You will notice immediately that Cherry is a total departure from Rochinski's previous work in Quilt. Over the last few years, AFR realized pop was the most authentic vehicle for her and unites her varied musical influences under its expansive umbrella. As she puts it, “I lost interest in chord-based guitar music and constructed this record mostly from melodies and beats and bass lines, with guitar as an accessory rather than necessary ingredient”. Rochinski names several main influences, including Madonna, Can, "Midnite Vultures"-era Beck, Hungarian guitarist Gabor Szabo, and Robyn's 1995 debut. "I challenged myself to crack open all my habits and really live in a new world", she says.
There are changes in the lyrical approach as well. AFR sees Cherry as a second-wave, coming-of-age record. “It’s the most personal stuff I've ever written,” she says. “It's basically a break up album, but one that documents a time period ranging from the last few dying months of a six-year relationship and straight into the period following, when I was truly on my own for the first time in a very long time. A break up not just with a guy, but with an entire place and an entire life.” Rochinski began writing the record at the end of her tenure in a cottage in the Hudson Valley, and continued writing during the uncomfortable transition out of a stable life she had worked hard to achieve. "This record was written while I was shedding many things that were very precious to me, but I knew I couldn't keep". After a few stints on the west coast she ended up in NYC, without intending to stay long, but that is where she ultimately decided to nest, as work on Cherry began.
Cherry was recorded with Ava Luna's Carlos Hernandez and Julian Fader, who stepped up as co-producers to help organize and expand upon months of material.
Cherry by Anna Fox Rochinsky will be released on March 26, 2021 on Don Giovanni Records, and is available for pre-order and pre-save now.