A musician, composer of songs and instrumental music; mainly for TV and Short Films and for the Video game market, this is his second foray into recording an album of his own original songs. ‘This is What I Do’ is more than a song or title, it is a statement of desire and intent reflecting Lastelle’s commitment to his craft. “I play, write, make music and sound, collect it, listen to anything and everything all of the time. I love playing live, working in the studio, going to gigs, listening to and reading about music in-between”, says Chris. He has also studied piano and lectured on sound and studio production at The Film and Television school within Sydney University and has taught ‘Sound’ for Multimedia/Animation courses at TAFE Colleges.
 
Previously he worked with the band ‘Battu’, releasing a CD,’Beyond’ in 1998 and his video and film work kept his nose to the grindstone. So much so that one day he shut up his studio, slung a guitar over one shoulder and a backpack over the other and headed off to Greece, Turkey, Spain, the UK, Canada & Mexico. The bulk of the new album was written while traveling.

On his return to Australia, Lastelle pulled together an impressive band to record at the prestigious ‘Tiger Studios’ which recorded the likes of AC/DC and other Vanda and Young artists. Chris took the masters back to his own studio to complete the mix. With Craig Calhoun on bass ( Diesel, Jimmy Barnes, Jenny Morris, Brothers of Oz), Scott Johnson on drums (Brothers of Oz) , Dave Scotland on lead guitar (Brothers of Oz), and Mark Williams (Dragon) and Robyn Loau (Siva Pacifica, Girlfriend) on backing vocals, this album has a huge sound. Lastelle regularly performs solo acoustic gigs, showcasing his skilful musicianship and giving a cruisey vibe to the rock out numbers performed with the full band.

The title track, ’This is What I Do’ has been selected for inclusion in The Australian Independent Record Association’s compilation, AIRPlay (AIR) and Tunetanks, SXSW (South by Southwest) in Austen, Texas and also MIDEM, the world’s biggest music industry conference held in Cannes, France. This compilation showcases the best, new independent rock artists that this country has to offer. Also included in the latest ‘Sounds Like Café’ Album from Foghorn Records, ‘This is What I Do’ has consistently rated as a most highly requested song. Lastelle’s perceptive lyricism and consummate songwriting skills in tracks like ’Don’t Fit No More’ with its runaway ’Hook’ and the blues riffs and cynicism of ’It’s Love Again’, ’I must be happy’ and the raucous fun‘On My Way’, are guaranteed to keep the airplay coming. 

With interest from at least two filmmakers from Europe and the US and airplay in Japan, throughout North America and across Europe, Lastelle looks like he’s destined for an international career.