There is a definite theme of change and reinvention to Astrid Williamson’s life since her 2011 album Pulse broke fresh new ground for the singer-songwriter. Following an extended period as a studio collaborator and touring musician with Dead Can Dance, she returns with a brand new album of her own. We Go To Dream, released on 29th July 2015, explores Astrid’s need to keep pushing the boundaries of her work.

Principally, the album follows three threads. First, what Astrid calls “the addiction of love,” often in its unrequited form, of which ‘Scattered’ is her most heart-aching song ever, here in its original demo form as no subsequent recording could match the vocals’ intensity. ‘My Beautiful Muse’, by comparison, is more about a love affair that petered out, “There is a poignant, gentle sense of loss in that track,” she feels. 

The title track wonders “if humanity can ever dream up a better future than rampant capitalism and materialism.” While lead single, ‘Hide In Your Heart’ posits an escape into love in the face of humanity’s problems – such as those on ‘Loaded Like A Gun’, “a protest song, anti-war and pro-feminist,” she says. “The divinity we find in humanity gets completely trashed by ideologies. It offends me that we’re backtracking on the rights that women fought for a hundred years ago.” 

The third theme is “the spiritual element inside…trying to find that divine spark in ourselves, because we can’t be fulfilled outwardly.” The results – from beautiful widescreen vistas (‘We Go To Dream’, ‘Hide In Your Heart’ and ‘Ambienza’) to hook-lined dance (‘Loaded Like A Gun’, ‘Say Goodbye’, ‘Home’) and exquisitely bruised ballads (‘Scattered’, ‘Vermillion’, ‘Captured’, ‘Saint Saviour’) – are typically hard to pigeonhole.

“I love diversity,” says Astrid. “So that’s the kind of music I do. I still like pop music, those big in-your-face choruses….You have to make the album that you want to.”

Tracklist:
1. We Go To Dream
2. Loaded Like A Gun
3. Hide In Your Heart
4. Vermillion
5. Ambienza
6. Scattered
7. Say Goodbye
8. Captured
9. Home
10. My Beautiful Muse
11. Saint Saviour