Inside Pascale Cheron’s Album "Anna Called" and Her "Experimental Bangs" Tour
- Emma Zoe Polyak
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
It was a warm spring day in Philadelphia – a nice change from the uncharacteristically cold May we were having – when I sat down to chat with Pascale Cheron. We’d decided to meet at a small local café, and the weather allowed for our conversation to take place outside. Behind us, there were people moving out of an apartment, and the occasional honk or blaring music from a car served as Cheron’s welcome to the city of Brotherly Love. She had arrived in Philadelphia earlier that day and would already be back on the road the next day, continuing on her Experimental Bangs tour with fellow artist Sophia Eliana.
The tour, celebrating her album Anna Called, was DIY in its most charming form. By the time they had made it to Philly, Cheron and Eliana had taken pretty much every mode of transport possible, traveling with a shared guitar and a mutual desire to connect with fans and other musicians along the East Coast. Their batteries had died at some points, shared Cheron, but she and Eliana pushed through, and the results have been rewarding.
Take for example the concert later that day. A shared bill with other singer-songwriters, the show was hosted by Homies Helping Homies, a local mutual aid collective. The tour date was also a chance for Cheron to finally connect with Daphne Ellen, a Philadelphia singer who she’d been mutuals with online for a while. Add to that stops to visit family and friends, and Cheron was definitely making the most of her time on the East Coast.
When I asked if she had any favorite songs to perform live, Cheron turned contemplative. “Bridge,” she answered finally, a song from her 2023 release, Hymn. As for covers, she loves performing an Adrianne Lenker cover, “Ringing Bells.” Both songs lean existential, but Cheron’s introspective songs help to set an intimate tone to her shows.
When it comes to what she listens to, you may be surprised. While Cheron gravitates toward introspective, emotionally textured music like that of Adrianne Lenker, she also balances it out with other genres she hears in various places. She told me about a festival in Germany, where she was playing piano with a band. It was at that festival that she heard Astrid S play, an artist who she now names as having one of her favorite albums.
Cheron has been based in California, where she graduated from college at UC Berkeley’s music program. Her relationship to music and songwriting, however, extends far beyond that to her childhood, when she performed in choirs and at talent shows, learning how to play the piano and guitar.
Her debut album, Anna Called, dropped on Bandcamp in early May, with the title track available on streaming platforms. The project, spanning 24 tracks, is expansive and lush, full of dreamy atmospheres and soulful vocals. In an era when albums keep getting shorter – a trend that Cheron and I both lamented – Anna Called feels refreshing. I listened to the entire record on my train ride into the city, letting the immersive soundscape carry me through as the blur of trees gave way to steel and concrete.
Talking about the album’s emotional core, Cheron shared, “[Anna Called] is coming from the perspective of the person I have been, and of a person who thinks and feels what I have thought and felt. I don't completely resonate with that person, but she still reaches out to me and reminds me of who I was and who I am. And the album is kind of like I’m stepping into Pascale.”
After writing the title track, Cheron learned from her mother that she was almost named Anna, but her mother ended up deciding to name her Pascale in honor of her aunts, with a letter for each. The album is a true labor of love, over two years in the making. During that time, Cheron said that “songs would come, and I had no concrete plan of whether they would go onto a record or not.” While the writing process took some time, Cheron said that she gave herself ninety minutes to come up with the album track list.
Anna Called will be available on streaming services on June 18, but I would encourage you to support Cheron by purchasing the album on Bandcamp. And as for what’s next? Cheron hinted that she’s not quite done with the stories behind Anna Called. Whether through future live performances or potential B-sides, I can’t wait to see where she takes us next.
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