Hello everyone it’s your host Daniel from Dulaxi, and today I have with me the exceptional rock collective, Astral Rocks from Aargau, Switzerland. And Astral Rocks is here to discuss their recent sovereign single “The Flame in Me”, which was released on April 22nd, 2026. So, welcome, Astral Rocks! But before we begin our interview, to our audience; here is what you need to know about this artist.
Astral Rocks is a cinematic rock project founded by British-Swiss songwriter and composer Milli Schweizer alongside Portuguese producer and artistic director Paulo Rebordão, originating from Switzerland, Aargau. The project evolved from deeply personal songwriting that began in 2023, when Milli started composing original material influenced by artists such as Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, and Queen while working initially with DYHARD Productions. These early works were rooted in emotional reflection, with each song capturing specific moments, memories, and lived experiences, forming a cathartic foundation for what would later become a larger artistic vision. A pivotal turning point came in August 2025 when Milli met Paulo Rebordão, a collaboration that expanded Astral Rocks into a full-scale musical collective by bringing in additional musicians and vocalists through his network. From this development emerged a unified creative identity defined by honesty, resilience, and a belief in music as a healing and connective force. The project is led vocally by Gisela Lopes and Paulo Ramos, whose contrasting vocal strengths contribute to its atmospheric, emotionally driven sound, blending cinematic rock, immersive soundscapes, and narrative depth that spans both Switzerland and Portugal. Milli’s personal background deeply informs the project’s emotional core, drawing from her British upbringing in Yorkshire, years spent in London, and a musical heritage linked to Austria’s Gürktal Brass Band Isopp, alongside her healing journey in Switzerland and transformative experiences, including a life-changing car accident that reshaped her approach to songwriting. Despite physical limitations preventing long stage performances, she founded Astral Rocks as a full band in 2026, ensuring the music could be fully realized through collective performance while she continues as the principal composer. The project gained international recognition through more than 6,000 radio plays across 43 countries and support from over 200 stations, setting the stage for its next phase marked by the release of “The Flame in Me” on 22 April 2026. The single represents the band’s evolution into a full live unit following its official expansion in December 2025, while maintaining its original artistic vision. Driven by powerful live guitars and anthemic energy, the track focuses on resilience, inner strength, and emotional perseverance, carried by lyrics that emphasize refusing to give up and holding onto inner fire. As Astral Rocks enters this new era, “The Flame in Me” stands as both a statement of transformation and a continuation of its core identity, reinforcing its growing global presence and commitment to emotionally resonant, cinematic rock storytelling.
Having this brief Introduction about Astral Rocks, I’m sure new and current fans must be excited about our Interview today.
INTERVIEW SESSION
Daniel: The collaboration between Switzerland and Portugal plays a key role in your music. How does this cross-cultural dynamic influence your creative direction?
Astral Rocks: This isn’t just collaboration, it’s chemistry.
When you put world-class musicians together, something unpredictable happens. Each artist brings more than technique; they bring instinct, emotion, and personal history into every note.
With our lead singers, we don’t simply hand them a melody and walk away. We bring them into the story. They don’t just perform Astral Rocks. They become part of it.
Daniel: “The Flame in Me” carries a strong message of resilience. What inspired the core theme behind this track?
Astral Rocks: The core of The Flame in Me came from that inner spark that refuses to go out, even when life has pushed you to the floor.
This song is for people who have been shattered, exhausted, or stripped down, yet still find a reason to take one more breath. It is not about pretending everything is fine. It is about that stubborn voice inside you that says, “Not today. I’m still here.”
Daniel: Lines like “I won’t back down” and “There’s a flame that burns in me” stand out. What do these lyrics personally represent to you?
Astral Rocks: Those lyrics represent my refusal to be erased.
“I won’t back down” is not arrogance. It is dignity. It is what you say when life has tried to silence you, diminish you, or convince you that you are finished.
The flame is the part of me that still believes, still creates, and still stands after everything.
Daniel: How does the song reflect the transition from Astral Rocks as a solo project into a full-band experience?
Astral Rocks: It is the difference between carrying everything alone and finally letting the music breathe.
For a long time, I was doing everything myself. Now there are real musicians, real instruments, and real human emotion behind the songs. That changes everything: the touch, the imperfections, the instinct, the pulse.
A machine can execute a part, but it cannot feel it. Those human details are priceless.
Daniel: The track feels anthemic and empowering. What emotions or reactions do you hope listeners take away from it?
Astral Rocks: I want listeners to feel stronger after hearing it.
I want them to feel that being broken does not mean being finished. That exhaustion is not the same as defeat. That you can be terrified and still keep moving.
If someone hears this song in a dark moment and thinks, “I’m still here,” then the song has done what it was meant to do.
Daniel: In what ways does “The Flame in Me” stay true to your original songwriting vision while introducing a new sonic intensity?
Astral Rocks: The emotional DNA is still mine: the honesty, the intensity, and the refusal to soften the message.
What has changed is the scale. The full band has taken the original vision and given it more force, more colour, and more impact. They have not changed the soul of the song. They have made it bigger.
Daniel: Can you walk us through how the collaboration between musicians and vocalists like Gisela Lopes shaped the final sound of this track?
Astral Rocks: It forced me to let go.
Hearing someone else sing my songs was emotional. Gisela and Paulo do not sound like me, and that was difficult at first. They bring their own voices, their own emotions, and their own histories.
But letting go does not mean losing the song. It means allowing it to grow. Now, when I hear them sing, I hear the music breathing in ways I never imagined.
Daniel: How did the songwriting and composition process differ for this release compared to your earlier works?
Astral Rocks: This time, I stopped carrying the whole world on my shoulders.
Before, I was trying to be everything at once: songwriter, arranger, producer, critic, and fighter. Every detail felt like my responsibility.
Now I bring the heart of the song: the bones, the emotion, the story. Then I trust the team to give it muscle, movement, and dimension.
Daniel: The song blends powerful guitars with immersive soundscapes. How intentional was this balance in crafting its cinematic feel?
Astral Rocks: The balance was very intentional.
I gave João Sanguinheira a strong musical foundation a blueprint he could build from without losing the original direction. Then he brought his own creativity and guided the musicians to add their emotional signatures.
The guitars in The Flame in Me are not decoration. They carry part of the story. They feel like resistance, movement, and strength.
Daniel: Milli, your journey includes a life-changing accident and a return to music. How has that experience shaped your voice as a songwriter?
Astral Rocks: It changed everything.
After an experience like that, you cannot write safely anymore. Music stopped being entertainment and became oxygen. It became the only way to process what was too big for ordinary words.
My songwriting became more direct, more honest, and less afraid. I write from life from the damage, the rebuilding, and the refusal to stay buried.
Daniel: You’ve described songwriting as a cathartic process. How does that emotional honesty translate into Astral Rocks’ music?
Astral Rocks: For me, songwriting is emotional alchemy.
It takes pain, rage, hope, love, and memory, and turns them into something that can reach another person. I cannot write something that feels manufactured. It has to come from somewhere real.
Astral Rocks is not about pretending. It is about saying the thing that hurts and giving it sound.
Daniel: With such a strong musical heritage in your family, how has that legacy influenced your artistic path?
Astral Rocks: Music was never only something I chose. It was always there.
It is part of my roots, part of my family history, and part of the way I understand emotion. Even when I was not fully pursuing it, music was waiting for me.
That heritage gave me an instinct for melody and storytelling. It taught me that music is not only a skill. Sometimes it is an inheritance.
Daniel: How did forming Astral Rocks as a band help you overcome personal limitations and expand your creative vision?
Astral Rocks: Paulo helped me step out of isolation.
I had been fighting too many creative battles alone, trying to find the right sound, the right people, the right direction. It was exhausting because I could hear what the music could become, but I could not always make it happen on my own.
Paulo saw the potential and believed the songs deserved a real band around them. One conversation changed everything.
Now I can focus on creating. The music has allies.
Daniel: Looking back at your journey from 2023 to now, what moments stand out as defining turning points for Astral Rocks?
Astral Rocks: The defining moment was realising that evolution does not mean betrayal.
The first time I heard my songs played by real musicians and sung by voices that were not mine, something shifted. At first, it was frightening. Then it became freedom.
I understood that the songs could grow beyond me while still carrying my soul.
Daniel: With over 6,000 radio plays across 43 countries, how has global reception influenced your confidence and direction as a band?
Astral Rocks: It proved to me that honest emotion travels.
When you write from your own life, you never know whether people will connect with it. Seeing the music reach listeners across 43 countries has been deeply moving.
It gives me confidence, but also responsibility, to keep creating music that means something.
Daniel: How do you connect with such a diverse international audience while maintaining a deeply personal message in your music?
Astral Rocks: Honesty is the bridge.
Borders do not change what it feels like to hurt, to hope, to survive, or to fight your way back. Those emotions belong to everyone.
I do not write for demographics or trends. I write something personal enough that it becomes universal
Daniel: As Astral Rocks enters this new phase, what can listeners expect in terms of upcoming releases and live performances?
Astral Rocks: Listeners can expect more intensity, more emotion, and a clearer identity.
We are building a cinematic rock experience with powerful arrangements and a very human core. These songs are meant to be felt, not just heard.
Live performances are part of the vision, too. The stage is where the songs will become fully alive.
Daniel: Looking ahead, what is your long-term vision for Astral Rocks, and how do you plan to keep “the flame” alive creatively?
Astral Rocks: My long-term vision is to build something that lasts.
I want Astral Rocks to grow into a powerful international rock project with cinematic scope and a sound big enough for major stages, without ever losing the honesty that makes it matter.
The flame stays alive by staying connected to real stories, real scars, and real emotion. As long as there is something true to say, the music will keep burning.
Having Had A Close Listen To This Deeply Cinematic And Emotionally Charged Single, Here’s My Thought On “The Flame in Me.”
Listening to “The Flame in Me” feels like stepping into a controlled emotional ignition where every element is carefully engineered to build intensity without losing clarity. From my perspective, the track immediately establishes its identity through spacious, ambient guitar textures that slowly expand into a heavier cinematic rock framework, creating a sense of anticipation that never feels rushed. The live, powerful guitars carry a grounded, organic energy, while the rhythm section maintains a disciplined pulse that supports rather than overwhelms the emotional arc. What stands out most is how the production refuses conventional rock shortcuts; instead, it leans into atmosphere and progression, allowing the sound to evolve like a narrative rather than a repetitive structure. The vocals sit at the center of this design, delivered with strong conviction and shifting between restraint and full projection, turning lines like “I won’t back down” and “There’s a flame that burns in me” into declarations of identity rather than simple lyrics. Each phrase feels intentional, especially when layered harmonies create a sense of internal dialogue that reinforces the song’s message of endurance and self-definition. As the instrumentation thickens with distorted guitars, subtle synth layers, and widening spatial effects, the emotional weight increases without sacrificing sonic balance, giving every element its own defined space. Structurally, the track builds steadily toward a unified climax where vocals, guitars, and rhythm merge into one forceful expression, making the final sections feel like release rather than repetition. By the end, the idea of “the flame” has fully transformed from metaphor into a sustained emotional state, leaving a strong impression of resilience, persistence, and inner power carried through a fully immersive cinematic rock experience.
~ Daniel (Dulaxi Team).
Finally to our audience, I urge to listen to “The Flame In Me”, add it to your playlist and be inspired by it and on behalf of Dulaxi I like to appreciate you all by saying thank you everyone, See you on our next interview.
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