INTERVIEW: New single from Astral Rocks

From Yorkshire to Basel, Astral Rocks is the sound of determination in song form. The project is the artistic endeavour of British-Swiss artist Milli Schweizer, a singer-songwriter and author whose music channels pain into poetry and survival into sound. Now based in Switzerland, Milli has built Astral Rocks as a vessel for transformation, a place where heartbreak, trauma and protest dissolve into something that feels at once profoundly personal and widely relatable.

Astral Rocks is all about honesty, with real life experience rippling throughout every facet of the project’s musical output. Folding in modern rock’s emotional intensity and pop’s melodic accessibility, Milli crafts songs that take shape in the overlap between poignant context and invigorating defiance. Her sound is equally cinematic and thoughtful, a mix of storytelling and protest, able to look at life’s darker moments and hold them up to the light until something meaningful emerges.

Living in Switzerland, she’s written from the edges of experience, the heartbreak, near-death encounters and the long shadows of systemic injustice have all found their way into her music. Songs such as “Still Here” burn with determination, a rallying cry against despair, while “In the Dark,” inspired by a near-fatal car crash, captures the haunting quiet that follows catastrophe. Her single “A Father’s Cry” offered a moment of stillness and reflection, a stripped-back piece that laid bare her emotional writing.

Now, Astral Rocks steps into a new chapter with her brand new single titled “Shooting Star,” a song that captures both the fragility and fire of chasing dreams. Forged in late-night writing sessions and empty rehearsal halls, it recounts the tale of an artist who refuses to give up, who keeps rising despite the bruises and setbacks. It’s a song that feels like a letter to anyone who’s ever stood on the edge of giving up and decided to keep going anyway and in the process, it delvers a rousing soundtrack that’s memorable and motivational in equal measure.

“Shooting Star” balances cinematic rock grandeur with lyrical intimacy, the arrangement builds around sweeping melodies and an empowering chorus that swells with gripping energy. It’s a song that feels alive with movement, carrying the emotional charge of perseverance and the quiet pride that comes from surviving another day in pursuit of something meaningful. Led by Milli’s commanding vocal performance and stacked with layers of immersive instrumentation, it’s a spectacular rock anthem that’s moving, catchy and highly affecting all at once.

The track has already made waves across international radio, lighting up playlists from Europe to North America and Australia, a sign of just how far Astral Rocks’ message of hope and endurance strikes a chord. Looking ahead, Milli is expanding Astral Rocks into new creative spheres, collaborating with leading musicians in Portugal and preparing for a series of open-air concerts. As her sound continues to develop her incredible musical offering, she’s set to tell more stories that matter and to turn the weight of lived experience into something that connects with listeners around the world.

We caught up with Astral Rocks to find out more about her musical journey so far, her inspirations and her new single “Shooting Star.” Check out our interview with Astral Rocks below.

Shooting Star tells the story of an aspiring artist chasing a dream. What first sparked the idea for this song?

I did not start with a plan. I started with a restless ache and a need to show the real price of making music.
For two years, I wrote into silence and sang to empty rooms, hoping someone would listen. Rejection piled up and pressed on my chest. When I finally stepped on stage, I often felt invisible. People talked over me, drowned me out, or asked me to turn it down.
That loneliness hurt, but it lit a stubborn fire. I wrote Shooting Star so people could feel the exhaustion and the hope, the heartbreak and the grit inside every note. It came from the place where you chase the dream even when your voice shakes.

The track feels deeply personal, yet very relatable. How much of Shooting Star comes directly from your own journey?

Most of it. I shaped some details into a metaphor, but I pulled the emotion straight from lived experience.
I spent years caught between survival and creativity. That tug of War sits at the centre of the song. The honesty makes it relatable because people recognise themselves in it.

You talk about the highs and lows of pursuing passion. Was there a particular moment in your life that crystallised that feeling for you?

I realised that survival and creativity had been competing inside me for years. I learned to defend myself, but I paid an early price for silencing my own voice.
My new book, out this year, explores the shadows of my childhood. I grew up knowing dreams can slip away if you do not protect them. That hunger to be heard became the heartbeat of Shooting Star. Once I saw how costly it feels to wait too long to honour your creativity, I decided I would not let my voice fade again.

The imagery in the song is very vivid. While you were writing, were you picturing specific scenes or emotions?

Yes. I saw night skies, long roads, and the feeling of being far from home.
I pictured empty venues, backstage silence, and the weight of travelling. I also pictured sudden bursts of warmth on stage, those moments when the crowd feels like a spark in the dark. Those images kept me honest and stopped me from over-explaining the feeling.

Shooting Star is both poignant and uplifting. How important was it for you that the song carried hope as well as struggle?

It was essential. I do not write despair for its own sake.
Hope does not promise tidy endings. Hope means choosing to keep going. I wanted the song to tell the truth about setbacks, but also about the light that breaks through, even if only as a flicker. Without hope, struggle loses its meaning.

As Astral Rocks, you blend cinematic rock, folk textures, and emotional alternative rock pop. How did you decide on the sonic world for this track?

I wanted it to feel expansive and intimate at once. Cinematic rock gives emotion space to rise, and folk textures keep it grounded and human.
I also wanted collaboration. I involve as many musicians as possible because shared expression turns a personal story into something communal. I write for everyday people, not only virtuosos, so anyone who has felt overlooked can step into the song and feel they belong.

Your vocals carry a strong sense of courage and vulnerability. How do you prepare yourself emotionally before recording a song like this?

I simplify everything. I walk into the studio with the song’s purpose front and centre.
I stop trying to impress and focus on the truth. Sometimes I sit with the lyrics in silence, sometimes I return to one specific memory. When I stop protecting myself from the feeling, vulnerability arrives on its own, and the voice follows.

You describe your music as a lifeline for the spirit. What do you hope listeners feel when they hear Shooting Star for the first time?

I want them to feel less alone.
I want it to land like a gentle hand on the shoulder, not a lecture, not instructions, but companionship. If it helps even one person take one more step, it has done what I wrote it to do. I want listeners to feel seen and to remember their story is not over.

The song celebrates perseverance and creative resilience. What does resilience mean to you personally?

Resilience is not about being unbreakable. It is about moving forward while you feel tired, frightened, or unsure.
Sometimes it looks quiet, only to show up again when no one is watching. It means repairing after a fall, resting when you need to, and asking for help when the load gets too heavy. It means refusing to let pain become the whole story.

Your background spans Yorkshire, London, Switzerland, and a deep Austrian musical heritage. How do those different places and histories show up in your songwriting?

Each place left a mark. Yorkshire gave me grit. London gave me urgency. Switzerland gave me space to reflect. Austria gave me melody and tradition.
My father is Hungarian, and that connection gave me a sense of longing and resilience, along with a pull towards Eastern European folk storytelling. All of it blends into music that feels rooted, but always searching.

You spent many years working outside the music industry before fully embracing songwriting. How did that life experience shape the stories you now tell through music?

It gave me real stakes. I learned about pressure, endurance, and what it means to keep going.
Hardship, illness, accidents, and extended hospital stays taught me vulnerability and patience, the kind you do not learn any other way. Now I do not invent struggle on the page. I remember it, shape it, and turn it into something that might help someone else feel recognised.

There is a strong storytelling thread running through all your work. Do you see yourself first as a storyteller or as a musician?

I am a storyteller first. Music is the language I use.
If the story is not true, the song will not last, and it will not move anyone, including me. Stories were my refuge long before I wrote lyrics. Songwriting lets me share them in a way that reaches the body and the mind.

Songs like In The Dark, Why War, and Bring Back Hope tackle heavy themes. How do you decide when a story is better told through music rather than words alone?

I choose music when the emotion overflows language.
When a story brings tears to my eyes the moment I touch it, I know prose will not hold them on its own. Melody, rhythm, and silence can carry pain and hope at the same time, and that balance matters to me.

Your lyrics often confront pain while still reaching for the light. Is that balance something you consciously work toward?

Yes, and I live it too.
After my accident and operations, I learned that hope does not deny pain. Hope sits beside it, still making room for healing. When I write or sing, pain loosens its grip. Music gives me somewhere brighter to stand, even for a moment, and that is the truth I try to capture.

Does your experience as an author influence how you structure your songs and lyrics?

Completely. I think in arcs, beginning, middle, end, even inside a short song.
I care about pacing, tension, and release. Writing also taught me to plant images early and pay them off later. I want each track to feel like a journey, not a collection of lines.

With sweeping arrangements and powerful choruses, your songs feel almost cinematic. How important is scale and drama to your artistic expression?

Scale gives emotion space to breathe.
I do not use drama as decoration. I use it to tell the truth at full volume. Some feelings need a vast landscape, a chorus that lifts, a swell that breaks open, so the listener can feel what I felt, not only understand it.

Shooting Star invites listeners to join you on your journey. What would you like people to understand about you after hearing this song?

I want them to know I have fought for every step, and the struggle behind the music is real.
I also want them to take this with them: persistence outweighs perfection. Dreaming is brave. Holding on to hope takes courage. If the song helps someone keep going, then it has done its work.

Looking ahead to projects like Gotthard: Heartbeat of the Mountains, how do you see your sound continuing to evolve?

I feel my sound deepening and gaining strength, with a new level of confidence behind it. It is becoming bolder and more expressive, as it has finally learned to breathe at full volume. Gotthard: Heartbeat of the Mountains pushed open the door to new textures and a wider emotional range, and I can feel that evolution speeding up.
Right now, Astral Rocks is recording the first two tracks of our debut album at Studio P’ra Música in Alverca do Ribatejo. I am working side by side with João Sanguinheira, long-time musical director and arranger for Tony Carreira. He is producing the album, acting as musical director, and playing bass.
Over Christmas and New Year, he brought together an extraordinary group of musicians: Rui Barreto, Pedro Joaninho, Paulo Rebordão, and Virgílio Marujo. They recorded the basic tracks, and the room changed. It stopped feeling like a session and started feeling like a shared heartbeat, raw, human, alive.
That experience reshaped my vision. I am not only expanding my sound but also letting it evolve through genuine collaboration. I am blending my roots with new influences, and I feel like we have only started.

Finally, what would you want Shooting Star to say to someone who is struggling to believe in their dream?

Doubt is normal. Exhaustion is normal. You do not need to feel fearless every day, nor do you need to feel strong all the time.
If your dream still flickers, even faintly, protect it. Nurture it. Carry it forward. You do not need to shine constantly. Sometimes taking one more step, or refusing to give up, is enough.

Listen to Shooting Star below