Astrachan

Astrachan is the solo project and surname of curly-haired indie rock beefcake Ben Astrachan, a self-taught analog tapehead who conjures up his special blend of starry-eyed lofi folk rock in the candlelit haze of Puccini’s Studio (Astrachan’s basement bedroom/workspace) on Chicago’s northwest side. Astrachan is also the co-founder of Berta Bigtoe (with Austin Koenigstein) and Astro Heart (with Ryan Gebhardt), and a tireless accomplice to fellow travelers Smushie , No Lonesome (etc), brightening stages across Chicago with his golden voice, polytechnic abilities, and good-natured boyish charm. His sophomore LP “Cleaner than Clean”, self-produced and recorded directly to tape in Puccini’s Studio, is a noisy upbeat rock-and-roll affair released via Happen Twice. Astrachan has opened for the Vancouver Psych group Meltt in 2023, John Gallagher Jr. in 2024, Headband Henny in 2025, and, the Australian indie rock groups, Teenage Dads and Quivers also in 2025. Astrachan also opened for Yuma Abe and Tommy Ragen in 2025. Astrachan's other foray, Berta Bigtoe opened a sold out Tokyo Police Club show at Lincoln Hall (507 cap) in 2021. They sold out a show at the Golden Dagger (100 cap) in 2021 and come close at The Hideout (200 cap) and Schubas (212 cap) in 2021, 2022, and 2023. They toured Texas in 2024 playing The New New Festival as well as a few unofficial SXSW booked by Happentwice. They played 3 festivals this summer in Albany, WI, Kalamazoo, MI, and Burlington, VT all had around 300 people in attendance. In 2025, Astrachan played a whopping 10 shows at SXSW, one of which being the official Paste Magazine showcase at High Noon ATX.  Astrachan Released his 3rd album on Halloween of 2025 called "Signs" and was featured in both NPR and Stereogum as best new albums of 2025 wrap ups. He sold out his album release as well as his homecoming show in Connecticut at the Space Ballroom, opening for The Slaps and Post Animal after they released their record with Djo. Support: Imaginary Friend „Tell me, do you need a new companion?" Was bietet sich da besser an als ein Imaginary Friend – in diesem Fall das Mainzer Bandprojekt des Sängers und Songwriters Max Schäffer. Ob verspielt und unbeschwert oder melancholisch und gedankenversunken – alle Songs von Imaginary Friend tragen eine tröstend-luftige Leichtigkeit, die irgendwo zwischen HER's, Phoebe Bridgers und New Wave-Nostalgie à la The Cure pendelt. Live zu viert wird aus der intimen Songwriting-Ästhetik etwas, das gleichzeitig zum Kopfnicken und Nachdenken einlädt – von verträumt-euphorischen Tracks bis hin zu melancholischen, folkigen Nummern. In seinen Texten erzählt Max mal mehr, mal weniger augenzwinkernd vom Zeitgeist der „Twentysomethings": Von Sehnsucht nach ungelebten Träumen über das mühsame Erwachsenwerden bis hin zur großen Orientierungslosigkeit – Imaginary Friend spricht für eine Generation (wh)Y, die nach dem „because" sucht. Indie Rock für Overthinker, Surfpop für Menschen, die noch nie auf einem Surfbrett standen, New Wave für alle, die zu jung dafür sind. Das perfekte Gegenmittel gegen Quarter-Life-Crisis – oder wenigstens ein sehr melodischer Soundtrack dazu.