At long last, cehryl’s time machine EP has arrived. Stories that explore the complexity of human emotion fill her dreamy, genre-fusing tracks, where her lyrical flair and classical training are on full display.

With ‘paprika’, the lead single for the EP release, cehryl’s sentimental crooning takes on a less rose-colored view of the past. “Here I stand / There we stood” gently but firmly uproots her from the way things once were. As with any great memory, she lets herself wallow, but not so much that she can’t move on.

Also read: INTERVIEW: Behind the “melancholy” of cehryl’s songs

Languid and nostalgic, time machine envelops the listener within a soft, airy space not unlike a dreamscape – after all, the closing track is called “outside the party, inside the dream”. cehryl sings with the lightest of touches, careful not to disturb this intimate moment being spun between herself and you. Her visuals, too, cultivate wistful moments out of memories and sounds, like the DIY charm of ‘philadelphia’. True to its name, ‘time machine’ transports one to the past not through science but recollections – we may not all share the same memories, but they do provide us all with a similar warmth.

cehryl has made waves in Southeast Asia with her previous releases from time machine. Her music videos have been added to rotation on Channel V Asia, MTV Asia, and Very TV, and the tracks featured on radio stations such as Clockenflap (HK) and Power 98 (SG). She has multiple features on outlets including ANTARA NEWS (ID), LionhearTV (PH), and Asia Live 365 (SG, TH). From here, the only direction cehryl can go is up.

Following high school in the UK, cehryl moved to the United States to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston and, post-college, found herself in Los Angeles forming a tight-knit scene with friends Zack Villere, Mulherin, Dijon, Alex Szotak, and Soft Glas. ‘Moon Eyes’ and single ‘Hide n Seek’ follow her buzzy 2019 debut album Slow Motion, which garnered her praise from Paper, Earmilk, i-D, Complex, and more. After touring with Still Woozy and Ravyn Lenae she was slated to be on the road this summer opening for Jeremy Zucker in the U.S. and for Cavetown this fall. Both tours are on hold due to COVID-19 precautions for now, but cehryl still has plans in store for 2021.

Listen to time machine below.

Cover photo: Jonny Ho