EP release for Season of Stone set for May 12th: LISTEN HERE
Season of Stone is a 6 Song EP and the second album by Deborah Cher. She will debut all six songs live at The Coelacanth, Norfolk VA, on May 12, 2018, as part of the East Coast Music Conference.
Written over a few week period while her father was in a coma, Season of Stone is a 6-song EP that depicts Deborah’s mourning process through strange dreams, spiritual journeys and tales of city life. The work combines the quality of a studio album with the intimacy of a live performance, arranged the way Deborah’s father would have liked best: Raw vocals, live guitars (Charlie Rauh) and violin (Nathalie Bonin).
The album opens with ‘miss innocence’ an upbeat tune with influences of country and bluegrass, and is followed by Angel, a heart-wrenching love ballad. Little Devil is next, an R&B groove with lyrics that depict the darker side of city life.
All three songs share Deborah’s unique lyrical style that is at times profane and other times profound, with playful double entendres and elements of mystery. The songs evoke the spirit of the city and the ache of love in its many iterations: love gone wrong, love that falls short of ideals, dangerous love and devilish infatuation.
The second half of the EP takes us beyond city musings starting with Gold Violin, with country-bluegrass undertones that portray the tension between a Jesus-like figure and a Goddess counterpart. The fifth song, Season of Stone, offers imagery from the ancient Greek underworld where the storyteller has found passage between worlds. It best reflects the atmosphere of loss and limbo in which all the songs were written (you can read Deborah's personal note on how the songs connect with losing her father, here). The chorus pays homage to the classical sacred music Deborah’s father loved, while the pre-chorus offers a nod to heavy metal, revealing some of the creative influences underpinning an EP that is, on the surface, arranged in a traditional singer-songwriter style. The last song, Searching for the Light, was co-written by Deborah’s friend and musical collaborator Sari Dajani in her original hometown of Montreal, and was featured on Quebec’s leading drama, “La Galere.” It is the only song that wasn’t recorded live at Rift Studios.
Season of Stone was recorded a few weeks after Deborah’s father passed away. In this pure and simple arrangement, Deborah’s voice is raw and immediate, and you can at times hear grief in the vocals. Charlie Rauh’s guitar shines on these songs. An artist in his own right, he brings his unique qualities as a guitar player, combining a purist's ear and a penchant for sacred music, with the gravel and sophistication of a musician that’s carved a niche for himself in New York City. Nathalie Bonin’s experience in music for film and TV comes through in her atmospheric violin, and lends the songs an appealing, soundtrack quality. Each song was recorded in one take at Rift Studios in Brooklyn, with the exception of Searching for the Light.
The album is Dedicated to Deborah's father, Jean Louis.