Raj’s move to Sydney in early 2005 and the befriending of wayward musicians Bob Spencer (guitar), Gavin Collison (bass) and Anthony Soole (percussion) saw the project evolve into something more; and The Sunpilots were born. The sound is a soaring fusion of the modern day west executed with the skill base of the ancient east. The Sunpilots have spent the past twelve months wowing crowds in and around Sydney, honing their live skills. They took home the Musicoz Producers Award at the recent Musicoz Awards, which will see them working with LA producer Roger Sommers for their second release later this year. Their online popularity has also begun to soar, building a massive MySpace following only months after unveiling their debut tracks on the site. As a result, they are now the no. 1 independent Australian band in daily song plays (500 - 600 a day).
The growing buzz surrounding The Sunpilots has attracted the attention of radio across the country. “Animals in my Mind” generated such a response from FBi listeners that the band were quickly made FBi feature artists. “Metric System” was Triple J’s track of choice, exposing The Sunpilots to a national audience. The feedback was instant, with new fans posting comments on the boys’ MySpace page asking where they could buy the CD. Most recently, Nova 969’s Rabbit spoke to frontman Raj on air about the band’s growing popularity, playing “Spotlight in the Sun” after the interview. The next day, The Sunpilots were on the air again talking to Lizzy Lovette, who told the band about the massive number of calls Nova had taken requesting the song again. As a result, “Spotlight in the Sun” has aired on Nova 969 regularly since then.
