Cautious Clay

Cautious Clay at Governors Ball 2019

Photo: Taylor Hill/Getty Images

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Meet Cautious Clay: The “Cold War” Hero Talks Billie Eilish, Record Labels & More

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The up-and-coming artist/producer talks about his debut EP 'Blood Type,' keeping things natural and what he's looking for in a record label (if anything)
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Jun 1, 2019 - 2:00 pm

The sparse and soulful sound of Cautious Clay is sure to grab you. Whether you discovered him through his imaginative remix of Billie Eilish’s “Ocean Eyes” (done well before she was a chart-topping star) or his infectious and reflective breakout hit, “Cold War,” the Cleveland-bred, Brooklyn-based independent artist/producer creates memorable work. We tracked him down backstage at Governors Ball in New York City to hear about his festival homecoming, what went into his debut Blood Type EP, what he’s looking for in a record label (if anything), and more.

May 31, 2019 – 7:02 pm

Cautious Clay On How "Cold War" Came To Him

If you could start by telling us a little about your Gov Ball? How'd your set go? What's your impressions of this festival?

Aw man, it's been really cool. I live here in Crown Heights; Brooklyn, New York, so it feels kind of like, it's been a really great experience so far. We didn't really have to go very far with the band, so. Yeah, it was cool, man. Yeah, saw a lot of familiar faces and just been kicking it, you know?

Can you tell me what you feel like you accomplished creatively with Blood Type, your 1st EP? I know you've been working on this for a while.

Yeah, man. I feel like I just was able to talk about a lot of the first kind of inclinations that came to mind as a person, but then also as musician. And also as a very early songwriter. It's the first project I'd ever written, so I felt very freeform and was able to kind of experiment, but also kind of like take from some of the music that inspired me growing up, and then also the music I was hearing, that was new. So I just kind of felt like it was a perfect combination of those things and on top of that, just my own style.

Do you care to name any of those influences? Maybe growing up, pick a couple, and a couple of newer ones?

Yeah, man. OutKast is a huge one for me. I was really into Moby, some older stuff. Newer influences; I really, really like, I mean obviously, Frank Ocean is really cool. F**k. I'm really into this guy named Glen Campbell. 

The Glen Campbell?

Yeah, really interesting arrangements, just really, really cool stuff.

"Cold War," I think, was the first time a lot of people heard your music. Can tell us what you remember about writing and recording, and putting that song together?

Yeah, so "Cold War" felt really, it just felt like probably one of the easiest songs I ever wrote. I just kind of came out, and then I didn't really know the significance of it, I guess. When I made it, I just kind of made it and was like, this sounds really cool but, I didn't know that it would be anything better or worse than "Blood Type" or anything else I wrote on that project. Man, I guess it was a lot of stuff that I was thinking about at the time. I had just been in a long relationship with someone, and was able to put that on paper and kind of just let people take with what they thought, you know but, yeah.

Yeah, a good song kind of leaves room in itself for a listener.

Interpretation, yeah.

Your remix of Billie Eilish's "Ocean Eyes," I think, was really the first thing from you that caught a lot of people's attention.

Definitely, man. Billie is great. We started talking very early on, so yeah.

Her debut album is out now. You've been there since the very beginning, now she's got this No. 1 LP. What are your impressions?

Man, it's really f***ing amazing. I've seen her come from kind of being even a smaller artist than me, at one point, becoming what she is now. And so, I'm just really proud of her. And we still sort of keep in touch, so it's cool to see that she's kind of like, elevated to the position that she's in.

Has your Ocean Eyes remix gotten a lot more attention?

Yeah man, it's really funny. It had a resurgence actually, which is just like funny, because I'm just like, okay. But it's cool. No, it was fun and she's great. We've kept in touch and I'm also a good friend of her brother's, so it's been nothing but love.

As an artist that has chosen to not sign with a label, what is it you're looking for, to support your music? What do you think an artist that has the vision you have needs today?

I think it's just having a solid team that is able to execute your vision, and that is not an easy thing to do and find. I think it definitely starts with a couple of people, and those couple of people knowing how to grow something that you have a vision for. It's really like, there's never like a one way street in terms of how that goes down and how different artists grow, so. I can only say it from experience, that I've kind of grown from being just very much on my own; writing, producing, doing all of this on my own, and then finding someone as a manager—my current manager—who I could trust, and felt like he understood my vision.

It's really been a whirlwind, not signing and continuing this journey. And it's not something I'm opposed to, it's just has to make the most sense, you know?



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What's the rest of the year look like for you?

We're going to Europe tomorrow. We're going to Bergen, Norway, and then hitting up a couple of other spots in Europe, for two weeks. And then we have a full headline tour of the U.S. and Europe as well, at the end of the year. Then we're going to probably put out a project, like a full album, probably top of next year.

Jessie Reyez Gets Real, Connects The Dots Between Crying & Songwriting

Louis The Child at Gov Ball 2019

Louis The Child at Gov Ball 2019

Photo: Nate Hertweck/Recording Academy

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Louis The Child Talk Exploring New Sounds On Each Song, Debut Album & Remixing Death Cab For Cutie

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"We're always trying to move our boundaries a little bit with each song, and each song to be a different mixture of genres in its own unique way," Freddy Kennett, half of the upbeat electronic duo, told the Recording Academy
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jun 5, 2019 - 4:12 pm

Chicago-based dance music duo Louis The Child was one of only a few acts able to play on Sunday at the recent Governors Ball, in between torrential down pours taking over the final day of the fest. Despite the change of plans - and the shortened set length - Freddy Kennett and Robby Hauldren were calm and friendly just before their set, more than ready to hit the stage after how much time they've been spending in the studio lately. That's right, Louis The Child are working on an album, and it'd debatable who is more excited about it, the duo or their fans. 

Before they got the crowd dancing during their high energy Gov Ball set, the Recording Academy caught up with the pair to learn more about their return to the N.Y.C. fest and what they've got brewing on their upcoming debut LP. They also talked about recently throwing down during DJ sets at the brand-new state-of-art KAOS club in Las Vegas, setting the bar high with fun merch offerings, and more.

Jun 5, 2019 – 4:11 pm

Louis The Child On New Sounds, Debut LP & KAOS

Have you two been busy working on music lately?

Freddy Kennett: Like every single day for the first time in three years because we've been traveling so much.

Robby Hauldren: We're still in the studio when we're home all the time, but-

Kennett: Well, yeah, but for the first time in like three years, we've had actually a good amount of time in one place to just be working on music. Like, this Gov Ball we had a month and some change before this, where we just working on music and didn't have to travel. That's so nice.

Hauldren: Yes it is.

Kennett: We love touring and playing music for people, but we also love making the music and that's important too.

It's gotta be kind of like culture shock to get out of the studio and back out in the wild with all these people.

Kennett: Get a little tan maybe.

Hauldren: I forgot what it's like to be around people.

What do you guys think about Governors Ball? Was it your first time?

Kennett: We love Governors Ball. This is our second time being here.

Hauldren: I think the last time we played here was like three years ago and I remember we had like a 12:45 p.m. time slot or something. I remember showing up and being like, all right, well prepare for nobody to be there. And then like we got up on stage and the tent's like half full. By the end of the set it was packed and I was like okay, Gov Ball doesn't mess around.

It's cool to be back now and be playing like a nighttime slot and you know, have all this other music that we've put out since then. And you know the festival itself even looks different since the last time we've been here. So I'm happy to be back.

Kennett: It's a beautiful field. I love it.

Hauldren: Beautiful field, great grass.

Kennett: Great grass.

Speaking of new music, the Death Cab for Cutie remix you did recently is really cool. Can you tell us how that came together?

Kennett: We sent them an email asking them if we could remix it. Well actually, I asked Matt, one of our managers to go and send them that message because we love that song. And I just heard it and I was like we need to be doing some more indie remixes this year. I mean, we need to put out some more of that because we love that. Like doing that and just that vibe. So it was really fun to make it and it took probably like a month to finish up. But then like we got a little mix done and then it's out now and we're stoked about it.

Hauldren: We're playing it tonight.

Kennett: Yep, playing it tonight.

What can you tell us about the new album? How does it feel and sound to you so far?

Hauldren: It's still in a pretty early stages. Only a couple of songs are done and we still are creating a lot of music along the way. It's cool to be making more stuff as we're trying to finish it, because we can kind of fill in all these gaps and we have a much better idea of like the concept of it and the idea of the album going into writing stuff.

Kennett: We do have the full concept of what we want it to be about pretty locked in. And we won't share that just yet. But it's really cool because we've been wanting to make an album but we haven't had a full concept that we're like this is the debut Louis The Child concept album. So now to have that and to kind of know what we want to be saying, know how we're feeling, it's really cool to be able to put that into music.

Can't wait. I heard you guys are doing a Vegas residency. Can you tell me a little about it?

Hauldren: We are.

Hauldren: We actually, we just had our first show of the residency two nights ago.

Kennett: At KAOS.

Hauldren: It was really fun. The club itself is insane, like crazy production and everything.

Kennett: Crazy sound system, great visuals.

Hauldren: It's fun to play out there because every show out there is like two hours sets and between the two of us, we kind of go into it just being like, "All right let's start here and we'll see what happens."

So it's fun. It's an opportunity to play a lot of stuff that we don't get to play in our normal shows and show people a little bit more of like what our music taste is and stuff. I'm enjoying it so far.

Kennett: It's fun. It's definitely a different mixing style than being at other places. And it's fun to dip into that for a minute.

One of the things that strikes me about you guys is I think you're kind of pushing back against genre.

Kennett: Totally.

Do you think we're in a genre-less place or at least for Louis the Child, are you guys in a genre-less world?

Kennett: I think every song we try to do something new and branch out. Like we'll hear something really cool from 20 years ago and that inspires us to do something new that sounds kind of new for us. But yeah, we're always just trying to like move our boundaries a little bit with each song and each song to be a different kind of mixture of genres in its own unique way.

Hauldren: I feel like the modern day music listener like has access to so much music and everyone just listens to everything. So it's a time where artists can really feel like they can do whatever because they know that everyone's kind of down with hearing everything.

Kennett: And at the end of the day it's really about the rhythms and melodies. If the rhythms and melodies make you feel something or not, or if they make you feel the way that it was intended. So, aside from the music.

That's going to make for a great first album. So, your merch is really rad. How important is the visual look for the band?

Hauldren: The merch is definitely very important to us and I think we're even trying to level up even more on the merch. I mean it's cool. I feel like a lot of artists merchandise these days is not just like the straight logo on a shirt, like basic stuff. It's almost like a fashion line now, you know, with your merch. So it's cool that people are down with that and it's cool to explore that like avenue of our creativity with clothing.

Kennett: We're still just at the beginning of that too, diving into the merch world because we definitely have way more ideas than we've been able to execute just yet. Because everything just takes time, getting to a place where you can, you know, do what you want to do.

Meet Cautious Clay: The “Cold War” Hero Talks Billie Eilish, Record Labels & More

Jessie Reyez

Photo: Nate Hertweck/Recording Academy

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Jessie Reyez Gets Real, Connects The Dots Between Crying & Songwriting

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The magnetic young singer/songwriter breaks down her hit "Imported," teases her debut album and reveals the best co-writing secret you'll ever hear
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
May 31, 2019 - 8:17 pm

Backstage at Governors Ball, a random fan stops dead in his tracks and, with eyes open wide in shock, struggles to find the words to tell Jessie Reyez he just saw her set, she is incredible and he really felt what she was doing. It's true. And in person, she connects just as honestly and directly as in her music, thanking the new fan just as sincerely as she sings.

We spent a few minutes with Reyez to hear about her latest version of "Imported" featuring 6lack, the ingenious ways she approaches co-writing sessions and what she's got up her sleeve for her full-length debut album.

People are loving "Imported" right now, especially the new version with 6lack. What do you love about that song? Why do you think it's connected with your fans?

I don't know why, to be honest. I don't know why it's connected. I'm happy it's connected. I'd like to think that it's because it's real life. The song is based on real life. I was going through it and I was trying to get over somebody. And it's just funny, too, because I'm also speaking to myself in the song at a point saying, "Be careful because sometimes it's not always the best way to get over somebody, trying to be physical with someone else when your heart isn't ready." Maybe it's because the song caters to both perspectives as well. I'd like to think [it does].

For sure, a great song often has many angles. How did you get connected with 6lack for that collaboration?

Me and 6lack used to actually see each other all the time at festivals. We would just always cross paths and we were friends prior too, and then it just made sense. So our team reached out to him and then made it happen.

What else are you working on right now?

I'm working on my debut album right now. I'm damn near done. I'm just doing the final touches.

May 31, 2019 – 8:14 pm

Jessie Reyez On The Stress Of Making An Album

Anything you can talk about? I know it's all under wraps until it's not, but how do you feel about this project being your first full-length?

Stressed. I feel stressed about it. But I heard someone talking about it like childbirth, like when you're giving birth and you're like, "This f***ing hurts, this is awful. This sucks." And then you see the child and you're like, "I love you." So I think I'm right before the "I love you" [laughs].

I'm curious what you're listening to right now? sometimes people just disappear into their own thing when their making an album.

I tend to go backwards more than I go forward in music, so I listen to a lot of Otis Redding and Smokey Robinson and Amy Winehouse, and Bob Marley, Tanya Stephens, and Celia Cruz and Carlos Vives. The cool thing about music is you'll never in your life be able to hear every song, whether you're going forward or backward or now. There's just so much, and it's beautiful, so I'm exploring back.

Absolutely, and art is forever, so what you're making now will be around long after we're gone.

Amen. That's the plan, man. Legendary sh*t. Timeless sh*t.

Switching gears, the importance of mental health is something that you've opened up about. What is it that you do to make sure you stay healthy mentally?

I meditate. Yoga. Oh my god, if it wasn't for hot yoga, I think I'd be a totally different person. Well, not totally different, I would just be more of my bad side, I guess. You know? Everybody's got their yin and yang, so I feel like meditating helps my brain just take a second to be like, "Relax. It's fine. It's not the end of the world if something goes wrong, and just be more chill." So I meditate and I sit in the grass, and I take off my shoes, and I recharge, and it's lit.

You're a songwriter first, which I love - what's your songwriting process like, especially now that you're a successful artist as well?

Just vibe. It's just kinda vibe. If it's me and my guitar. I just play the guitar and whatever comes out, whatever I'm feeling. And then if it's me and the producer, it's just vibe. It's not really changed, I guess, because it's something that I still do. So for example, if I get pulled into a session and they want me to write for another artist, I'll ask the artist when the last time they cried is. So that I make sure that I'm taking a piece of their truth, so that when they sing their song it's authentic to them. You know? But for myself, it's kind of easy to think of the last time I hurt because it's usually floating right on top of my heart, so I could just grab it and go.

That's beautiful. What's the rest of the year look like for you?

A lot of work. Honestly, I've been in the studio for the last four months. That's so funny. I've been in the studio forever and I just can't wait to drop this music, man. I'm anxious to get this child the fuck out of me.

Rising Rapper Tyla Yaweh On Performing At Gov Ball, Going From Being Homeless To Touring With Post Malone & More

J.S. Ondara

Photo: Daniel Mendoza/Recording Academy

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Kenyan Singer/Songwriter J.S. Ondara On Telling His Own 'Tales Of America' With Debut LP

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The "Torch Song" singer describes how his new album aims to, 'Speak about my perspective on the times we're in in America as an immigrant"
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Aug 14, 2019 - 4:08 pm

Although he grew up in Nairobi, Kenya, singer/songwriter J.S. Ondara has more in common with Bob Dylan than you might think. After discoving the music of Bob Dylan, Ondara moved to Minneapolis, not far from where Dylan hailed from, to pursue a career. Also like Dylan, Ondara wrote songs - a lot of songs. This year, the prolific Ondara wittled down fhundreds of songs he wrote to the 11 stories comprising Tales Of America, his remarkable debut album.

Aug 14, 2019 – 4:04 pm

J.S. Ondara On Newport Folk & 'Tales Of America'

"I was trying, in some ways, summarize my jorney so far of my time in America in a few songs, a few words, and speak about my perspective on the times we're in in America, as an immigrant," Ondara told us of Tales... backstage at Newport Folk recently. 

Ondara was making his Newport Folk debut, another Dylan parallel and another giant step in his American journey.

"I've known about this festival for a long time," said Ondara. "I used to watch videos of it when i was back home in Kenya all the time. Being here in person, experiencing it, is quite surreal."

Bringing his fresh take on Americana and the American experience, Ondara voice is a welcome and refreshing sound and perspective for the genre. On his latest single, a new version of an outstanding track on the album, "Torch Song (Echo Park)," he sings with a jarring fragility and wisdom beyond his years, "Don't hold a torch to the sun/My heart is never on time/Always a little behind/Oh when it's about to break/I close my eyes and count to ten."

Ondara's songs such as "American Dream," Television Girl," and "Lebanon" have stirred up quite a buzz, and Rolling Stone called him out as an artist you need to know earlier this year. 

"The reception has been great, of the record," he said. "I don't know what I expected really, but this is more than I expected. I'm pretty grateful for all of it."

Catch Ondara on tour this fall in North America and France, and watch our interview with him above for more.

Billy Strings

Photo: Daniel Mendoza/Recording Academy

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Billy Strings Talks New LP, Being Billed As Bluegrass' Future, Heavy Metal & Mental Health

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The virtuosic bluegrass guitar star opens up about his forthcoming album, his rock and metal influences and how he copes with the pressures of touring and being hailed as the future of a genre
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Aug 8, 2019 - 11:31 am

Once you hear Billy Strings do his thing, you'll get it. His unhinged flat-picking guitar playing kicks the tradition of bluegrass into new territory with one foot while keeping the other firmly planted in the genre's rich tradition. As a young artist, his songwriting, already scary good, seems to only be improving. For good reason, Stings is being called the future of bluegrass. And even though seeing is believing, and he proves he's worthy of the attention every night he takes the stage, that's still a lot of pressure for one person.

Aug 8, 2019 – 11:31 am

Billy Strings On Bluegrass, Playing Live & More

We sat down with Strings recently at Newport Folk to talk about how he handles the challenges of all the attention and success, how other genres like rock and metal have weaved their way into his astonishing guitar work, the collaborative process of making his forthcoming album, HOME, and more.

You're new album HOME is on its way, Sept. 27. Can you tell us how it was recorded?

We made it back in January over about 10 days or 12 days I think.

So lots of live tracking then?

Yeah, we just all were isolated in different booths and stuff, but we just try to lay the tracks down and I'll play it and live track it. Yeah, I think most of the songs we just end up doing that way. It kind of feels more live that way too than if we played the music and then did the vocals and then did this and that. We kind of just do it all at once like we do at our concert, you know?

I think there's a collaborative element of that, and a collaboration is a theme to this album. Why is it important to you, as a solo artist?

For me it's just I love playing music with my friends. Like I just did with Molly Tuttle up there [on stage at Newport Folk], but yeah, Jerry Douglas played some on the record and sometimes collaborating with people like that, it's just inspiring. It kind of puts a fire underneath you and keeps you going. When I get to play with my heroes, it really inspires me. It's good for you.

There are a lot of the people who want you to carry the torch for bluegrass, bring traditional bluegrass into the new generation. Obviously, you know the history and you come from the history, but you're doing something new. How do you navigate that as an artist?

A lot of people have said, and I would believe that it's true that you kind of have to know the origins and to know traditional bluegrass before you can then branch out. I think there's something true about that. I grew up playing bluegrass with my dad and very traditional bluegrass, I cut my teeth on it, but then somewhere along the way when I was a teenager, I got into heavy metal and rock and roll and all sorts of different music as I grew up and branched out a little bit.

As a writer, I try not to block off those other genres for inspiration as well. I'll let all the rock and roll and the metal and all that stuff that I've listened to inspire me while songwriting just as much as a bluegrass. And also, even if I'm writing a song that's not very bluegrass, it sort of comes out because that's how I learned how to play. It always kind of, you'll hear that flavor in there, I guess.

Yeah, is there something specific about rock or metal that has worked its way into your style?

I think it's more just about our live show. I think the most important thing that we do is our live show. I think that's where we are really best seen is on stage, in a concert venue somewhere. We're gonna make records and we're going to do our best to recreate that live setting on an album, but we're a live music band. Every night it's different. We could play the same song, but it's totally sometimes different. I don't know, we just try to jam with each other.

How often do you practice to play at such a high level?

I mostly even play on stage every day. Sometimes I never get to practice because I'm always on stage. I was talking to my friend David Grisman about that the other day and like, "Man, I never have time to practice." He's like, "Well you could work up new songs and play them and we do that." But, we play a lot of gigs, and sometimes when I'm not playing gigs, I finally get a day or two off after several weeks on tour. Man, it's almost like you just want to take a nap and catch up.

But, I would like to practice more. Honestly, I think I could do better about that. I'd like to write more music. I'd like to get out my metronome more and practice with that. I'd like to just practice learning my fretboard, everything. I mean I'm still trying to get better.

You spend a lot of time playing shows and touring. For a lot of artists, mental health has become a topic we talk about now, where it used to be avoided. What do you do to kind of stay grounded when you're away from home?

The main thing that I do is I see a therapist and I talk to that person and I've been doing that for a while. I had a lot of anxiety back in January maybe before we started making the record and I don't think it was based around the record. It's based around a lot of other things. Things when I was young and just everything, everybody has their own troubles and that kind of things, but certain things can haunt you or if you keep things inside and don't talk about them, that stuff can come out as an anxiety.

It's almost if you have a pot of boiling water, all these emotions and things that you wish you would have said or maybe thought about or this or that and you put the lid on, it starts boiling and a little bit of steam is gonna get out no matter how hard you hold that lid on. Might as well just take it off.

That's what I do is I talk, I see a therapist and I would recommend it to anybody who struggles at all in that way. I think it is an important thing to talk about and I'm certainly not ashamed of that or anything. I have to work on myself and I think a lot of other people do too. I've lost a lot of friends to, whether it's substance abuse or depression and anxiety and that kind of stuff is very real to me.

Unfortunately, I do believe in this line of work as a musician, entertainer, an actor or actress, those kinds of folks, because there is this added amount of pressure, I think a lot of times anxiety and depression sometimes, I think a lot of musicians deal with that or I think maybe a lot of therapists or psychiatrists see a lot of musicians or entertainers because we're like in the public eye and there's a lot of stress involved.

A lot of musicians depend on things. I know a lot of people that are in bands drink a lot and that kind of stuff. It's easy to do. People are always handing your stuff too man when you're out there. People are offering you everything and it's hard to say no when there's a party and it's, until you start to have anxiety and stuff and that's, man, I just, I do everything I can to try to stay healthy. I try to make sure I get enough sleep, make sure I drink enough water, don't be doing drugs except for psychedelics, but yeah, just try to take care of myself and stay zenned out brother.

One more question: What's inspiring you right now?

I think my earlier life, I use [it] as inspiration a lot. When I grew up, I grew up in a small town and I saw a lot of drugs and stuff, a lot of substance abuse and I saw also that those people drove themselves down into a dark hole and that they can never get out of, prison and overdose and stuff like that. It's like, I didn't want to be a bum. I wanted to do something good with my life. I think just seeing that kind of helped me run towards the light in the right direction.

It's great that we get to travel and spread the light and meet people and play music for people and hopefully brighten somebody's day. Also, I've got to mention my father who taught me how to play. It's just great to sort of carry his torch in a way and to kind of, I'm doing it for him and from my mom and him.

Molly Tuttle On 'When You're Ready,' Her Modern Nashville Bluegrass Classic | Newport Folk 2019