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For their one-year anniversary, Rachel Bershad wrote then-boyfriend Ben Palumbo a song and made an accompanying music video. But because the thumbnail was titled “Steve Buscemi Impersonates Guy Fieri,” Palumbo thought it was a dumb joke.

Upon opening it, though, Palumbo discovered a heartfelt song about Bershad’s love for him. Two years later, as juniors at Syracuse University, the song is the debut single of Bershad’s music career, despite the couple breaking up.

Bershad on Friday released the track, rerecorded during quarantine and titled “Warmer,” under their alias Broca Ray. Bershad sings and plays piano on the song, which they described as “close to lo-fi” but with “some jazzier influences.”

Production on the song began in May when Bershad was recording vocals for another song at a friend’s apartment in Pennsylvania and met producer Evan Delp, a senior at the University of South Carolina. Bershad’s talent instantly captivated Delp — they sounded different than anything else he’d heard.

“My jaw was on the floor when they were singing,” Delp said.

Then, Delp asked Bershad, who had just been playing covers, if they had any originals.

Bershad had always been shy about sharing their music. The local performing arts talent overwhelmed them when they grew up in Philadelphia. Bershad began singing and playing at a young age and dove into theater after a chronic autoimmune disorder disease ended their athletic career in fifth grade.

“I never really thought my music had any weight or worth other than just dissipating into the drywall whenever I used my keyboard in my dorm,” Bershad said.

Regardless, Bershad played the earlier version of “Warmer” for Delp. He instantly started thinking of the different directions that the song could go and what he could add onto it.

For five days, Bershad and Delp did nothing but “eat food and make music” from 1 p.m. until 3 a.m. at their mutual friend’s apartment. In their whole life, Bershad had never felt more focused on one task. The vocals for “Warmer” were recorded by the end of the week, with the piano portion finished on that first day. Delp and Bershad also added more instrumentation to the song.

Bershad has written about six more songs and plans to release their EP, “New Jade,” this winter. Aside from an additional in-person session in July, Bershad and Dep have worked remotely for the past several months.

Delp said he and Bershad have a similar artistic vision, and he appreciates the authenticity of Bershad’s music and lyrics. Bershad, meanwhile, said no one has ever understood them creatively as well as Delp does.

“He can translate my vision into sound,” Bershad said.

Over Thanksgiving and winter break, the two plan to spend as much time together as they can recording all of the remaining vocals and fine-tuning “New Jade.”

The whole project ranges from experimental pieces with sound effects to songs with horns, drums and jazzier, upbeat influences, Bershad said. The lyrics, they said, are very specific and intimate.

Once the pandemic is over, Bershad dreams of playing original music live for the first time.

Although Bershad is open to a career in music in the future, it’s not something they are counting on. Rather, they are driven to make music because it’s a personal outlet for them.

“My life is full of things that are really inconsistent,” Bershad said. “I’ve learned to treat things with a good degree of meaning but also with a really fading sense of permanence, because I know that any moment, everything could change.”

Published on September 9, 2020 at 9:05 pm

Contact Austin: aclamb@syr.edu | @AustinCLamb