#ArttistTalk: Alternative Rock Group Cavey is ‘About to Start’

Cavey is a London based alternative rock group consisting of Luke Cave (Guitar, Vocals), Alexander Chalstrey (Piano, Organ, Rhodes), Chun-Ting “Refa” Wang (Upright Bass, Bass guitar) and Adrian Ortman (Drums).

The band combines classic sounds and inventive songwriting to create their own brand of soulful, contemporary Rock’n’Roll.  Both live and recorded, the band is a unique and compelling fusion of unrefined talent and dynamic energy, using little in the way of production or effects.

What is the story behind the group coming together?

Cavey formed 2 years ago after Frank Wright (Blaenavon) introduced me to Adrian (drums) at a show in Kilburn. I had a couple of songs that weren’t right for any of my current country or hard rock bands, because the songwriting was a little gentler and a little bleaker, so I decided to form a new project.

Adrian introduced me to a bunch of Jazz musicians at Guildhall and the songs I had written grew into a more cohesive sound that seemed like a good kind of different.

We played a few shows as a trio, with Alex (keys) doing the bass parts with his left hand, and had great feedback and support from the crowd, so we decided to record a few tracks.

We tracked them cheaply at a studio beneath Camden Roundhouse and they went on to become our first EP, Night Time. We had Josh Eggerton of Social Contract play bass for a while, but he got too busy with his band, so Adrian suggested Refa playing double bass. She had all the songs down in like 3 days and smashed the EP launch so she was definitely in! That’s still our current line-up.

Do you write your own music?

We make all our own music from scratch, using the only the freshest ingredients.

Is there any TV show you’d love to create a song for?

If they ever did a TV version of the movie Superbad, that film has a killer soundtrack. Either that or some generic 70s pornography, really cheap stuff…not really a TV show though I guess.

Have you ever covered an artist you admired?

Not in any meaningful way, I sometimes like to try and write under the influence of certain artists and get in their head as best as I can, for example sometimes I think: “Would Leonard Cohen think this is cool?” (The answer is always no).

Actually, we decided as a band to learn more covers as it’s a good way to progress technically. I’m sure some of them will make it into the Cavey set.

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