First Watch: Cautious Clay, 'Call Me'

You can hear the birds chirping and the traffic sounds outside the window of this makeshift studio window. The Brooklyn apartment is where Cautious Clay and his friends, guitarist Chris Kyle and drummer Francesco Alessi, chose to record a stripped-down version of their new song "Call Me."

Cautious Clay is an artist I've only discovered this year, at a sold-out show in Washington D.C., completely filled with screaming admirers. He made me a fan with his soulful voice and intense charisma, but when he picked up the sax and the flute — that was the winning moment. I left the club assuming that Cautious Clay, aka Josh Karpeh, was headed for stardom.

Oddly enough, this new song addresses just that, and he wrote to tell me about the song's subject. "'Call Me' addresses how people idolize others and obsess about fame," he wrote. "'Fell for the fame, it's alright it's OK' acknowledges that it's something we all sometimes do, and recognizes that we often think some people are more deserving than others."

Cautious Clay has released two EPs this year, Blood Type and now Resonance, which includes a studio version of "Call Me."

We are likely to hear a good deal more from this talented singer, songwriter, sax player, flute player and more in the coming year.

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