Manuka – Cherry Blossom | Feel of Compassion

Manuka, a singer-songwriter from Leeds, West Yorkshire, has recently published “Cherry Blossom,” a really pleasant and honest song. The song is full of subtle touches and simplicity that will comfort you and transport you to her world. This is a great way to de-stress and divert yourself from the daily grind. Her voice’s gentleness and delicacy play a significant role in enticing you to listen to her song. In the song, she comes off as really genuine and honest. In addition, the songwriting establishes a similar character and a vulnerable yet powerful arc, which is maintained in the vocal delivery as well. The overall mix preserves the dynamic and genuine character of her delivery, allowing listeners to quickly connect with the song.

The guitar is the focal point of the song. The opening, though, was a crucial and bold aspect of the song that attracted my attention. The part itself is solely reliant on the vocal melody. This really worked for me; it piqued my interest, and it required all of my involvement to discover the tune. The guitars are gradually added, accompanied by extremely subtle synth tones that add to the mood while seamlessly merging with the reverb. The total depth of the room has been achieved with only a few layers, which is astounding. The songwriting forms the foundation, and the writing will have a lasting impression on the audience. I am confident that everybody who comes upon the composition will be soothed by her sound. The world is extremely stunning.

Check out Manuka’s interview, in which she talks about her amazing journey with the song and many other details relating to her music.

I’m particularly intrigued about the beginning; why did you choose to go completely minimalist in terms of arrangement? Is there a specific reason for this?

“I did initially have a guitar intro, but when I was mixing the song I felt that it wasn’t giving me the feeling I had envisaged. So I just tried to remove everything and just hold my voice there. By just having my vocals at the beginning I felt it set the tone of exposing my vulnerabilities.“

Tell us more about how the song’s concept came to be. What prompted you to compose this lovely melody?

“Thanks so much. It was a byproduct of something else. I was commissioned to sing on a guitar instrumental piece and the chorus for cherry blossom became what it is. However the client just wanted some ad-libs and scattered spoken word elements so I kept this chorus to the side for myself. Hehe…

It was later that I sat down and really tried to understand what part of my mind and heart brought about these lyrics. Sometimes when I write I just create something without thinking too much about it as the wave of creative inspiration hits me. After some reflection I built a concept. The melody was shaped from the inspired chorus by listening to another instrumental but then developed into something very different as the song took shape.

I was holding onto a feeling more than anything: remembering my childhood and the purest moments of my time where I was naive to the social conditioning around me. This developed into a melancholy feel with a dream state tone. “

What was your goal in writing this song, in terms of whatever you wanted to make sure your songwriting process fulfilled?

“The spoken word song (track 1) plays a huge role in giving the song meaning. Usually as listeners for most of the time we listen to a song without depicting the words of it. I wanted to do that for the listener for those who want to listen intently. It’s actually worked so far – many people have responded so well because they have connected with me in one way or another.

Most of my songs are quite reflective and addresses matters around me that occur in society whether it’s environmental or around our own mental health and well-being. For Cherry Blossom, addressing judgement is a significant factor within the lyrics. It’s showing a falseness that we portray to the world all the while suppressing something pure and uniquely beautiful. The thought that “what would people think if they knew the real me” is embedded within the lyrical references. “

What do you believe will strike a chord with the listeners on first listen? What do you think the listeners will get out of the song?

“Thats tricky, each person listens and connects in their own way. My intention when releasing this though is to hope for listeners to connect in a personal way as it’s about me, about my truth. If both songs in the single of Cherry Blossom are listened to, I hope that they would get out what I got from writing the song. Reflection and realisation. “

What’s next in store for the fans? Is there anything you’d want to share about what you plan to write about in your upcoming pieces?

“Yes I’m so excited to be releasing my next song which I’m working on now. It is a track created in the same way as my previous releases – Cherry Blossom and Tribal Man.The song is about the mind. That’s all I’ll give away for now and that it will be released end of January beginning of February 2022.“