Cherub Talks Inspirations, Dream Collaborations, and Why "Doses & Mimosas" Went Viral

Sometimes we all have to unplug a bit and just have some fun, basically because it's freaking healthy to smile and laugh. Look it up if you doubt me.

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Complex Original

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Sometimes we all have to unplug a bit and just have some fun, basically because it's freaking healthy to smile and laugh.  Look it up if you doubt me.  One act that's been a part of a lot of personal fun for me over the past couple years is Cherub.  A bunch of my friends essentially wouldn't shut up about them, and I finally gave in and listened with an open mind.  Dammit if I didn't have an amazing night out with my friends because of it, and they've become a bit of an ongoing bond with the crew.  Seems like this is also a bit of an ongoing story for this duo as their growing success is very organic and they embrace the realness of it. Word of mouth (and because the Internet) has done wonders for these guys as they set out on a huge 2014 with a new album on the way and a non-stop touring schedule taking them all over North America, Europe and a ton of presence on the festival circuit.

So with all that said, the opportunity to catch up with them had to happen. Let's dive in, shall we?

What are each of your roles in the production and songwriting process, and are there any things that affect the creative process outside of the “sex, drugs and whole lot of love?”

Jordan: It all starts in Reason usually and actually thinking forward, all the new stuff that will be on the album started from vintage keyboards and drum loops or sounds.  So there were songs that we tried a brand new process with that started from the old keyboards and really cool soft synths and funky leads.  We always tried to build things organically though.

Jason: Then we separate the studio and the live process.  As opposed to maybe some other bands, we actually write in the studio first.  So we're exploring writing the songs as we're recording them.  We later on break them back apart into pieces and then teach ourselves how to perform them live.

Tell us the specific story behind Doses & Mimosas and did you guys expect any of the attention it would eventually get?

Jordan: No, I didn't.  It's really funny how far into, and I wouldn't even call it in the mainstream yet at all, but just far into what I would consider a mainstream base it's gotten.  It's to the point where there's radio stations requesting a clean version of it, which we're going to do, because we just recently found out that radio stations can play clean versions without your permission. It's just kind of shocking to me how many people connected with that song that normally you wouldn't expect to connect to a song like that.  So it's been pretty entertaining to me at least.

Jason: When we were recording the album, we really didn't pick out any of the songs for a lead single or anything.  It's just something that kind of organically happened and it's just one of those freaky combinations of things that make it a song that people like.  Jordan has this outstanding ability to, in songs, say things that other people are afraid to say for themselves.  And when you're singing along to somebody else's music, it gives you a get-out-of-jail-free card and people feel OK saying things that they wouldn't normally say out loud.  I think that's one of the reasons why it caught on so quickly.

What was it like coming up in a perceived country scene like Nashville and how did it help shape the Cherub sound?

Coming up in Nashville has been awesome! Lots of inspiration to create new sounds! There is a strong singer/songwriter presence in Nashville and it has really been a strong influence on how we structure our songs and sounds.

Was it a challenge to stand out in such a music market like Nashville's?  How do you think you guys were successful in stepping out from it?

Nashville has amazingly talented musicians in all genres, so it definitely is hard to stand out in a scene like Nashville’s. The main thing that helped us really was getting on the road and playing in other places besides Tennessee.

Your collaboration EP with Two Fresh is personally some of my favorite stuff of yours. Do you guys have any plans on doing anything like that again?  Anyone you guys are fans of that you would love to collab with?

Thank you! We love collaborations and try to do as many as we can when we have time.  It’s really cool to be able to create something completely different from the sound you are used to creating. We’d love to do a collab with The-Dream, Mariah Carey, Dave Grohl, Pharrell, Sophie B Hawkins...the list could go on and on.

What should we look out for from Cherub in 2014?

Lots of new music, videos, shows. We are busy bees.

Finally...What do you do when the Doses & Mimosas don't get you through?

Cry.

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