by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

With local bands Tulip, Olive and Gazelle, Cheryl Sim made her mark - repeatedly - as a capable and engaging singer, bringing touches of soul and jazz to pop music that bore both organic and electronic flavours. The animal and vegetable matter behind her now, Sim has launched her first solo disc Heavy Petal, on which she not only sings but handles piano and chief songwriting duties as well.

The raw material for Heavy Petal came to her in a rush over the summer of 2001. "It all happened suddenly," Sim recalls. "There were a lot of big life changes that occurred at that time which were difficult but inspiring. It was a humble process though, just some simple chords and warblings with the piano and a lot of time to think. In retrospect, I was really lucky to have had that time and those conditions. Sometimes you make life happen and sometimes it makes you happen, no?"

Like the title, Sim's songbook is stuffed with paradoxes. "The lyrical direction is somewhere between longing and affirmation. Longing is like a guilty pleasure that you can indulge yourself in, with music being the ultimate vehicle. You can immerse and lose yourself in it like a warm bath - of chocolate. Affirmation evens out the longing, where you say to yourself, ‘Enough already, this is the thing,' and you take back control again."

Control of the album, to a degree, was entrusted to producer Aras Bukauskas, aka DJ Aerosol. "I have wanted to work with Aras in that capacity for quite a while. I've always liked his DJing, and he produced a couple of excellent remixes for Gazelle which really showed his creative spirit and style. And because we communicate well, and have the same musical and production references, I knew I could count on him to give the CD some chunk. Oh, and he's also a card-carrying member of the ‘good people foundation.'

"Immediate plans are to do good shows in carefully chosen venues to promote Heavy Petal. Working with this current band is so much fun, so we'll keep on going throughout 2004 and hopefully make lots people feel the love."

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