Italian-born, London-based classically trained pianist and vocalist Sara De Sanctis releases her fourth single ‘Astray’, presented with an uptempo remix by David Marston. 

Produced by Jacob Bright and mastered by Shawn Joseph (New Order, PJ Harvey, Portishead), ‘Astray’ is a downtempo, borderline trip hop gem exploring themes of love and loss with a refreshing vulnerability. “‘Astray’ was written together with ‘Have I been Dreaming’ and ‘Fading’ and they talk about the feeling of obsession, loss and disorientation” says Sara.

Previously releasing on Soul Clap Records and Wolf + Lamb as well as his own Kindness Of Bearer imprint, David Marston has built an enviable reputation thanks to his strong sense of musicality and crisp, lean productions. His rework of ‘Astray’ is heavily influenced by golden era 2-step and garage, with chopped vocals, bouncy drums and rumbling sub bass. 

Sara started playing the piano at five years old and became passionate about songwriting and composition during her teenage years. Her interest in composition led her to the UK and the USA, where she also studied film scoring and conducting after influences such as Hans Zimmer and Ennio Morricone. In 2021, she decided to pursue a career in songwriting and released her debut single ‘Serendipity’, followed by ‘15 Again’, both featuring on BBC Radio with the latter also winning the Press Prize at Italian national music competition ‘Il Cantagiro’. Her third release, ‘Fading’, was remixed by UK House music hero Richard Earnshaw and was featured on radio stations all around the world, including KCRW in the US and Mi Soul in the UK. “Even though I chose another path, classical music helped me develop musical thinking and composition methods that I can now use in my own works. In ‘Astray’, the sense of sweet and sadistic surrender to a relentless and deteriorating love is conveyed through the use of ‘laid back’ vocals” says Sara.

Stream ‘Astray’ HERE

Press release courtesy of Only Good Stuff