Sithu Aye Explained

Sithu Aye
Image Upright:1.1
Birth Name:Sithu Maung Maung Aye
Birth Date:1990 6, df=yes
Genre:Instrumental, progressive metal, djent
Instrument:Guitar, bass
Years Active:2011-present
Associated Acts:Periphery, Intervals, Plini

Sithu Aye (Burmese: စည်သူမောင်မောင်အေး; born 26 June 1990) is a Scottish-Burmese guitarist, musician, and producer based in Scotland. He began his career with the release of his first album, Cassini, in 2011, which was self-recorded and independently released. He has released five full-length albums and six EPs. His latest album, 10 Years: Remixes and Reimaginings, was released 29 November 2021. He has toured in Japan with Reflections and Protest The Hero, the UK and Europe with Skyharbor, the UK with Galactic Empire and the US and Canada with Haken.

Career

Sithu Aye started playing guitar at age 12. He wrote and recorded his first album Cassini using software amp modellers and his laptop in his university's dormitory.[1] Subsequently, many of his following releases were written and recorded while studying Physics at University of St Andrews, such as Invent the Universe, Isles EP and 26. Sithu wrote and produced his EP 26 over the course of four days to release it on 26 June 2013, which marked his 23rd birthday as well as the day he graduated with a Master's degree in Physics.[2]

After his graduation Sithu Aye worked as a Technology Consulting Analyst for Deloitte until 2016.[3] In this time period he wrote and recorded Pulse, Senpai EP and Set Course for Andromeda. With the release of the latter he announced quitting his job and pursuing a full-time career as a musician. A month after quitting his job, he went on a Japan tour with Protest the Hero.[4]

During 2018, he took a break from touring to write his album Homebound, which was released on 17 December of the same year and was made available at the start of December to his supporters on patreon.[5] [6] In 2019 he headlined a tour in the UK in support of his album Homebound and toured Europe supporting Intervals.[7] [8] He also worked on a follow-up to his Senpai EP series, which he announced to be more of a full-length album this time and accompanied by a Visual Novel themed digital story booklet.

On 12 December 2020, Sithu Aye released the first single Time to Decide! on his YouTube channel,[9] where he also announced his new album Senpai III to be released on 8 January 2021 on all platforms except patreon, where it was released immediately for all supporters of a certain tier. With 10 songs Senpai III is the first full-length album of the Senpai series and is also intended to be the last. The album also stands out from his other releases by the music itself not being the singular focus, since it contains a digital novella, telling a continuous story with each chapter being accompanied by the correspondingly titled song.[10]

During 2021, Sithu Aye announced he was starting his work on a new EP which was supposed to be taking a different approach than his usual Progressive Metal style and instead aiming for the genre of Jazz fusion and Funk.[11] [12] In the same year, 29 November 2021, Aye released 10 Years: Remixes and Reimaginings, which contains 10 songs from across various previous releases and which have been rerecorded and rearranged in new and different styles of music.[13] On 15 October 2022, he released Re:Invent the Universe (10th Anniversary Remaster), which is a remix and remaster of his 2012 album Invent the Universe.[14] After having released a full song preview in 2023 exclusive to Patreon subscribers, in 2024 he eventually declared the discontinuation of his work on the Jazz fusion EP in favor of a different EP, to feature his signature Progressive Metal sound.[15] [16] Following this, on 24 March 2024 Aye announced the title, cover artwork and release date of the then upcoming EP Kindness and published its first single Run it Down.[17] [18] Zero Sum Groove was released as the second single on 21 April 2024 alongside a music video filmed and directed by his brother Kaung-Myat Aye.[19] On 11 May 2024 Kindness was released, which marks Sithu Aye's first release featuring the guitars being recorded using real amplifiers instead of amp modellers.[20] [21]

Style

Sithu Aye's music can be described as instrumental progressive metal that is focused on lead guitar, influenced by prominent artists of the early djent scene, such as Periphery and Animals as Leaders. He describes his style as 'happy progressive metal'.[22] His three Senpai EPs are also influenced by Japanese anime music and artwork.

Gear

Sithu is a Mayones[23] artist, using their Regius, Setius and Duvell guitar models. He also is a D'Addario artist, using their NYXL strings and Dunlop artist, having used Jazz III XL guitar picks and is currently using Dunlop Flow picks.[24] [25]

Since 2021, he is in possession of a Fender Blues Junior guitar amplifier, which he used together with a Shure SM57 microphone to record the guitar tracks on his 2024 EP Kindness.[26]

Discography

Albums

EPs

Singles

Awards

Sithu was nominated for a Scottish Alternative Music Award in the best metal category on 20 September 2017.[47]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20200128195032/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKOjtBCzN7U. 28 January 2020. Focusrite // UK Guitar Show – Sithu Aye. . 28 January 2020.
  2. Sithu Aye. 26 Liner Notes. 28 January 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20190821172319/https://sithuayemusic.bandcamp.com/album/26. 21 August 2019.
  3. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20200128195114/https://www.reddit.com/r/progmetal/comments/1w7rw5/sithu_aye_here_i_play_happy_progressive_metal/cezku4b/. 28 January 2020. Sithu Aye here, I play happy progressive metal tunes. Ask me anything!. 26 January 2014. 28 January 2020.
  4. Web site: COFFEE WITH OLA – Aaron Marshall of Intervals & Sithu Aye. https://web.archive.org/web/20190819164201/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eHIEHDn0XA. 19 August 2019. . 28 January 2020.
  5. Web site: Homebound – Sithu Aye. https://web.archive.org/web/20190819092532/https://sithuayemusic.bandcamp.com/album/homebound. 19 August 2019. 28 January 2020.
  6. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20200128201804/https://www.patreon.com/posts/how-patreon-will-22967947. 28 January 2020. How Patreon rewards will work for the release of Homebound. 28 January 2020.
  7. 1136990504137220099. Sithu_Aye. Hey friends!Kinda odd announcing a tour while I'm touring but anyway, I'll be doing my first ever UK headline tou… . 28 January 2020. 28 January 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200128203725/https://twitter.com/Sithu_Aye/status/1136990504137220099. 7 June 2019.
  8. 1122866726012686336. Sithu_Aye. Yo guys I'm touring in June with some good buddies . 28 January 2020. 28 January 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200128204346/https://twitter.com/Sithu_Aye/status/1122866726012686336. 29 April 2019.
  9. Web site: Sithu Aye – Time to Decide! - Senpai III. . 8 December 2020.
  10. Web site: Senpai III – Sithu Aye – Bandcamp. 7 December 2020. 7 December 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201207214232/https://sithuayemusic.bandcamp.com/album/senpai-iii.
  11. Web site: Sithu Aye on X. 31 July 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240731102011/https://twitter.com/x/migrate?tok=7b2265223a222f53697468755f4179652f7374617475732f31343131333630333535353332363434333532222c2274223a313732323432313231307d7ddae217d2451a913dfd565c7f302b72. 31 July 2024.
  12. Web site: Sithu Aye on X. 31 July 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240731102239/https://twitter.com/x/migrate?tok=7b2265223a222f53697468755f4179652f7374617475732f31343137313733393933303939303735353837222c2274223a313732323432313335387da4c6ba5126312ed9f26968e2abadbfab. 31 July 2024.
  13. Web site: 10 Years: Remixes and Reimaginings - Sithu Aye. 31 July 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240612181056/https://sithuayemusic.bandcamp.com/album/10-years-remixes-and-reimaginings. 12 June 2024.
  14. Web site: Re:Invent the Universe - Sithu Aye. 31 July 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240731105520/https://sithuayemusic.bandcamp.com/album/re-invent-the-universe-10th-anniversary-remaster?from=embed. 31 July 2024.
  15. Web site: Full preview of track 3 from the Jazz Fusion EP - Patreon . 31 July 2024.
  16. Web site: Sithu Aye on X. 31 July 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240731103706/https://twitter.com/x/migrate?tok=7b2265223a222f53697468755f4179652f7374617475732f31373639383734393837363134313133393031222c2274223a313732323432323232357da711291fb588c1827b9a32125cc8d0ca. 31 July 2024.
  17. Web site: Sithu Aye on X. 31 July 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240731112942/https://twitter.com/x/migrate?tok=7b2265223a222f53697468755f4179652f7374617475732f31373731393635373032313538363232393637222c2274223a313732323432353338317d9e79e3acf0912c107080a3234145121a. 31 July 2024.
  18. Web site: Sithu Aye - Run it Down - YouTube. 31 July 2024. 31 July 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240731095242/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfjpA_KD7YI.
  19. Web site: Sithu Aye - Zero Sum Groove - YouTube. 31 July 2024. 13 June 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240613045943/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o95GvdWtJMM.
  20. Web site: Have your preferred store or streaming service? Kindness is now available on them (except for all the ones it's not on).. May 12, 2024 .
  21. Web site: Sneak peak at EP album art and tracklist. 31 July 2024.
  22. Web site: Sithu Aye – Bandcamp.
  23. Web site: Geared: Sithu Aye's Guitar Gear. 20 May 2016. WiredGuitarist. 23 August 2016.
  24. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20190626231419/http://www.sithuaye.co.uk/gear. 26 June 2019. Sithu Aye Gear. 29 January 2020.
  25. 982080563245993984. Sithu_Aye. @RoPanuganti I'm uh, contractually obliged, to stick with Dunlop. But that's not to say I don't love the Jazz III X… . 29 January 2020. 29 January 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200129095613/https://twitter.com/Sithu_Aye/status/982080563245993984. 6 April 2018.
  26. Web site: Sithu Aye on X. 31 July 2024. 31 July 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240731120520/https://twitter.com/x/migrate?tok=7b2265223a222f53697468755f4179652f7374617475732f31333732353636323536323835353336323633222c2274223a313732323432373531397dd377b54557028fc8749b06dedcfe2fe6.
  27. Web site: Review: Sithu Aye – Cassini. 12 March 2012. Sputnikmusic/. Sputnikmusic. 17 August 2016.
  28. Web site: Sithu Aye Streams Fifth Anniversary "Cassini" Remaster. 12 March 2012. It Djents. 9 February 2017.
  29. Web site: Sithu Aye Hints Release Date For "Cassini" Remaster. 30 August 2016. It Djents. 9 February 2017.
  30. Web site: Review: Sithu Aye – Invent the Universe. 16 October 2012. Sputnikmusic. 17 August 2016.
  31. Web site: Sithu Aye Reveals New Album "Invent The Universe" Details. 14 September 2012. Metal Underground. 17 August 2016.
  32. Web site: Stefan Andonov. Let's Awe: Sithu Aye – Set Course For Andromeda. 10 May 2016. Djentmag. 22 August 2016.
  33. Web site: Review: Sithu Aye – Set Course For Andromeda. 29 April 2016. Djentmag. 22 August 2016.
  34. Web site: Review: Sithu Aye – Isles. 29 March 2012. Sputnikmusic. 17 August 2016.
  35. Web site: Review: Sithu Aye – 26. 30 June 2013. Sputnikmusic. 17 August 2016.
  36. Web site: Review: Sithu Aye – Pulse. 24 January 2014. Sputnikmusic. 22 August 2016.
  37. Web site: Review: Sithu Aye – Senpai. 19 October 2015. SmallMusicReviews. 22 August 2016.
  38. Web site: Review: Sithu Aye – Senpai. 23 December 2015. whatsageek. 22 August 2016.
  39. 855178691604865028. Sithu_Aye. Senpai EP II is coming to your earballs on the 8th of May 2017.Here's a song from it:. 20 April 2017.
  40. Web site: Sithu Aye – Senpai, Please Notice Me! AMV. . 8 December 2020.
  41. Web site: Sithu Aye – Set Course for Andromeda!!!. . 8 December 2020.
  42. Web site: Sithu Aye – Spiral. . 8 December 2020.
  43. Web site: Sithu Aye – Transient Transistors. . 8 December 2020.
  44. Web site: Sithu Aye – And Here's to Many More. . 8 December 2020.
  45. Web site: Sithu Aye – Primary Ignition. . 8 December 2020.
  46. Web site: Sithu Aye – Runaway Reaction. . 8 December 2020.
  47. Web site: Scottish Alternative Music Awards Website – Nominations. 20 September 2017.

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