteprima al concerto, vi rimando al loro MySpace, dove potete ascoltare alcune delle loro canzoni. - Locals Magazine

Local pop-indie band Azura played to a full house for its Malibu debut at the Malibu Inn last Saturday. The band played new songs from its EP “Safe and Sound” in addition to crowd favorites and covers, such as The Beatles' “She Loves You.”

Band members include Malibu resident Max Farrar on guitar and keyboard, Andy Yeganegi on guitar, keyboard and vocals; Andrew Pae on guitar, Patrick Mullens on bass guitar and Nitin Bajaj on drums.

The band formed in 2009 while a few of the members were attending college at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Four of the musicians attended Viewpoint School in Calabasas.

Notable performances for the band include opening for former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash at the Whiskey A Go-Go, opening for Ryan Cabrera at the Key Club and performing for 15,000 attendees at Dodger Stadium last year for a benefit for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.
- Malibu Times

Four grads from Viewpoint School in Calabasas formed a pop/indie band in 2009 while attending college, and made their Malibu stage debut last Saturday night at the Malibu Inn.

Azura played to a packed house, showcasing songs from their recently released EP “Safe and Sound,” and played other crowd favorites to the delight of their fans. Their set also included a playful rendition of The Beatles’ mega hit “She Loves You”.

Band members are Viewpoint graduates Max Farrar on guitar/ keyboard; Andy Yaganegi, vocals/ guitar/keyboard; Andrew Pae, guitar; and Nitin Bajaj, drums. Also in the band is bass guitarist Patrick Mullens.

Farrar and Mullens attended UC Santa Barbara. Yaganegi attended UC Irvine and Nitin attended UCLA. They name the bands Coldplay, Keane, Radiohead and U2 as some of their musical influences, evidenced by their intricate vocal harmonies, melodic rhythms and powerful musical chemistry on stage.

Azura has opened for Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash at the Whiskey A Go-Go at the Sunset Music Festival and for Ryan Cabrera at The Key Club, Hollywood. They also were invited to perform last year for a crowd of 15,000 at Dodger’s Stadium for a benefit for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. - The Acorn