Born in Brisbane to a classically trained Sri Lankan mother, Raj Siva-Rajah was a boy caught between two worlds. From the age of 8 he began learning the classical Carnatic music of the east, while also falling in love with the gritty angst that was the grunge era.

Raj’s move to Sydney in 2006 led to the birth of The Sunpilots, who slipped into public consciousness that year with the release of their first 4-track EP. Despite being little more than a demo, the EP found its way onto the airwaves through Australian radio stations such as Triple j and Nova. A few months later, The Sunpilots were awarded a Musicoz Producers Award.

A flood of online interest followed, leading to one of the largest MySpace fan bases in the country and the band’s first iTunes “Single of the Week”. The Sunpilots quickly become the most subscribed to Australian band on YouTube and one of the top 100 most subscribed to bands worldwide.

 When The Sunpilots finally released their debut studio single ‘Spotlight in the Sun’ in May 2007, the band was completely unprepared for the response. ‘Spotlight in the Sun’ became the #1 most added song on Australian radio. The ‘Spotlight in the Sun’ music video became the most watched Australian music video on YouTube and aired regularly on Video Hits and Channel V. ‘Spotlight in the Sun’ continued gathering momentum throughout the year – and in February 2008 it became a top 100 most played song nationally.

Success continued for The Sunpilots following their first national tour, with the band winning Radio Australia’s New Artists 2 Radio (NA2R) competition. As part of the prize, the band took home a national $150,000 radio advertising campaign which they used to promote their upcoming album Living Receiver.

The Sunpilots released 'Living Receiver through their own record label in August 2008. The album was co-produced by Aussie producer Phil McKellar (Silverchair, Grinspoon, Kisschasy) and mastered in New York by Ted Jensen (Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance). A year in the making, Living Receiver is quickly becoming a must-have indie rock album. The Living Receiver national tour spanned 30 cities in 7 states and saw the band’s live shows described as “electric” and “stadium-worthy” by reviewers.

The Sunpilots have also begun to turn heads overseas: winning Best International Artist at the Canadian Independent Music Awards and a Single of the Year at the LA Music Awards. The band was one of 15 rock finalists in the International Songwriting Competition (nominated alongside fellow Aussie rockers Eskimo Joe). Judged by the likes of Tom Waits, Julian Casablancas (The Strokes), Robert Smith (The Cure), Frank Black (The Pixies) and Joe Satriani, the ISC is the largest and most highly regarded songwriting competition in the world. A new track from Living Receiver entitled ‘Metric System’ was chosen by the judges as being one of the best of 20,000 entries from around the globe.

The Sunpilots newest single ‘Drones’ is a high energy indie anthem about rebelling against society’s expectations… and the great Aussie tradition of sticking it to the man! With the 2009 March of the Drones national tour about to kick off, the new single hitting the airwaves now and a string of upcoming festival dates here and overseas, expect to be hearing a lot from The Sunpilots in the coming year.