Spotlight: With Light of Sound, Astaria’s “Hear Her” Shows Us the Healing Power of Music and Spirituality
VOICE MIDWIFE, SOUND ALCHEMIST, CREATIVITY CATALYST — Costa Rica-based spiritualist Astaria turned her childhood trauma and an auto-immune disease diagnosis into art, committed to helping others pursue a life of tranquility and harmony — literally.
Prior to dropping her latest single, “Hear Her,” the artist released her full-length, debut album, Aurora, in 2019, wishing to create the perfect soundtrack to the meditation and mentorship sessions she offers alongside her music. You can find out about the many projects she’s currently working on on her website, Light of Sound.
A former fashion designer, Astaria has lived an intense life for her young age: at four years old, she was already playing the piano; between then and the age of six, she endured sexual abuse from a family friend; at 12, she started sewing her own clothes, an activity which later translated into an academic degree.
Astaria founded Light of Sound Temple in 2014 after the artist gave up her career as a fashion designer to pursue her calling for spirituality and nature. She called it “taking a leap of faith into the Great Mystery.”
Shortly after quitting her job, Astaria was diagnosed with Hashimoto's, an autoimmune disease affecting the thyroid gland that can be life-threatening if not treated with medication. At about the same time, Astaria started expressing her inner world through her musical training.
But what’s the connection between the development of a thyroid condition and her decision to start a music career? Simple: her voice.
Astaria shared on her website that, due to the trauma she experienced as a child, she didn’t feel safe in her own body. This sense of uneasiness also manifested itself in the fear of speaking, which she explains as having her throat chakra expression center blocked for most of her life. Then she was diagnosed with a condition of the thyroid, which happens to be located right over the throat chakra. That couldn’t be a coincidence.
Astaria immediately realized one thing: that she had to start using her voice.
Understanding what her calling was, the artist shared her new healing findings with others through Light of Sound, offering various workshops and group sessions.
“Mother Nature is my first and forever love,” Astaria wrote on her website. And this deep connection with nature is inevitably reflected in her music.
It’s no coincidence then that her latest single, “Hear Her,” a love letter to Mother Nature, dropped right on this year’s Valentine’s Day. The track, released by Möonbabe Records, is an invitation to listen and be inspired by nature, just as She inspired Astaria to survive the most difficult times in her life.
“Wake up,” the artist whispers in the intro to the track, words that will be repeated with more emotional strength at the end.
A homogeneous blend of gentle sounds and beautiful melodies, Astaria knows how to alternate her soft singing with more powerful vocals, and it’s this combination that hooks the listener from the first verse. The tempo beats — an R&B influence — contribute to giving the track a structure, juxtaposed by Astaria’s unpredictable and much more freestyle singing.
“Hear Her” also has some ambient and lo-fi influences, which creates a relaxing listening experience that is not necessarily too difficult to engage with, similar to Astaria’s debut, Aurora.
Contrary to the tracks featured on the piano-driven album, however, Astaria now seems to be going for a more mainstream approach to her music, this time adding dynamism to her own vocals and beats.
Another interesting detail is represented by the almost inaudible whispers we hear at the end, which sound like they might be in another language. Given the artist’s extensive travel experience, it’s not a surprise that she might have wanted to hint at that part of her life in such a mysterious way.
“Hear Her” seems to be the beginning of a new journey Astaria is embarking on — and she is taking us with her.
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