Cherry talks musical beginnings, the influences behind Flavour and his recent European tour.
2018 has been a significant year for Paul Cherry. In March, following several years of painstaking craft the Chicago locale unveiled his debut album Flavour to the world, presenting a glossy and futuristic impression of 60s psychedelia and 70s yacht rock. In the months succeeding the album’s release, Cherry has been provided a platform to acquaint a wider audience with his brand of psychedelic pop music, recently performing at Pitchfork Music Festival and embarking upon his first European tour.
Between glasses of whiskey, a declaration of love for PC music and looks of disbelief in response to learning that Nando’s offer an all-you-can-eat loyalty card to customers endowed with celebrity status, we spoke to Cherry at Birmingham’s Night Owl about his musical beginnings, the writing process for Flavour and his time spent in Europe.
Read our conversation and watch the recently released music video for ‘Changing Times’ below.
How would you describe your music as Paul Cherry to those unfamiliar?
Lots of people call it Jazz-pop, but I don’t see it as very Jazzy. I usually tell people that it’s psych pop or musical music or mid-fi psych music or something like that. A fan told me to come up with a better genre name for my music so that she could feel cool telling her friends what it sounded like, so lately I’ve been trying to come up with something clever. I absolutely hate it when anybody calls it “Jizz Jazz” though… I’m not Mac DeMarco lol.
What was your introduction to music and your education thereafter?
I was put in guitar lessons when I was 8 and then I started in Orchestra in middle school. I started playing in bands in early high school and eventually went to college in Chicago (where I live now) to study classical composition. I graduated from college in 2014 and then took a few years to work in wedding/jobbing bands before setting out on the quest to record Flavour. The recording process of that album was probably the most enlightening educational experience I’d had in all of my time working with music.
Were there any particular artists that you saw as a child who inspired you to pick up an instrument?
I’m originally from Michigan in a suburb outside of Detroit, and there were a few bands in that Michigan mid-late 2000’s folk scene that I was extremely obsessed with when I was a youngster. My favorite bands were called Frontier Ruckus and Breathe Owl Breathe. Those kind of bands challenged me to think outside the box on folk music, and I actually played banjo for a few years quite heavily because of that.
Was there a pivotal moment where you knew that music was the avenue you wished to pursue?
I think that I was lucky enough to just stick to one thing my entire life. I’ve never ever thought to do anything else, and I have been chasing this one dream down my entire life. I change the style of music I’ll play constantly, but it’s always been music.
You released your debut album Flavour in March. What were the writing and recording processes for the album?
I was in the studio working on a different record for about a year, spending thousands of dollars in this expensive recording studio, and the engineer kept pushing the aesthetic around in ways that I didn’t like, so I scrapped that and told myself I had to record my album myself to get it right, to sound like ‘me’. So I set off on a journey to try and find my favorite recordings and replicate the sounds, and the end result was Flavour. I had a bunch of half-songs that I had to muscle into full songs, and I have a bunch of tracks that never actually ended up on the record as well.
Did you utilise any new or notable gear on the material that comprises Flavour?
I just used this Tascam Portastudio 424mkII over and over and over on almost everything, but I blended it with a few other preamps of different qualities to get a bit of color differentiation. I wanted a homogenous sound to my record, so I made sure to use the same strategies on almost every song. I can’t tell all my secrets tho. 😉
Were there any specific artists that inspired you during the writing process for the album?
I was really really into Ariel Pink and Todd Rundgren for this album, also Mild High Club.
Stylistically the album differs significantly from 2014’s On Top. Does the shift feel like a natural progression in your sound as your tastes have changed over a long period of time?
I see those two albums like they’re different artists, different people made them. I changed so much over the 4 years between records, I can barely relate to those On Top tracks anymore. The difference is that On Top was a 21 year old kid making his first ever recordings and not giving a shit what it sounds like, and Flavour is a 25 year old who had just worked on this album every day for two years for like… 2000 hours or something stupid, taking intense time on every single aspect of the sound.
Do you have any immediate musical aspirations beyond the Paul Cherry project such as collaborations or to experiment with any disparate genres?
I watch the trends of Indie music so very carefully, I have my eyes on artists I want to be collaborating with. I want to be putting out work faster and faster.
You’re currently on the tail end of your first European tour. How have the shows been and have you done anything or been anywhere memorable during your down time?
The only downtime we had on this tour was in Serbia, so I had a day to explore Belgrade, which was absolutely incredible. Such a dream.
What have the band been listening to in the van?
I listen to mad Kero Kero Bonito right now, and a lot of Dwight Sykes when I’m driving. I am always using my van driving time to find new tracks to DJ for the sets I do in Chicago. I also listen to a lot of minimal house music when driving, I’ve been really into this NYC dude Will DiMaggio. The other dudes in the van love to jam classics and there’s always Steely Dan on queue.
Has there been a favourite show on the tour?
My favorite show was in Bristol with Sunset Rollercoaster. Getting to play alongside them was such a privilege and honor. I absolutely adore their music.
What’s on the horizon for Paul Cherry in 2019? Are you currently working on new music for LP #2?
I’m in the middle of LP2 right now 😉 more touring etc. I just want to make a slam dunk record, I’ll always be working on that.
Flavour is available to purchase on all formats here.
Words by Sam Wilkinson.
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