Heather Christie sings in local duo the Feral Fauna, which combines organic acoustic instrumentation with danceable electronics. Christie also has a solo project titled Cheraki, but though it shares some influences, she sees it as a very different kind of outlet.
“I like to think of it as my feminine project. It’s more introspective. It really invites you to listen and get your own experience, rather than going for more of a show,” says Christie.
Cheraki is an interesting take on electronic music, as the songwriting is dark, emotive and ethereal. Even with electronic drums in the mix, it doesn’t inspire dancing as much as it does reflection.
“The trick is to bridge the timeless sounds with the modern world without losing the soul that makes music so magical,” Christie says.
The marriage of live instrumentation and electronics is even more blurry with Cheraki than Feral Fauna. A lot of what she does begins with vocal looping and the sampling of different organic sounds, which are then manipulated in a computer.
“I use a lot of different sounds. Like I will record the sound of book pages slapping, then put that in as part of the beat, or put a filtered delay on it and create a sound effect from that—basically turning organic sounds into digitized soundscapes. I can literally pick up any sound, record it on the iPhone, and digitize it,” Christie says.
She will be releasing her latest EP Shades of She this winter, and the single “Like Rain” on iTunes on Oct 27. On Halloween, she performs at the Freaker’s Ball.
INFO: 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31. Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $20-$45. 429-4135.
