PREMIERE | Chiffon, "Woke Me"
From left — Chase O’Hara & Amy Reid of Chiffon; photographed by Missy Malouff.
It's been a while and today Week in Pop is proud to present the return of Chiffon — legendary Baltimore pop vanguards Amy Reid, Chase O'Hara and their new addition Will Ryerson on bass. The DIY releases of Cosmic Love Affair, Marble, Cocoon accompanied by countless solo projects and other local community activism established the act as a revered force in pouring psychic and human forces of warmth and progressive pop into the echelons of the electronic synth styled establishment of aesthetics. With the duo’s return as a trio now in 2020; Reid, O’Hara and Ryerson further develop their smart dance chic into greater expansive, elaborate and refined territories that brings their local hotbed community closer together.
Presenting the debut of “Woke Me” — Chiffon executes the perfect song styled to match the awakened start of daybreak’s arrival. The Baltimore group crystallizes blissful discordant elements into rhythmic stems that punctuate the song, reminiscent of the vibe found on evening underground pop programming transmitted from the antennae of public radio stations. Amy’s vocal presentation is delivered in a waking manner of contemporary rhythm & blues that blends retro modernist backpack synths with a present day sense of heart and hopefulness. “Woke Me” paints a sultry portrait of courtship between lovers in a tango that traverses both long and short distances with a consciousness tripping corresponding parallax backdrop that moves between dream states and the sun beam beckoning of wakened life. Chiffon latest work cleverly combines the most luxurious lounge approach to dance floor dialed ballads of amorous proclamations.
Chiffon in the glow of the stage lanterns; photographed by Sarah Manley.
Amy Reid of Chiffon shared some exclusive thoughts about the awakenings that contributed to the new single “Woke Me” with insights on further works soon to follow:
As a starting point, I often begin writing lyrics based on what I'm feeling and thinking about at the time. We began writing “Woke Me” when I had just started seeing my (now) partner and he was about to leave Baltimore for a long period of time. We were negotiating what to do and ultimately decided to keep the fire burning long distance. So the song is really about letting someone know you can go this time and I'll wait, because it's worth it; but if you leave again, I'm not sure if that's something I will be able to do. I wanted it to be more playful than threatening, kind of like come get your person or someone else might type of deal. My bandmate Chase wrote the chorus for it, which morphed it into a less personal narrative and more of a fantasy relationship. He's shredding on a talk box harmonizing the chorus with me, which is my favorite part of the song. Sonically, “Woke Me” is kind of a perfect merging of our last two EPs, existing somewhere between a contemplative and dreamy danceable track.
In the larger context, “Woke Me” is part of an upcoming 4 song EP; it’s one of two moodier tracks coupled with two more optimistic, upbeat tracks. I'm really excited about this EP because it marks a natural yet distinct transition into our new material, which is kind of future disco fire with big pop ambitions. We actually just finished a full length album of these new songs featuring Will Ryerson, who joined the band as bassist about a year ago (and after this EP was made). This new album also features Josh Stokes on drums and Sarah Manley on trombone.
All of these folks will be performing with us at our EP release show at Metro Gallery in Baltimore on March 27. The show also includes Baltimore icons DDM, Josh Stokes + Bliss, DJ Diaspora (an untouchable vinyl DJ) and hosted by Hunter Hooligan. It's going to be a family affair and we can't wait to share this project with everyone.
Listen to all things Chiffon via Bandcamp, Spotify & everywhere.