Cautious Clay: Tiny Desk Concert

Oct. 24, 2018, Bob Boilen He came to the Tiny Desk with friends, a lot of friends. In fact, Josh Karpeh, best known in the music world as Cautious Clay, put together a backing vocal ensemble of friends he s known since his days as a music student at The George Washington University here in D. C. And so, with five singers along with a drummer, keyboardist and a bassist Cautious Clay brought a warm, thoughtful and chill vibe to the Tiny Desk. I was first struck by Cautious Clay s charismatic spirit at a soldout show in D. C. earlier this year. And while I was already captivated by his seemingly effortless singing, with hints of James Blake and Sampha, when he picked up his saxophone and, later, a flute, I was won over by his rich soundpalette. Here at the Tiny Desk, Cautious Clay opens with Cold War, a song that I interpret to be about commitments within relationships. The line, In it for the monetary growth and power, But we divided at the bottom of this whiskey sour shows the humor and insight t