ASTRIXX PRESENTS.... HEIDI RUSH

ASTRIXX PRESENTS… 

HEIDI RUSH 

Born Silvano Royne-Stuurman in Cape Town, South Africa in 1986, 

Astrixx is the eldest of three musically talented siblings.  His brother Mikhail is an established organist and classical vocalist who sings in the London Bach Choir. His youngest brother is a bassoon player.  The Stuurman children were raised in church and brought up almost solely to the sounds of classical music. 

Astrixx began playing the violin at the tender age of six and by the age of 12, he  

had become one of the first black child musicians to play in the Junior Philharmonic Orchestra in South Africa at the time.  Alongside Astrixx’s classical influences were Motown, Tracy Chapman, Bob Marley and producers Quincy Jones and Dr Dre.  The Stuurman family moved to London in 2000 where Astrixx continued to play the violin and sing in the choir. 

Astrixx settled into British urban culture almost immediately. Listening to and experimenting in musical genres such as garage, drum and bass, dubstep and UK hip hop and grime, he quickly began to develop a unique and distinctive sound using start-up programs, such as Fruity Loops and Reason.  At the age of 19 and after much deliberation, Astrixx decided to follow his parents’ advice and pursue a more academic route by applying to study Sociology and International Relations at the University of Westminster, London.  However, on the day that Astrixx was due to begin his first week of lectures at university, he had a sudden change of heart and bravely decided to follow his passion for music despite his parents wishes. 

From that point onwards, Astrixx never looked back.  Taking four private lessons with an esteemed sound engineer, working alongside industry mentors who guided him through his journey and subscribing to Sound and Sound magazine, Astrixx has gone on to produce for artists such as Devlin, Smiller, Griminal, Ghetts as well as produce remixes featuring Wretch 32, Chipmunk and Talay Riley. 

Astrixx is currently working on his own album project alongside singer/songwriter Heidi Rush where his classical, dub-step and pop influences (among other interests) shape the new and innovative sound he has created. 

“This is my project, no boundaries, no gimmicks, just me,  

my creativity, my story…”