Introducing #179 - Cherry & The Fever Dreams
Let us introduce you to new Kent three piece Cherry & The Fever Dreams, with a mixture of influences ranging from Radiohead to Phoebe Bridgers - they certainly make their own eclectic sound. Having formed in February this year, the band have had to navigate themselves around the pandemic, they took a moment to talk to us about this in more depth and their new single ‘On Your Back’.
Hey, Cherry & The Fever Dreams! How are you?
Emily: We’re good, thank you! Well, as good as you can be in a global pandemic.
Zara: Yeah, we’re coping as well as we can! I’m missing being able to practice together though.
Emia: Me too. We’ve had to adapt a lot recently with the second lockdown but we’ve been as productive as we can be.
Emily: Exactly, we move.
Your new single ‘On Your Back’ is out now - can you tell us what it is about?
Emily: Generally speaking, it’s about feeling the motions of the first lockdown. You know, everyone looking for the comfort of human connection and that being denied, all that fun stuff.
Emia: Yeah, with the lyrics we really tried to capture that bizarre feeling of everything in the world seemingly coming to a complete stop as well as the isolating feeling of just not being able to see anyone.
Zara: We were all feeling sort of lost and isolated and had to learn to deal with our lives completely and drastically changing in such a short space of time. It’s also about the longing we all felt for things to return to the way they were, and to be able to see loved ones again.
As a band, you formed in February 2020, which is just before the Covid pandemic hit, what struggles have you faced being a new band in this situation?
Emily: Mainly just getting gigs I suppose, we were so eager to play some shows.
Emia: We really were, we had only been a full band for a couple of weeks before I’d already started messaging venue owners and contacting other bands. The timing was awful, though, in terms of the pandemic- we still haven’t played a gig as a band!
Emily: But it did give us some more time to write songs for when we can perform them.
Emia: That’s true. When we had first started playing together we were definitely rushing the writing process to have a full set to gig with whereas now that we’ve actually had to take the time to properly write, we’ve got some really solid songs that will hopefully be better received at gigs, or at least more fun to play.
Emily: The whole situation has also meant that we’ve really had to utilise social media to get ourselves out there. We’re kind of a band that’s been born on the internet.
Zara: For me, the biggest struggle was not being able to practice with the gals, as we would always make so much progress in rehearsals. That being said, it’s amazing how much Emia and Emily have managed to get done via the internet! Despite the struggle of the pandemic, I think we all have managed to pull through really well. It would definitely have been nice to play some gigs though, maybe in 2021!
How did the band start?
Emily: I’d been wanting to start a band for ages but not many people at my school did music so my mum told me to put something on a Facebook musicians page to see if anyone would want to do something, I thought it was a stupid idea haha! But I did it and that’s actually where I met Emia!
Emia: Yep! I remember meeting for the first time in the Waterstones cafe in Canterbury. I was so nervous for some reason, I honestly nearly went home just before we met. Good thing I didn’t, though- we’ve written some bangers. Anyway, I knew of Zara from a friend of a friend and I thought I might as well hit her up because she seemed really cool.
Zara: Yeah so Emia basically messaged me on Instagram and explained that she and Emily were looking for a grrrl drummer. I agreed to meet up for a practice rehearsal and we all vibed straight away and worked really well together, that’s how I knew I wanted to properly be a part of the band.
Emia: That first rehearsal was so wholesome. I remember just thinking “wow… we sound good!” haha.
Emily: That first rehearsal was magical.
You are based in Canterbury in Kent, what is the area most famous for? And your most favourite thing about it?
Zara: My favourite thing is definitely the city centre, can’t go wrong with a Canterbury day out.
Emily: It’s a really historic city, the cathedral is pretty cool, it’s probably most famous for that?
Emia: Yeah the cathedral is definitely the main point of attraction. Did you know that no building in Canterbury is allowed to be taller than the Cathedral? Weird.
Where do you go for musical adventures?
Emily: I love Margate! I’ve been to so many amazing gigs there. There seem to be lots of creatives there too.
Zara: Yeah I love Margate for that reason too! Like Emily said, there are a lot of creatives there and the culture is so much more diverse than maybe other local towns.
Emia: My musical adventures nowadays consist of me rolling out of bed and turning on my CD player. Usually, though, I love walking through Canterbury high street and listening to the buskers that play. It’s really nice to be able to hear music everywhere you go.
What are your key musical influences as a band?
Emily: I’m obsessed with The Strokes, so I have to say them. I think melodically, stuff like Mazzy Star and Phoebe Bridgers definitely influence our songs when they’re in their early stages. Honestly, whatever music Julian Casablancas makes I listen and take notes haha.
Emia: When I write I tend to reference Placebo and Red Hot Chili Peppers a lot. The Dresden Dolls are also a really important band to me. Lyrically they’re just... Incredible. Of course, I need to mention Black Honey, Paramore, Charly Bliss and The White Stripes, they’re all insanely talented bands that have had a big impact on our music.
Zara: My musical influences when I drum definitely come from bands such as Royal Blood, The Black Keys, The Wombats, a good mix haha! But I like to keep my style diverse so I can mix things up a bit here and there. Also, shoutout to my old drum teacher Lorraine who was my biggest influence and inspiration when we taught me. She definitely helped shape me into the drummer I am today.
Emily: A couple of people have said that we remind them of Lush as well which is a huge compliment, I love Lush to the very end.
Emia: I feel like, as well, that there’s almost always a Radiohead vibe to anything we write, you can especially hear it in ‘On Your Back’.