Cautious Clay

Cautious Clay: “Karma & Friends” (At Home)

For folks hip to the playlist heavyweights of KUTX and, well, most NPR Music stations, the name Cautious Clay should be pretty familiar. Dating back to his debut single “Cold War” in the Fall of 2017, this Brooklyn singer-guitarist has brewed up a seductive concoction of R&B, hip-hop, and soul, with a delicate vocal delivery that’s sure to elicit a swoon or two.

On the Studio 1A veteran‘s latest release (and first full-length), Deadpan Love, Cautious Clay once again invites a strong sense of electronic production into the mix. But that doesn’t mean Clay can’t still rock it acoustic when he wants to. Check out an intimate, stripped-down set recorded at Orchard Studios in New York that Cautious Clay taped just for us right before Deadpan Love dropped, including some of the album’s strongest contenders, “Agreeable”, “Shook”, and “Karma & Friends”.

Benny Sings: “Run Right Back” (feat. Cautious Clay)

Having been born in Western Netherlands in the late ’70s, singer Tim van Berkestijn grew up with a thorough understanding of what a good time is. Fast forward to the turn of the millennium where Berkestijn began building up his reputation on bass with Dutch hip-hop outfit Abstract Dialect, before popping off his solo career as Benny Sings with 2003’s Champagne People. Since then, this ambitious multi-instrumentalist has been fizzing with nothing but fun, earning van Berkestijn collaborations with the likes of Mac DeMarco and Mayer Hawthorne and performances alongside The Free Nationals, Tuxedo, and more, not to overlook the consistent quality of his steadily expanding discography.

Today he invites you to join him on the maiden voyage of the appropriate-yet-succinctly-titled Benny Sings Music, packing some serious yacht rock vibes along with solid R&B and ’70s-style soft pop, making Music a shoe-in for your summer playlist with high profile features like “Run Right Back”, featuring KUTX favorite (and Studio 1A veteran) Cautious Clay.

This Song: Cautious Clay On “B.O.B” by Outkast

When Cautious Clay saw the video for Outkast’s “B.O.B” for the first time, the combination of the duo’s rapid fire rap style, techno influenced production and hyper-saturated psychedelic visuals blew his 7-year-old mind. On this episode, he tells us how that experience continues to have a profound impact on his own work, especially on his new project “Table of Context.” Plus, he explores how Outkast, along with his beat-boxing flute teacher, taught him to approach creativity without boundaries.

Cautious Clay just released a new EP called Table of Context

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Listen to Cautious Clay’s new EP Table of Context

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