by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
Brooklyn’s The Cradle has proven to be one of the most eclectic and forward thinking projects of the past decade, with each new release covering a new set ideas, sounds, and feeling. The project of Paco Cathcart is consistent in quality, but everything else can and will change from release to release. Their upcoming album, Radio Wars, due out September 23rd via NNA Tapes (Rachika Nayar, LEYA, Booker Stardrum), mixes together a blend of experimental indie, Gamelan influences, and a hefty dose of studio sheen pop. Cathcart’s ability to mix it all together into one vision is beyond impressive, mixing contrasting ideas in a way that feels natural to their exploration. Following the rich auto-tune of lead singles “Lights Off” and “Ha Ha Ha!,” we’re excited to premiere their latest, “I Love That Music”.
Inspired by the sounds of their Brooklyn neighborhood and the culture it provides, “I Love That Music” warbles like the fresh air on a sunny day, a jaunt down the street when everything feels momentarily in place. Cathcart’s voice is slightly wavering as though the boombox is shaking as it walks on by, but the production is crystal clear, with every element brought to life in the glow of it’s construction and the embrace of light.
Speaking about the track, Cathcart shared:
“This is a song about my day to day life in the neighborhood I lived in from 2014-2021, the part of east Crown Heights that stretches from Troy Ave to Ralph Ave called Weeksville. I love that neighborhood so much. The song is about stepping out of the crib and feeling the tremendous energy of the people in that community, ambling over to St. John's park to pick up a bag of weed to smoke while I record music, letting my thoughts drift back to an old friend who is no longer in this world as I pass the people going their own way, each their own story, each their own part of the history of this place.
The harmonica featured on this song was played by the late Ras Yo Yo, a spectacular singer, harp-blower, story-teller and dear friend of mine who lived on Prospect Pl. He was an older person and in the early Covid days we tried to keep space assiduously from each other- he rode his bicycle to the crib, I came down and stood on the other side of the fence from him while he played his harmonica on the sidewalk, and I laid the recording over the track later. Yo Yo passed away April 20th, 2021, may he rest in peace. This song will always be connected for me with his memory, riding his bike through the neighborhood running some little errand, looking sharp, dressed impeccably in all white, smiling and laughing, under the thick hot sunlight of summer in Weeksville.”