CAii
Communicate
CAii is a producer and artist from Manchester who has released over a dozen songs since her debut in 2018. She takes a brutally outspoken and honest approach to her lyrics where nothing in her personal life is left unsaid. Toxic relationships, mental health struggles, female empowerment - she goes after it with a solid Alto voice, great control and firm grip on tones and production. Here’s our review of her latest single, “Communicate,” it’s an excellent display of craftsmanship.
Track starts with an autobiographical voice over, setting the stage for two lovers who are in different orbits - unable to get in the same circle. With the first verse, she’s accompanied by an intricate pizzicato pattern in a 1- 6 3 7 chord progression that is very refreshing. Her vocals are sturdy and airy at the same time - great tone. Love how the first melody keeps it tight around the minor 3, and then oscillates up to the 5 and 7 on the back half of the phrase. Pre-chorus has a slight alteration to the chord progression to give us a little different taste - nice touch. With the first chorus, you’d expect a big rush of instruments, but she keeps the focus on the vocal - adding depth and doubling to the lead as well as some great backgrounds. Great idea - keep the focus where it should be, on the voice.
Second verse has a nice uptick in intensity by keeping in the bass line that came in in the chorus, as well as some added keyboard lines. Great pop vibes here, very sensible choices and the production perfectly matches the yearning of the lyrics. If she’s pleading for more communication, then the setting should be one where her voice gets heard - and that’s exactly what she accomplishes here. Second chorus and there’s another uptick in intensity with added percussion loops, but she still maintains the focus on the vocals - good work.
Lovely bridge work with the addition of telephone filters and some extra push in the vocal delivery. She’s done an exceptional job of slowly building up the intensity of the track, step by step, all the way to the end - and finishes it off with another voice over, this one in French. This is a textbook example of how to write and produce a solid pop song that clocks in exactly at three minutes - great work CAii.
Make sure you scroll down to check out her socials and other works. Temporary High is a favorite (love the chorus), as is “Back it Up” (great lower dance groove). She’s also got a couple of really great covers in her portfolio from The Weekend and Chris Isaac. If you like what you hear, sign up on her mailing list and get ready for “Pretend,” the next release coming out December 2nd.
Check it out now!