Astral Gray and the emotional alchemy of "See You On the Other Side"

 

"make sure that you know what you want and what you need"

The very chill, maybe even drunken guitar lines counterpoised with a lovely horn or synth sound on Astral Gray's escapist "See You On the Other Side" pulls you in to it's counter culture world instantly, at least it did me. Brighton based singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer Graham Anthony Nunn (Tokyo Tea Room) started Astral Gray as a bedroom-based solo project during the pandemic but it bloomed into something more. The track besides having a bohemian folk feeling and Nunn's emotive sense of melancholia has bright edges throughout. The minimal tones hinged on the beat, an exquisitely magnetic bass line supporting the psyche guitar lines and the sort of 70's folk pop chorus is sublime.

"See You On the Other Side" in part eludes navigating through the Pandemic's horrible wake, on life somehow becoming more normal but I take it in a broader sense as the hope needed to get through anything. The song is in many ways a hug, love pouring on frayed nerves. Nunn offers: "Some artists are saying they don't want to make a lockdown record but I think it's a bit ignorant to ignore those feelings the majority of the world were experiencing in tandem and it's massively inspired the way I'm making music now. We must address elephants when they are in the room!".

The track is from the upcoming debut Astral Gray album "Lah Dee Dah" due to drop this summer (2021) and if "See You On the Other Side" is any indication of the album's emotional and musical breath, I look forward to stepping into the psychedelic (and more) imaginings.

-Robb Donker Curtius

Astral Gray · See You On the Other Side

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What started as the bedroom-based endeavor of Brighton musician Graham Anthony Nunn, Astral Gray has swiftly become a fully-fledged project in its own right. Through Making Bedroom/indie rock/pop promoting mysticism and an uplifting sound after the struggle we've all had through 2020.

'Lah Dee Dah' the forthcoming album later this summer contains enough hook-power to give Abba a run for their money. With harmonies quivering over stripped back acoustic guitar, bass and drums, emotion oozes from the pores. There are moments when 'La Dee Dah' feels like a forgotten treasure trove of seventies psychedelia, but for the most part Nunn plays a crazed alchemist; taking cues from the past and melding it in his own original image. Composed last summer during lockdown, the album reflects themes of isolation and longing yet a pervasive optimism and faith for the future.

Astral Gray, "See You On the Other Side", indie rock, psyche rock, lo-fi, singer-songwriter, solo endeavor, multi-instrumentalist, producer, Brighton, UK, debut solo album, "Lah Dee Dah"