Since I first heard Cherry Seraph’s ‘self destruct’ I have been a big fan. The electronic backing to her vulnerable, but quietly strong voice, can be a prowl on the dark side or a hazy wash of soft melancholy. But whichever soundscape she conjures up it’s done with a mix of sounds that dial up the brain tingle.
The new single ‘ebb and flow’ was written at the end of summer 2023 and draws inspiration from a poem called ‘ebb’ written by Pulitzer Prize winning American poet Edna St. Vincent Millay,
I know what my heart is like
Since your love died:
It is like a hollow ledge
Holding a little pool
Left there by the tide,
A little tepid pool,
Drying inward from the edge.
“In late July last year, I came across this poem by chance and I couldn’t stop reading it over and over again. I was sitting in my garden where I lived at that time, and it was so incredibly hot outside. I decided I wanted to write some lyrics that were the antithesis of this feeling of grief in Millay’s poem because I was feeling so full of joy towards the sunshine and the environment outside that day in contrast to her words.”
“I’m trying to capture that feeling of being in a flow or meditative state. Just being present for once and really trying to feel everything, whether it’s good or bad. Lyrically and thematically, it’s not intentionally about one person but I like that you can interpret in any way you’d like. It’s open.”
The ebb and flow is wonderfully captured by the push and pull of woozy harmonies, a sloth-like pitched down backing vocal and swelling synth washes against deep pulsed beats, and electronic pops all shimmering in the heat haze of a hot summer’s day. Lush, warm and heady enough to require an ice cold drink to accompany it.
Cherry Seraph has some live dates starting with tonight’s launch event which will be live streamed on various platforms.
Single release project funded by Youth Music’s ‘NextGen’ fund, backed by Dr. Martens and People’s Postcode Lottery.
Camera and gear sourced from the team at The Unit. Crew: Verónica Galvin and George Willoughby Edited by Verónica Galvin
Cherry Seraph socials: Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Bandcamp | TikTok
10/05/2024 – ‘ebb and flow’ Launch Event @ Tileyard North, Wakefield
11/05/2023 – Festival Hub, Rotherham WOW Festival
17/05/2024 – The Alternative Escape, Brighton
28/06/2024 – Tuned In Festival @ Sidney&Matilda, Sheffield
11/07/2024 – Cherry Seraph x Betsey @ Bodega, Nottingham
26/07/2024 – The Other Festival @ Sidney&Matilda, Sheffield
03/08/2024 – Peddler No. 85 @ Peddler Market, Sheffield
ebb and flow lyrics:
Winter’s so far away
Won’t you let me breathe you in?
Mountains on the roadside
I’m no closer to knowing
But I never did understand any of this
I was just waiting until
I felt you give
I felt you give
Golden hills in late July
Deep lakes reflecting in your eyes
Can you hear me against the redwood tree?
I never did understand any of this
I was just waiting until
I felt you give
I felt you give
Into me, fall now (while it’s still real)
Into me, fall now (while it’s still real)
Fall
I felt you give
I felt you give
Into me, fall now (while it’s still real)
Into me, fall now (while it’s still real)
Fall
I felt you give
I felt you give
I felt you
In the evening light
Come
In the evening light
Come
The morning light
Come
I felt you give
Review by Paul F Cook
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