Stepping out from behind the shadows of the big names she has worked with, Astræa is gearing up to release her next single, the stunningly glacial ‘Tonight I Run’. You’ll already know (and love) her voice from her version of ‘You’re Not Alone’ from the Lloyds Bank ad and from her original song Waiting which soundtracked a key moment for Tommy & Molly-Mae on Love Island. It’s funny, really, when the worlds of advertising and reality shows are probably about as far as you can get from the thoughtful, introspective work of Astræa, someone with a classical background whose studies in music and psychology led her to practicing music therapy with people with schizophrenia and children with learning difficulties.

‘Tonight I Run’ is an assured, measured leap of self love, disguised as a heartfelt electronic ballad. “I want ‘Tonight I Run’ to be a source of motivation & inspiration for anyone feeling beaten down by the world or themselves,” says Astræa. The song begins with pianos blended into synth sounds, creating an atmospheric mood before Astræa’s vocals take over, ever impressive but just one piece of a perfect puzzle, all elements of the composition fitting together effortlessly. The vocal line is sweeping and climbs in anticipation of the chorus, which, when it arrives, sounds like Astræa is flying.

‘Tonight I Run’ is the culmination of years of hard work and sees Astræa, for the first time, taking the time out to tell her own story. In telling the tale of her struggles with self-doubt and the obstacles she faces in the music industry, Astræa has crafted a near-perfect slice of electro-pop which is both understated and exquisite - and brutally honest in its reflection of her own journey towards inner strength, with Astræa emerging triumphant over adversity. She hopes for this song to provide motivation and hope for listeners, that finding the resilience to overcome setbacks is possible.

In her own words; “sometimes these obstacles can be ourselves - fear of failure, fear of uncertainty, fear of what other people think. Sometimes it can be other people & ingrained bias that we have to fight. For me, this is personal. Being a producer who is female in a world where only 6% of music producers in the UK are women means coming up against challenges. It sometimes can mean working three times as hard to be taken as seriously as my male counterparts.”

The name Astræa comes from that idea of catharsis, which is present lyrically and musically in this debut single and the rest of the EP as a whole. “It symbolises the idea of there being light within the darkness,” she says. “It means starry night in ancient Greek. Astræa is also the goddess of justice and as social justice and equality is something that’s always been a focus of mine, the name really resonated with me.”

Aside from mythological deities, Astræa has drawn comparisons to, and been inspired by, the greats who came before her - the classical training of Tori Amos, the imagination and independence of Kate Bush, and… Taylor Swift?

“I was inspired to write songs by Taylor Swift,” she says, surprisingly. “She wasn’t that much older than me and I thought, if she can do it so can I. That’s when I started taking it seriously.” But it was when she was 14 and inspired by piano & film composers like Ludovico Einaudi and Hans Zimmer that she felt like she was writing music as a form of catharsis. ‘I’ve always suffered with anxiety and have found it a means of dealing with that and life in general,’ she says.

Passionate about gender equality and determined to speak frankly about the mental health issues which so many of us face, Astræa is a welcome new voice in the world of pop. With her debut EP coming in September, songs such as the heartfelt ‘Carry On’ and ‘My Own Worst Enemy’ will no doubt help other young women to feel understood and encourage them to get to her position. “The reason I create music is so it’s there for people in difficult moments, to make them feel less alone,” she says. “That’s my motivation.”