‘I thought there was an astral plane’, sings Sacha Serend at the beginning of his new track ‘Astral Peach’. Well, if there is, I'm fairly sure this is what the journey up there sounds like.
I had the pleasure of mixing and mastering this one earlier in the year, and I must say I've absolutely fallen in love with it. It's a wonderfully soothing piece of music, with an arrangement so relaxed and gentle that you can almost feel the tension leaving your body as you listen. Within a few bars, your shoulders have dropped, your breathing has slowed, and whatever was bothering you five minutes ago suddenly doesn't seem quite so important.
But there’s more to it than just this tranquillity, Sacha is an exceptionally gifted songwriter, and underneath that wonderfully laid-back atmosphere there's some seriously impressive musicianship going on.
The harmonic progressions in particular are absolutely gorgeous. There's a strong jazz influence running through the songwriting, with some beautifully voiced piano chords and changes that take you in unexpected directions without ever disturbing the song's gentle flow. I'm always a sucker for an interesting chord progression, and this track is full of them. There's a richness and sophistication to the harmony that makes it a joy to listen to, and I found myself discovering little details I'd missed every time I went back to it.
And then there's Sacha's vocal. It's such a delicate, tender performance, with an intimacy that perfectly complements the arrangement. His voice seems to guide you through all those wonderful harmonic changes, never demanding your attention but somehow holding it completely. There's something very personal about the way he sings, almost as though he's sharing a quiet thought with you rather than performing a song, and it works beautifully.
What I particularly love about ‘Astral Peach’ is how effortlessly everything seems to come together. There's a great deal of thought and musical intelligence behind this arrangement, but you'd never know it from how easy it all feels. Nothing is rushed, nothing is fighting for attention, and every little musical detail seems perfectly content to sit exactly where it belongs.
Sacha has decided to keep this release to Bandcamp and share it through Bluesky rather than distributing it across all the usual streaming platforms. So if you go looking for it on Spotify, you might be disappointed, but fortunately it's only a click away on Bandcamp.
And I really do encourage you to seek this one out. It's a terrific piece of songwriting, and one of those tracks that reminds me just how much music can affect the way we feel.
My recommendation? Find yourself somewhere comfortable, put on a decent pair of headphones, close your eyes and let ‘Astral Peach’ do its thing. And don't be surprised if you end up reaching for the repeat button.
