It feels strange to be writing about a celebration right now with everything going on in the world. Today marks the eve of our 10th anniversary. Normally at this stage we’d be going through our final event checklist, doing our run through with the venue, finalising guest lists and prepping our day-off posts for socials. Unfortunately we won’t be doing that tonight. Perspective can be life-altering and often arrives when you least expect it. With all the sadness that’s engulfing parts of the world it reminds us that even though we didn’t get to do the event we had been dreaming of for years to celebrate this milestone, it’s provided us with, you guessed it, perspective.

We don’t have events, many are displaced without a home. We can’t see our loved ones for a few months, others have lost their loved ones to war. We can’t exercise our right to freedom, others have never had the option. That’s not to say our feelings aren’t justified, our emotions are all very valid being in a situation that goes against what we have come to deem as normality. This is an important time for reflection. With that being said, our lifespan as a company isn’t defined in one event. What we’ve come to learn is that our decade in this industry is defined through the countless memories all of you have shared with us. Those that listened to one of our records, came to a show, danced the night away with us, discovered your new favourite artist or even met your future partner on one of our dance floors.

These memories are what we’ll celebrate this week as we close in on 10 years of Astral. These memories are a blessing and in some way have shaped all of us into who we are today. As for us, we’ll be celebrating the fact we’ve been able to do what we cherish for a decade and that’s a privilege we don’t take lightly. In this time please take a breath, think back to all the experiences you’ve shared with loved ones and to appreciate what you truly hold dear. The world right now feels bleak but there’ll be light at the end of the tunnel if we all look inward and work towards making this world that bit brighter in whatever shape or form we can, filled once again with hope and joy. We’ll be back, as will you.