Introducing #154 - cehryl — When The Horn Blows

Let us introduce you to bedroom soul artist cehryl who has just released her first single of 2020 - ‘Moon Eyes’. The track sees her mixing a vintage jazz sound and giving it a new modern tone. She took a moment to talk to us about her music.

Hey cehryl, how are you?
I'm good how are you? (wow look at my extremely original answer).

So your new track ‘Moon Eyes’ is out now - can you tell us what the track is about?
Yes, Moon Eyes is about holding on to a naivety or an optimistic assumption about someone instead of admitting that they've let you down. It's about feeling abandoned or alienated but biting your lip saying oh I'm sure they'll be back soon, they're probably just busy preparing a surprise for you, something like that. ouch.

You have moved around quite a bit - from living in the UK to Hong Kong and attending Berklee College of Music in Boston - followed by some time in Los Angeles. Do you find traveling around that much has helped shaped your music style?
I haven't really found that the places themselves impact me musically. I've found that the community (friends and musical collaborators) surrounding me shapes my musical style the most. I've been introduced to a lot of new music (new artists, new scenes) via my Boston friends (a lot of jazz and r&b and electronic stuff), and that's really seeped into my music. It's also a lot about what my friends like ABOUT what they listened to - for example, I paid a lot more attention to rhythmic/drum arrangement in LA because I lived with a drummer.

Where are you based now?
I'm currently based in Hong Kong. I left LA because of visa problems.

What are your key music influences?
Key music influences... Chet Baker, Radiohead, sza, Nina Simone, Big Thief, my friends, Prince, The Strokes, Frank, The Supremes.