Starbenders

Starbenders
Starbenders in 2024. Clockwise from top: Qi Wei, Kimi Shelter, Kriss Tokaji, Aaron Lecesne
Background information
Genres	Glam rock[1]
Years active	2013–present
Labels	Sumerian Records, Institution Records, B.I.J. Records (Japan)
Members	Kimi Shelter Aaron Lecesne Kriss Tokaji Qi Wei
Past members	Kyle Gordon[citation needed] Katie Herron Emily Moon
Website	www.starbenders.com

Starbenders are an American rock band from the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia.[2] The group was formed in 2013 by lead singer and guitarist Kimi Shelter and bassist Aaron Lecesne.[3][4][5] After adding guitarist Kriss Tokaji and drummer Emily Moon, Starbenders were signed to Nico Constantine’s label, Institution Records.[6] With Constantine as their producer, the band has released three EPs, one full-length album, one 7-inch LP, and six singles on Institution Records and two singles and two full-length albums on Sumerian Records. In early 2024, Emily Moon left the band and was replaced by current drummer Qi Wei.

The band was originally started by frontwoman Kimi Shelter with long-time friend and bassist Aaron Lecesne in 2013 with encouragement from producer Nico Constantine, who Shelter had worked with prior to the band's conception.[7]

The pair found guitarist Kriss Tokaji in 2015.[8] Katie Herron, another longtime friend of Shelter, played drums for the band[5] until Emily Moon joined the lineup in 2017.

Starbenders released their self-titled debut EP[9] in 2014 to positive reception[10] with the lead-off single Touch[11] and quickly followed with the singles Brake,[12] Paper Beats Rock,[13] and Powder[14] in 2015 while touring the United States extensively.[15]

In 2016, they released another full-length, Heavy Petting, which was released by Institution Records and featured repeats of a few tracks from the first album such as Brake, Paper Beats Rocks, and Powder. The band led with the single Blood and released a music video for the track,[16] followed by videos for Paper Beats Rock, Powder,[17] and Time Stops,[18] which won "Best Music Video" at the 2016 Oregon Film Awards.[19] The record was engineered by Matt Goldman at Glow-In-The-Dark Studios and Jeff Bakos at Studio B,[citation needed] and mixed by Mark Needham[citation needed] and Will Brierre.[citation needed] CD releases of the album contained clean versions of several tracks[20] while most digital versions remained explicit.

Starbenders continued to be active through 2017, touring and releasing the singles Far From Heaven[21][citation needed] (Which was later Included in the EP Japanese Rooms) and So High,[22] (again mixed by Needham).[citation needed] In late 2017, the band began work on the EP JULIAN and released the title track Julian[citation needed] as a single before the EP's official release in January 2018.[23]

Starbenders toured extensively in 2018 in support of JULIAN, notably touring alongside Charlotte Kemp Muhl's UNI,[24] Rosegarden Funeral Party on the Children Of The Night tour,[25] and Alice in Chains in support of the grunge icons' new record Rainier Fog.[26]

In 2018, Starbenders signed a distribution deal with Japanese label B.I.J Records for Japanese releases.[27] In April 2019, the band released the EP Japanese Rooms and embarked on an extensive tour of Japan to support the EP.[28] Despite physical copies only being available in Japan, the EP was named LA Weekly's "Album Of The Week."[29]

Starbenders in Tokyo, 2019

In May 2019, it was announced that Starbenders had signed to Sumerian Records, and the band's first single and video on the label, "London," was released to positive reception.[30][31] The band then embarked on a US tour with labelmates Palaye Royale.[32] Starbenders continued to tour through 2019, supporting Jamie Bower's band Counterfeit on a North American tour and releasing the single "Holy Mother" in September that year.[33]

Starbenders began 2020 with a US tour with Asking Alexandria frontman Danny Worsnop.[34] On February 14, they released their debut full-length on Sumerian Records, Love Potions, which was still produced by Nico Constantine.[35] Reflecting on the thirteen months it took the band to record the album, Kimi Shelter said in an interview with Classic Rock Magazine, "We really just put our all into it. We wanted to come in old-school with it, and make sure that we were really honouring the ghosts of rock'n'roll past. It was frustrating, but the process really made us. It was both parts: beauty and pain."[36] They collaborated with Remington Leith from Palaye Royale on Depeche Mode cover Precious.[37][citation needed]

Love Potions was digitally re-released as Love Potions (Zodiac Deluxe) in 2021 with 7 additional bonus tracks, including the bonus track from the Japanese version True Love, an acoustic version of Bitches Be Witches, and a remix of Push (both of which had been released prior to the re-release).[38]

In April 2021, they digitally released an acoustic version of Time Stops and a coupling track together with The Mavens and Lilith Czar as singles for the soundtrack of American musical drama television series Paradise City.[citation needed] In August 2021, they released the digital single No One Listened.[citation needed]

Following the releases, the band began a headliner US tour with 22 dates[citation needed] and a Japan tour with 10 dates in 2022, which was originally planned for 2021[citation needed] but had to be postponed to the following year. They were joined in Tokyo, Kyoto and Nagoya by Japanese artists such as 88Kasyo Junrei, SPARK!!SOUND!!SHOW!! and THE BOHEMIANS.[citation needed] In August 2022, they announced they would be opening for Palaye Royale's North American leg of their Fever Dream tour consisting of 25 dates.[citation needed] Later, they announced they would make their European debut as opening act for the Fever Dream tour alongside English rock band Yonaka on 34 dates.[citation needed] This was followed by a summer tour across the US with The Haunt,[citation needed] several festival dates, and a UK tour in October 2023.[citation needed]

The band released the full-length album Take Back The Night on September 22, 2023. Leading up to the album, they released Seven White Horses, If You Need It, Blood Moon, The Game, and Sex as singles in 2022 and 2023.[citation needed] The 13 track album also included a cover of Alice Cooper's Poison. The album contained their first charting song, The Game, which reached #39 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay charts.[39]

In February 2024, drummer Emily Moon left.[40] They also announced a US tour with Nita Strauss and Diamante.[citation needed] New drummer, Qi Wei, made her debut appearance with the band on this tour, and was later confirmed as an official member.[41] The band began releasing singles with the new lineup in September, starting with "Tokyo" and it's respective music video.[40] In 2025, the band continued to release the new singles "Chantilly Boy", "hello goodbye", "Cold Silver", "The Beast Goes On", and "To Be Alright", all through Sumerian Records.

• Kimi Shelter – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (2013–present)
• Aaron Lecesne – bass (2013–present)
• Kriss Tokaji – lead guitar (2015–present)
• Qi Wei - drums (2024–present)

• Kyle Gordon – lead guitar (2013–2016)
• Katie Herron – drums (2013–2017)
• Emily Moon – drums (2017–2024)

• Heavy Petting (2016)
• Love Potions (2020)
• Love Potions (Zodiac Deluxe) (2021)
• Take Back the Night (2023)

• Starbenders (2014)
• JULIAN (2018)
• Japanese Rooms (2019)

• "Powder" (2015)[42]

List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name

Title	Year	Peak Chart Positions	Album(s)
		US Main. Rock [39]
"Brake"	2016	—	Starbenders	Heavy Petting
"Blood"		—	Heavy Petting
"So High"	2017	—	Non-album single
"Far From Heaven"		—	Japanese Rooms
"Down and Out"		—	Love Potions
"1969"		—	Non-album single
"Julian"		—	JULIAN
"21st Century Orphan"	2018	—	Japanese Rooms
"Never Lie 2 Me"	2019	—
"London"	2019	—	Love Potions
"Holy Mother"		—
"Cover Me"	2020	—
"One of Us"		—
"Push"		—
"Can't Cheat Time"		—
"Bitches Be Witches"		—
"No One Listened"	2021	—	Non-album single
"Seven White Horses"	2022	—	Take Back the Night
"If You Need It"		—
"Blood Moon"		—
"The Game"	2023	39
"Sex"		×
"We're Not OK"		×
"Body Talk"		×
"Cherry Wine"		×
"Tokyo"	2024	×	The Beast Goes On
"Chantilly Boy"	2025	×
"hello goodbye"		×
"Cold Silver"		×
"The Beast Goes On"		×
"To Be Alright"		×
"Saturday"	2026	×
"June"		×