ASTRO is a unique experiment between some of the most innovative creators in the web3 music space.

Funded by a member of NoiseDAO, we threw a writing camp over a 7 day period on the coast of Los Angeles as our first experiment with TWERL, Daniel Allan, Reo Cragun, Tisoki, Pauline Herr, Mark Johns, Camoufly, helloworld & Lost Boy.

The intention behind the ASTRO camps is to create a unique way to onboard new artists into the space. There have been so many times where people asked us “how can I get started in web3 music?”, and we never have a straight and easy answer. We believe if we want this industry to grow, we have to create new, easier and exciting ways to bring people in.

Our larger scale goal with the camps is to take it around the world and host them in different cities every 3 months, onboarding new artists everywhere we go, and leading the way for dance music in the space.

We want to take out the headache that comes with trying to join web3 as a musician - just show up, write dope music with some cool people in a care free environment, learn more about web3 from artists with experience and have fun, we take care of the hard stuff.

Another key focus with ASTRO is to really push dance music forward in the space and become a trusted collective when it comes to finding new dance music/artists, but more on that later.

Drop Mechanics, The Burn Feature & Rarity

At the camp, initially we assumed there would be no more than 4 tracks created over the week - but it ended up turning out to be something much more special.

We ended up creating a full length audiovisual album, consisting of 13 tracks. Each track was treated with as much care and respect as the next, and we are so proud of the end result.

The artwork was a collaboration between Cerdin & Little Snake, who both worked tirelessly over the last six months to create something that would truely compliment the music and take this project to another level. Using hand drawn pieces by a tattoo artist along with other incredibly innovative techniques, they landed on some of the most insane art we’ve ever seen.

We really wanted to push boundaries with this project not only with the music & art, but with the drop mechanics too.

444 editions at 0.0444 ETH, each song will have a different supply, with a total of 13 songs - but there’s more.

You have the option to collect, burn, & create.

What this means is that if you collect any 4 tracks, you will be able to burn them which will create an entirely new secret ASTRO NFT.

This might seem outrageous but we believe that this space is all about taking risks and trying new things, we want to give our collectors a unique and new experience that they’ve never had.

The mint will be hosted on projectastro.io.

Dates to keep in mind:

• Whitelist presale on 01/08/23 at 0.0333 ETH at 3pm PST. This is for anyone who holds an NFT from one or more of the ASTRO artists

• Public mint on 01/09/23 at 0.0444 ETH at 3pm PST.

Building Independently & Our Collaborators

Having collectively sold close to 6000+ editions across Soundxyz & Catalog, going off of the major platforms and building on our own was a must.

This was no easy task - we learned a lot along the way and encountered many challenges, but nothing great comes easy.

The burn feature and custom additions to the contract were built alongside Isaac Patka, an incredible dev who also made sure everything ran smoothly on the contract/mint/upload side of things. The project would not be what it is without him.

In collaboration with the amazing team at Bonfire, we built the home for ASTRO. Once again, this project would not be possible without the help from the amazing team at Bonfire.

The smart contract was built using the Soundxyz protocol, an amazing tool for all creators in the space with endless possibilities.

Our whitelist data was gathered seamlessly with the incredible team at Bello - an insane tool which allows you to not only gather wallet addresses, but actually see a massive range of data and useful information on your collectors.

We will be utilising 0xsplits to ensure all artists are paid their splits instantly.

Artists Involved

Below, we are going to share a brief spotlight on all of the artists that made this project come to life.

You might be extremely familiar with some names, but not others.

As we mentioned earlier, adoption is so important for the evolution of web3 music, so we brought in some artists that we truely believe will do amazing things in the space but have not yet had the chance to do so.

• Daniel Allan - An artist that has truely paved the way for all musicians in web3. Having sold over 4000 editions and being one of the first artists to successfully do their own drop and smart contract outside of major platforms. His most recent drop ‘Criteria’ with Reo Cragun sold 2500 editions.

• Reo Cragun - From collaborations with Flume & Kid Ink, to having sold over 3000 editions across web3 platforms, Reo is another artist who is constantly pushing boundaries. His most recent solo project ‘Frameworks’ sold out 333 editions in under 5 minutes.

• TWERL - Australia born Jayden has had collaborations and remixes with Luude, Diplo and Lil Xan, and has always tried to sit outside of the box creatively. Diving head first into web3 late last year, he’s sold over 400 editions to date across Soundxyz & Catalog.

• Tisoki - Bradley has been sitting at the forefront of Bass music for close to 10 years with releases on Monstercat, Never Say Die & more, he has always been an icon for aspiring producers. ASTRO will be his first release in web3, and we’re honoured to have him on the project.

• Pauline Herr - Multi talented producer, vocalist & engineer Pauline has been making waves over the last few years having worked with artists such as Alison Wonderland, Ekali, Slushii & more and is about to release an EP on RL Grimes label - Sable Valley. She had her first taste at web3 as one of Soundxyz’s artists on season one, since then she’s gone on to sell more than 150 editions across platforms.

• Mark Johns - The first solo vocalist signed to Skrillex’s OWSLA - Naomi has been thriving in the web3 space to say the least. With multiple drops across Soundxyz & Catalog, as well as creating her own DAO.

• Camoufly - The anonymous project of Camoufly sparked everyones attention when their song “told u so” blew up on Audius & Twitter. Since then they’ve gone on to release multiple sold out drops, as well as being one of the genesis artists on Soundxyz.

• helloworld - Drew is multi-talented producer/vocalist with an instantly recognisable sound, who has released on powerhouse labels like Monstercat & even had his music used in the legendary ‘Rocket League’ game. This will be his first release in web3, and we’re so excited to host his genesis drop.

• Lost Boy - Dillon is a ‘gold’ selling vocalist out of Los Angeles who is making waves in the pop world - having written songs for the likes of Flo Rida & more. This is also his first taste of web3 and we couldn’t be more thrilled to onboard him into our community.

• Cerdin & Little Snake - Harri & Gino are the two amazing visual artists who brought the vision of ASTRO to life. Both are musicians who also share a unique talent for graphic design and animation and are always pushing boundaries, not to mention this is their time in web3.

What’s Next & Defining Our Future As A Collective

We have some really big plans for ASTRO, obviously the first being our genesis drop in early January.

The next step will be to help push all of the Artists on ASTRO into their own drops on Soundxyz & more. Their journey will not end at ASTRO, it’ll just be getting started.

One thing that’s lacking in this space and is essential to massive adoption is collectives. As a music fan in web2, you know exactly where to go if you want to find perfectly curated music in the genre you love, with a community that you thrive in. For example, OWSLA was leading the pack for years in dance music, you knew you could trust and love everything they put out, they were the taste makers, you loved being in their community and it was always exciting.

We want ASTRO to push the boundaries in this space when it comes to being a collective. We want to be the OWSLA/Sable Valley of web3 - a trusted group for everything that is dance music, something truely exciting.

As for the camps - we are going to host future camps in a new city/country every three months and continue to create unique and exciting pathways for more independent artists to come into web3.

As a last note, this project will be hitting DSPs, but not in the usual way. Like we said, we’re going to try and push as many boundaries in this space as possible.

Until then, you can follow us on Twitter which is where all info related to the drop will be posted, as well as projectastro.io.

Thank you for taking the time to read, we’ll see you soon.