Over a pulsing-but-breezy beat, Debo Ray sings about diving “down into the rabbit hole.” The lyric, from her dreamy, addictive modern soul single “Cope,” inspired a minor masterpiece of a video.
“When I wrote the song I used a prompt of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ to get that ‘what is reality, what is not’ aesthetic,” Ray told the Herald. “[For the video] we tried to get a lot of those elements of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ without being too on the nose.”
Mission accomplished: the clip is a psychedelic rush of bright colors, dance sequences and subtle nods to the Lewis Carroll classic.
But more can be read into the lyric. More than any Boston (or maybe national) artist, Ray has followed music in strange, magic directions: rock, soul, jazz, opera, heavy metal, and all sorts of experimental stuff between genre borders.
“I admit I am still trying to find the balance point,” she said ahead of her May 12 Stevie Wonder tribute show at Arlington’s Regent Theater – one of five different concerts she’ll present at the Regent in 2023. “My main thing in terms of balance is, ‘Where can I find the most joy?’”
Ray has followed her bliss through song since she was four, when her parents started taking her to sing with them in churches. Eventually, they told their daughter they couldn’t teach her anything else. To continue her education, she attended the Handel and Haydn Society Vocal Apprenticeship Program, obtained a diploma in opera voice from the New England Conservatory Prep School, and graduated from Berklee College of Music with a degree in vocal performance and classical composition.
Berklee connected her with talents that equaled her own – she scored a Grammy-nomination for her work with Terri Lyne Carrington’s jazz band and sings with guitar virtuoso David Fiuczynski’s jazz-punk/jazz-funk/jazz-fusion act Screaming Headless Torsos. Along the way, Ray became increasingly in demand for projects that break boundaries, such as her main role in last month’s opening of opera “The Jonah People” with the Nashville Symphony.
But part of that search for balance has meant devoting time and effort to her own original music. In 2023, she released singles “Cope” and throwback-r&b groove “Filly.” She plans to build from there.
“I definitely want to do longer form music,” Ray said. “I’m a really big fan of orchestration, whether it’s for film or television, and I’m trying to bring that kind of energy into my live show. And from there I want to create a fuller narrative, an LP length narrative. At this point, I have about four songs on the docket that I’ll release as singles to get people geared up for what they’ll hear with a longer-form release.”
What will those four singles sound like? As you might guess, they won’t sound much like “Cope” or “Filly” or anything in Ray’s past.
“One of my singles coming this summer is more disco, another is a ballad, a la Celine Dion,” she said.
Whatever the song, whatever the sound, it’s time for Boston (and the nation) to follow Ray down the rabbit hole.
For music, tickets and more tour dates, visit iamdeboray.com.