Kerija Kaleja and Eric Jayk first met in 2011 while Kaleja was living in New York City. Originally from Riga, Latvia, Kaleja was looking for guitar lessons and stumbled onto Jayk's posting on Craigslist. At this time, Jayk was actively touring with Wildstreet. Three years later, the duo decided to form Astra the 22's. Fusing their eclectic influences ranging from The Kills to Michael Jackson to Nine Inch Nails to Blondie, Astra the 22's released their debut EP ‘’Blue Venom” in Sept 2014 and began performing in Europe. They appeared at festivals including: Vilnius Music Week in Lithuania, the Gaizin Kalns Festival, and the KLANG! Rock Festival. In 2015, they performed at the Gold Microphone Awards show the biggest music awards show in Latvia. The duo have done over a dozen interviews, and performed Latvian National TV/Radio. Their songs are in regular rotation on radio stations in Latvia & Lithuania. In 2016, the band relocated to Williamsburg, Brooklyn and recruited bassist Rebecca Silber-Capalbo and drummer Luca Bertaglia. They recently released their EP Paris Love, which has received many great reviews from music press in and around NYC. Astra the 22’s are currently planning festival and tour dates for 2018 and the release of a new music video.