CAYE

By: Olivia Vitarelli

Piano, drums, steelpan, guitar, bass, and didgeridoo. That’s a list of instruments writer, producer, and singer Caye can play, many of which you’ll see on stage in his upcoming headlining tour this March. A self-proclaimed philosophical, existential guy, Caye spent secluded quarantine months crafting his debut album WE LOVE – a melodious exploration of life’s big questions and universal truths. He’s a storyteller at heart, and he’s sharing his musings in the form of songs that, true to the album’s name, we love.

The multi-hyphenate musician grew up just outside of Boston, in a small town called Belmont. “I grew up in a musical household,” Caye says. “Every other weekend in high school, we’d throw parties and jam with different musicians from the Boston area. It was always a big family affair where we’d have tons of friends gathering and the vibes were just incredible.” The jams were open to all. “It didn’t matter if you were a professional jazz musician or if it was your first time picking up an instrument and you were shaking a tambourine. Even if you weren’t playing music, as long as you brought positive energy, you were welcome.” In addition to these musical gatherings,

Caye found himself writing, producing, and performing for a variety of jazz bands and rock bands throughout the city. “[I was] switching off weekends attending a jazz program at New England Conservatory and competing in tennis tournaments,” he reveals. “There was a time when I thought my future was playing D1 Tennis.”

His love and talent for jazz began early in childhood. “I studied classical piano for the first ten years of my life,” Caye explains. “I then started studying jazz music roughly for the next eight years. I learned a whole lot of theory, and how to play my instruments at a high level. That experience greatly informs my work today.” Still, he tries to strike a balance between music theory knowledge and uninhibited creative expression. “There’s knowing music, there’s playing music, and then there’s feeling the music. Mostly anyone can learn the first two, but the feeling is what I’ve found to be the most important for music creators.”

After his introduction to classical piano, at just age twelve, Caye forayed into producing and solidified his love for music. “I was given Logic Pro as a Christmas present and started producing hip hop beats. I spent that next summer in Trinidad with my dad. We were kindly hosted by this family who showed us around the music scene down there and even invited me to jam in their family band. This is where I fell in love with music.”

By age sixteen, he was releasing original songs on Soundcloud. “The word started to spread around my high school and then soon around other schools in the area,” he notes. “Not long after, I started playing shows performing my own music.” Two years later, after turning eighteen, Caye enrolled in the music program at the University of Southern California and moved to LA. With just a year of USC training under his belt, Caye booked a gig opening for a tour through Canada and the U.S. He spent the next few years on the road, until the pandemic hit. “Everything stopped,” Caye says. “I spent a lot of quarantine creating what is now my new album, WE LOVE.”

An eight song debut album living “somewhere in the alternative, indie, psychedelic, pop, rock, and R&B world,” WE LOVE started as a mantra between friends and became a sonic reflection on the human condition. “‘We love’ was something my friends and I would say instead of goodbye or peace, like Pura Vida in Costa Rica. Then, I wrote WE LOVE PT. 2 and soon after, WE LOVE PT. 1. These two songs inspired me to create an entire album.”

Motivated by a mantra-turned-melody and his lease up in LA, Caye decided to journey across California with his roommates and girlfriend, embarking upon an adventure that would “greatly change [himself] and [his] music in many ways.” They stayed in a multitude of different cabins and Caye learned to take his time and enjoy the stillness. “I learned that, to truly get to know yourself, it’s sometimes helpful to isolate and get away from external influences. I learned that I need those quiet, peaceful moments more often in my life, and I will continue taking journeys like this. It gave me the time and space to create something that I’m truly proud of, that I feel truly reflects me and how I feel about the world in this moment. And, although I will continue to change, as will my music, this album will always be a reminder of who I was during this period.”

Moved to reflect by the slow pace of quarantine months, Caye reveals, “I did a lot of thinking on the currencies of humans. I realized that the most important currencies in our society are Love, Time, and Money. Love, to me, felt like the strongest currency that we have to give and receive. So, since Love is the most important human currency, it just felt right to call the project WE LOVE.”

In addition to laying down the vocals on each song, Caye both wrote and produced the album. Of the three disciplines, he notes, “they all resonate equally for me. There are different phases of life for a musical artist. It goes in cycles, sort of like the seasons. There’s creation mode, where you isolate yourself, look deeply inwards and create. There’s the middle phase, where you get all the content, cover art, mix and master the album, and start testing the waters by playing it for specific people. And then there’s the release and performance phases, where you take all of that work and share it with the world,” he says. “It’s the cycle that makes me love being an artist. It’s that process that keeps this lifestyle so interesting and exciting to me.” Now that WE LOVE is finally in the release phase of the cycle, Caye feels amazing. “Especially for it to be received with so much love,” he says. “After putting so much time and care into this album, I’m extremely happy for the world to finally be able to hear it.”

Up next, he’ll headline a tour in March. “I was immediately excited, nervous and then grateful,” Caye says of the moment he learned the news. “I realized there was a lot of work ahead of me. But also, that my manager and I have already put in so much work to get to a place where I can headline my own tour. Headlining a tour is not something that every artist gets to do in their lifetime, so I am incredibly thankful for the opportunity.” Driven by gratitude and excitement, Caye reveals, “I just can’t wait to get out and play this new music for people. It’s been so long since I’ve been able to play a show. The joy it brought me on my past tours to play my old music live was unexplainable, and I feel that I connect on a much deeper level with the message and sonics of this current album.”

To Caye, touring is like a big sports game that he runs no risk of losing. “I’ve learned to love the butterflies before stepping on stage. Then, the rest is just pure adrenaline and joy. A lot of times I get lost in the moment on stage and sort of black out. All I know is when I come off stage I usually feel amazing.” With a tour on the horizon and his debut album in the rearview, music has become a pivotal part of Caye’s identity. “If I go too long without picking up an instrument, or writing a song, or jamming, I start to go a bit crazy…at this point I can’t imagine living without it.”

Creative Director: Heather Koepp

Photographer: Heather Koepp