CREATIVE CONVERSATIONS 130: MY CHERIE ON OWNING EVERY PART OF WHO WE ARE

Interview by Zac Farr.

My Chérie, the innovative alternative pop artist, returns with her latest single, Darkness & Gold, a tender exploration of the intricacies of human existence. Following the success of her previous release, Don't Compare Yourself My Chérie continues to captivate audiences with her introspective lyricism and genre-defying sound.

FMM: Your new track, Darkness and Gold, is fantastic. How do you feel to have it out there?

My Chérie: It's crazy. Sometimes music, it takes so long to release it and get it out. I feel like I've been vibing to the song for a couple of years, and suddenly I was just like, what the heck? Time has really flown by, get this out right now, and it's cool that everyone else can listen to it now, finally.

FMM: Tell us a little bit about the story behind the song, because you take us on such a beautiful journey, and it's super introspective.

My Chérie: Well, for me, it's kind of discovering what we want in life. I feel like it’s got a couple of different concepts, but I think it kind of started with the idea of how as artists, you've got your artist side. I think I read something once about how Lady Gaga doesn't walk around in her meat suit every day. I really like that concept of how we aren't just the artist side. The part of you that's an artist is this dramatic, and, well, for me, it's this other persona and it's this really beautiful, confident person. Then, there's also just me who's in my pjs on the couch that other people, when you're on stage, don't get to see. I guess that kind of concept of how there's so many different sides to us and we've all got our our issues. It's just about owning every part of who we are. I think the verses are just acknowledging that. I know that I've got my things, but it's like a confident booster and about the journey of accepting that.

FMM: And the line, ‘I am what I've always known’ is really, really beautiful. So with your journey, you’ve mentioned that you grew up in South Africa, so when did you start getting into music? Was it in South Africa? Was it when you were younger? Maybe when you finished high school?

My Chérie: Well, I think I was one of those kids… My dad wrote some songs. We'd always kind of make fun of him because it would just be on the same four chords. Like, he just knew four chords, but he managed to just write these songs. Then, my Mum played piano, and I think when she grew up, her parents couldn't really afford for her to have lessons. For them, they just saw my musical gift and they were really good with getting me to have lessons from pretty early on. They were pastors, so I was a kid that grew up in church and was on stage playing tambourine or whatever from pretty early on. I think I wrote my first song at five years old, like, little jingles about Christmas. I did music in high school and then studied and did a degree in music. I’ve just always loved and followed it.

FMM: You mentioned you grew up in a church scenario and I don’t know if you’re still going to church, but does your faith have any impact on what you write? You're very introspective and you really delve into character of how we're built ourselves and I think that's fantastic.

My Chérie: It definitely does. I think I’m on that journey of trying to be more open about growing up in South Africa and in church and kind of how, just culturally, I think faith is quite different here. I just feel like it's in normal conversation. It's almost like three out of four people talk about God as if that's the normal thing to believe, and then moving here, it was so different. I feel like it has been quite interesting to be a part of another culture, have such a specific upbringing, and then to have kind of had my own journey of trying to just own what I believe and the fact that that looks a bit different to what I grew up with. I don't really have a title for exactly what I believe. I guess it's just not about being put in a box as much.

FMM: Yeah, it's okay. We don't need to put any titles on anything. That's awesome. It's really beautiful and that comes through in the music. I think also just in the sounds that you've made, you really mix well. Firstly, you use a lot of different instruments. Can you run us through that process? Where do you start with the track and how did you create that beautiful soundscape with this track?

My Chérie: I feel like, in past music and in future releases as well, the processes have been different each time. The things I'm working on at the moment are songs that have kind of been written on an instrument, then finished and taken to the studio, recorded, then kind of the production and stuff coming into it. Where with this one, it was written with Mario Speight, who's a producer in Adelaide, and Benny Tamblyn, who's a friend of mine. We've written another song together, and he's in my band. The three of us, we sat down and Mario kind of started dabbling with an idea, and then Benny and I just started talking about what to write, and then the lyrics and the ideas would come, and then I'd quickly record it. We were almost not talking. Everyone was just in the flow state, in such a high degree that all the lyrics and all the melodies recorded in less than four hours.

FMM: No way.

My Chérie: And the song was kind of finished. Then it's just about artists that then, like, once you're out of the flow state, you end up editing it for way too long and changing things. But, the actual foundation of it was pretty much finished in. less than four hours. We went and got a beer at the pub together.

FMM: Four hours is very quick, and it definitely feels like it's all come together. The music matches the words beautifully and it's very creative. You've kind of developed your own sound and you can see inspiration from different artists that I'm sure you love. You mentioned a band and performing. Where's been your favourite place to perform so far?

My Chérie: I would say kind of two very different ones usually. I've been playing with a band recently and I've done that for a long time. My show was kind of like live looping with backing tracks coming in and synths. At the moment, it's kind of gone a bit more like indie-pop, guitari with the band backing. So, I'd say there's this one that we got filmed and recorded, and that was, like, two years ago, and I released it on Bandcamp to listen to some of the songs as well, because it was just really beautiful. I had some violins and cello, synth, bass, guitar, like this whole big shebang. That was in Adelaide at Jive. I'll be launching this one as well there again soon. Then, another show was, when I was doing a trip in Europe and I played this house show, and it was, like, completely unplugged, just guitar and just a room full of people from everywhere in this world. A hundred people in a living room and I just sang, and it was really cool, so very different.

FMM: That's so fun. I think your music's so welcoming, so to be able to perform in a space where I guess you just showed you're so welcoming is awesome. Where would be the dream spot?

My Chérie: Well, maybe a year ago, I saw Adrianne Lenker in Melbourne at Liberty Hall. I feel like there's still an intimacy that you could get with it, but then a bit more of a stage and a production and a bigger show. Then, maybe more entertainment centers would be good. That'd be fun. Go big. Why not?

FMM: Yeah, go big, hey. I love it. Do you have an album in the works, or where are we with dreaming and putting all the because together, because you’ve dropped a heck of a lot of awesome singles.

My Chérie: Yeah. Thank you. I don't want to say almost finished, but I’ve kind of been working hard on an album, and it'll be my debut album, so it'll be really cool. I think, to release something. It's more of a big body of work and collection, and I think the sound can be quite different in an album than a single. Wth a single, you're kind of like, let's go boom, boom. Where with an album, you want to sit in it a bit more and the way it flows is quite different. I'm really looking forward to releasing that.

FMM: Yeah, I'm looking forward to listening to it. I think we're all looking forward to listening to it. That is awesome. You are awesome, and thank you so much for taking the time.

My Chérie: You're awesome. Thank you.