Sitting shirtless in his basement playing with synthesizers, listening to STRFKR [sic] and drinking Mr. Pibb, senior Jameson Ghalioungui is doing what he does best: making music.
On Sept. 16 Ghalioungui released his first EP, “Real World”, under the pseudonym Cheer. The EP is a calming blend of low tempo electronic beats and Indie Pop synthesizers. The musical styles of Porter Robinson, Slow Magic and Minnesota, are some of the biggest influences on “Real World”. However, electronic music was not always Ghalioungui’s source of inspiration.
Led Zeppelin and Rush were part of Ghalioungui’s first exposure to music. From a young age his father played bands like these. His interest in Rock n’ Roll blossomed while participating in Rock Academy, an academy to learn and perform live music. Between Rock Academy and his father Ghalioungui has been immersed in music his whole life.
“My dad plays music all the time; 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Music is honestly never absent from the house,” Ghalioungui said.
Despite his beginnings, exposure to Indie Pop and electronic bands like Two Door Cinema Club and STRFKR have influenced his music career more than classic rock. Ghalioungui’s love for music has brought him to more than 50 concerts since the beginning of high school. “Concerts are a great place to find inspiration. Seeing those bands living out their dreams makes me want to do it too,” Ghalioungui said.
Prior to releasing his EP, Ghalioungui uploaded singles on SoundCloud along with a remixes, including Sphynx’s song “Hunger”. The rest of his work can be found on SoundCloud (https://soundcloud.com/cheersongs) and BandCamp (http://cheermusic.bandcamp.com). People have started to notice Ghalioungui’s work; his SoundCloud page has reached 100 downloads, the sites maximum for a free account.
One of Ghalioungui’s closest friends and EP cover art designer is Julia Rush. She has been there to help Ghalioungui from the day he took the name Cheer.
“Watching all the work he has put into making his dream of creating music a reality has been nothing short of amazing,” Rush said.
“Real World” is hardly the end of Ghalioungui’s music career. He is currently collaborating with senior Jim Gritis on another music project. They have a lot of ideas, but the real challenge is narrowing down their focus to just a few songs.
”We have started so many songs, the hard part is picking the ones we like and perfecting them,” Gritis said “Jamo [Jameson] and I love going to concerts together, we like the music, but they also provide something to strive for.”
While Ghalioungui continues to spend all of his free time committed to making music his growing fan base will have to wait for his next album, a collaboration with Gritis. The anticipation is already building for friends and fans alike.
Damian Margarites | Advertising Editor