A Chat with Astor (21.05.26)
‘Lift Him Up’ by Astor is like electronic music finding its rhythm again. The end result is an alt-pop song that is both incredibly human and well-engineered. Below, we discuss everything related to music with Astor.
OSR: Your music sits between electronic pop and experimental sound design. What first drew you to working at that intersection rather than staying in a more traditional songwriting space?
Astor: Breaking with genres is an inherent part of my artistic DNA. I’m continuously curious, driven by the tension of melting genres together and pushing sound design into new forms of expression. The intersection provides an opportunity for growth — musically and emotionally.
OSR: ‘Lift Him Up’ feels deeply personal but also highly structured sonically. How do you balance emotional spontaneity with your more academic, conservatory-level approach to sound?
Astor: I find that a strong conceptual approach to a creative process can actually create more fertile ground for spontaneity. When I feel blocked or stuck, it’s usually because my sonic and compositional idea isn’t clear enough yet.
OSR: You’ve described your work as existing between control and surrender. Where do you feel you leaned most on this single?
Astor: All my songs explore the duality of love and fear, light and darkness. My first single ‘Falling’ leaned more towards control, being trapped in fear. ‘Lift Him Up’ is a definite step towards surrender, being lifted towards the light.
OSR: The industrial textures in your production are quite striking. What role does ‘harshness’ or sonic friction play in communicating emotion for you?
Astor: The industrial textures in my music work on two levels. They represent the inner demons you’re fighting, but also the power you have to overcome them and push through.
OSR: How did your studies in sound art and electronic composition directly shape the way ‘Lift Him Up’ was built?
Astor: It keeps expanding my sonic scope and approach to creative processes, particularly through studying artists with a deeply experimental relationship to music composition.
OSR: There’s a strong cinematic quality to your music. Do you think in terms of visuals or narrative scenes when composing?
Astor: I think very much in scenes. The music should be able to express what I’m saying lyrically, entirely on its own. I like to think of it as stepping into a film and moving through different scenes — how they feel, how they sound, their colours, their mood.
OSR: The repetition of ‘Lift Him Up’ functions almost like a mantra. Was that intentional from the beginning, or did it emerge during writing?
Astor: It emerged from the writing process. The words felt urgent, like someone on their knees, praying for something greater to give them the strength to reach upwards. Angels in the sky, chanting “Lift Him Up”.
OSR: You explore identity and emotional inheritance in your lyrics. Do you approach songwriting more as storytelling or self-examination?
Astor: My music is always a form of self-examination turned into a universal theme. For me — both as a listener and a composer — music provides a safe space to process and express complex feelings.
OSR: How does performing this kind of emotionally intense material change its meaning for you over time?
Astor: The more I perform a song, the more it moves from something personal to something universal — something others can genuinely connect to.
OSR: Where does ‘Lift Him Up’ sit in the broader world you’re building toward your debut album Surrender?
Astor: My album is a story of self-transformation and liberation. ‘Lift Him Up’ represents a point of no return.
Many thanks to Astor for speaking with us. Find out more about Astor on his Instagram and Spotify.
