Ben Caito, musically known as _cato, has been creating luscious and expressive soundscapes to escape and exploit the best of his artistic abilities. As a current student at Boston's Berklee College of Music, _cato is testing his creative capacity by synthesizing his most recent album, "Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows." For the first time, listening to his album, you might believe he's been involved in the productional scene for quite some time, and that stems from his inert ability to create such authentic instrumental tracks that have incredible flavor inserted into them. He's telling a story with each and every track, and listeners can so easily insert themselves into that story in order to conjure any reality for themselves.
The most recent track offering from _cato is his wavy and atmospheric "It's Nobody's Fault." The track immediately sets listeners in an immersive and vibrant soundscape, eventually leading into the more complex harmonies as we delve further. There's hardly a moment where "It's Nobody's Fault" isn't able to make you feel like letting go and becoming fully one with all of the properties the track has to offer. "It's Nobody's Fault" definitely has a light and airy indie element, primarily due to the consistent acoustics used throughout the song. In general, _cato-creates instrumental tracks capture the most fluent components of jazz, hip/hop, and even alternative combinations. There's a different kind of imagination _cato can diffuse into the ears of listeners, and it's the most potent aspect of his music that you'll catch onto as you listen on.
Check out _cato's recent track, "It's Nobody's Fault" here.
Hey _cato! Welcome to BuzzMusic! "It's Nobody's Fault" was featured on your latest album release, "Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows". Can you elaborate more on this album and what this particular release meant for you artistically?
Of course! So, I wrote this album in a time of a lot of change both in the world and in my own personal life. I had recently been sent home from university to quarantine because of the COVID-19 pandemic and I had a lot of free time on my hands. On top of that, I had recently split from my longtime girlfriend of over two years and I had nothing to do but sit alone with my thoughts. Artistically, this record meant channeling all my conflicting emotions into music that actually meant something, without any sung lyrics.
There's definitely a vintage flair that's found throughout your characterizable sound. How would you describe the way you went about choosing the underlying ambiance of "It's Nobody's Fault"?
The first device I ever got to play music on was a tape player and I grew to love the character that the worn tape implanted on the music. My idea behind the backgrounds of this track was trying to emulate that sound as best I could.
Was there a particular emotion or feeling you wanted to impart onto listeners with the energy emulated in "It's Nobody's Fault"? How would you describe the general vibe your album holds for our readers?
I wanted to impart a feeling of bittersweet nostalgia, like missing days that you almost know you shouldn’t. These complex feelings are the basis for the underlying theme of the album, Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. Sadness, but in a way that’s hard to describe. The track titles reconciled with their musical content tell a story. The album’s vibe is a variation on lo-fi indie with a hip-hop instrumental fusion. I took inspiration from artists like MF Doom in incorporating vintage movie quote samples to aid in telling my story.
Now that "Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows" has released, what's the next goal on your list regarding your artistry?! Any future releases listeners can anticipate?!
My next goal is to get back to working on music every day. After the release of this record, I felt artistically burnt out for a few weeks after. As of today, I’m putting out music snippets on my Instagram in preparation for my next record, which will be coming out sometime in August. The title is still in the works, but it will incorporate much more of my jazz background and soul samples.
What's next for you?
I plan to release another record this summer, and hopefully, I can collaborate a bit more with my fellow musicians in the future. The last record was a completely solo effort, including mixing and mastering. I’d love to enlist some of the incredible musicians I know to assist in the creation of the next few records. Thank you for this opportunity!