"The song carries the calming energy of meditation and prayer. The vocals inch slowly through the song; patient and measured, levitating."
Leela Iyer for Sinusoidal Music (Aug 2022)
"...A timeless ethereal atmosphere channeling a bond between human emotion and the natural world that feels somehow ancient. It is at once delicate and powerful, existing in a barely-there hush before Pascal Colman’s guitar comes winding out of the shadows with ominous strength."
John Doyle for Various Small Flames (Aug 2022)
"Retaining the whimsical ambience of ‘Be My Friend’, ‘There, There, Here Is Here’ sends you twirling about in a sonic forest. Recorded in a church in the heart of the countryside, Colman and Astra Forward amplify the vulnerability of the minimalist soundscape."
Nicole Mendes for The Other Side (Aug 2022)
"‘There, There, Here Is Here’ is a remarkably soft, subtle, and yet deeply moving piece of indie folk music. Astra Forward’s bewitching vocal performance sounds like a lullaby amidst a deep and almost unrepentant darkness...The entire song feels like its real, like its being performed and its environment is tangibly noticeable all around you."
Kartik Sundar for Find No Enemy (Aug 2022)
"Watching Astrid Forward [at Iklectik, London] felt like seeing an old friend who you haven’t seen in a long time, and realising that they‘ve changed completely. And you can’t help but falling in love with them all over.“
Mark Nelson (Pan American)
Written during a difficult time, ‘There There, Here is Here’ is a love song to the unknown and an antidote to loneliness. It is a lullaby for the dark night of the soul and chronicler of the first glimmer of light seen at the end of the tunnel.
Astra Forward writes “It feels like this song was written for me, not by me…because when my world collapsed There There, Here is Here was what I needed to hear. My hope is that it can be your medicine too.”
This is a collaboration with artist & musician Pascal Colman with his guitar serving as a comforting presence, emerging from the unknown and enveloping the listener. Recorded live in a church in the heart of the countryside, this recording seeks to amplify the sense of magnitude and intimacy inherent to the song.
Astra Forward featured on Square One Magazine's 'Release Radar' playlist here:
open.spotify.com/playlist/09rgetBPmnvDv1cHIaEHbt?si=c8119e7fe8fd462d
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Astra Forward is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who writes dreamy and intimate songs about the enchantment of nature and the power of human connection.
She has performed extensively throughout Europe and the UK as a solo artist and as keyboardist and singer with Diagrams 7-piece band, The Robot Heart and Welfare supporting St. Vincent, Gomez, Athlete, Ben Ottewell and Steve Mason to name a few. She is also ¼ of the music and movement ensemble Pinna.
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Pascal is an artist, writer and musician who operates primarily in the contemporary / experimental world. He has released two well received LPs and has performed as an improviser with a number of different projects ( one of which being Pinna ). He is also a songwriter and produces electronic music under the pseudonym Fey.
Outside of his music practice( s ) he writes experimental fiction and has exhibited his artworks across the UK.