Known for his tender songwriting and warm indie arrangements, Daniel Astles, known just by Astles on stage, has garnered attention from the press, BBC Radio 6 Music and even Paul McCartney. This year has seen the artist sign a publishing deal with Starwood Management and Sentric as well as be awarded PRS Momentum Funding. With all this backing, Astles looks ahead to his debut album, set for release in 2024 and made in collaboration with engineer/producer Sophie Ellis.
The latest from the Liverpool artist is the new single ‘When Life Catches You By Surprise’. In the track, Astles once again offers up his lauded compositional skills, steadily expanding the instrumentation from simple rhythm section grooves to a glowing mix of piano melodies, lush strings and shiny electric guitar chords. Vocally, Astles floats through the music with nostalgia, alluding in his lyrics to gratitude for the simpler moments in life, making time for the little things that you enjoy the most.
Astles shares, “When Life is a song about falling in love with someone all over again. Life is always throwing unexpected things our way, some awful, some beautiful. This song was written in direct response to a moment of overwhelming bliss. It felt like I’d had my eyes closed for months, stuck in a dark room with the curtains closed, a permanent frown painted on my face. But all of a sudden I opened them up, the sun was shining and me and the person I love couldn’t wipe the smile off our faces.
Suddenly all simple things that had seemed pointless and mundane, burst with technicolour and I had a spring in my step. Drawing pretty pictures, throwing paper aeroplanes, dancing like no one is watching – all that cliche stuff. Life will catch you by surprise if you’re around to see it.
Me and Sophie Ellis, who produced the song, really pushed ourselves to go for our ideas and create something we hadn’t before. Musically it’s influenced by Pavement, Macy Grey and Old Hollywood string parts. It doesn’t hold back and goes for it in all regards.”
‘When Life Catches You By Surprise’ is out now, check it out below:
