Toronto, Ontario May 10, 2024 (Issuewire.com) – On May 10, 2024 Paul Cafcae unveiled the first single, “Banks of Marble” from his upcoming 5th album that has been in the works for the past year. The single was inspired by the growing inequality and lack of democratic agency for the people of Canada and draws on historical folk influences from Eastern Europe and North America alike, all while highlighting the talents of Cafcae’s bandmates and collaborators.

The idea of the song came to Paul as he witnessed the working and living conditions of people in Ontario, Canada degrade in the second decade of the 21st century. “The pronounced inequality in the levels of democratic agency between the people and their employers has been troubling me for years,” says Cafcae. “I believe that we need more unions if we want things to get better.”

While on tour though Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and northern Quebec in the spring of 2023, Paul noticed the same trends in these provinces, and decided to start introducing this song in his concerts, although it was only half-written at the time. Over the weeks of the tour Cafcae continued to workshop the song as he realised how much it resonated with everyone who is struggling under the current system. After completing the second tour in Eastern Canada in November 2023, Cafcae and the band finally felt ready to go into the studio and record this song for the upcoming album.

“Banks of Marble” reflects the tension between the owners and the workers in every part – its lyrics, music, composition, and delivery. The lyrics draw inspiration from the 1949 song “The Banks Are Made of Marble” written by the New York State apple farmer and president of the farmers’ union Les Rice and famously recorded by the notorious activist folk singer Pete Seeger.

The musical style is also a union of early southern and northern Americana motifs with a dynamic build up throughout the song, alluding to a pot coming to boil, or a fire lighting up from a single spark – both universal symbols of the revolutionary movement. The transition of the song’s rhythm section into a marching pattern which is introduced in the final chorus further evokes the feeling of a revolutionary march. An action that the song, perhaps boldly, aims to inspire.

Besides Paul Cafcae, on this recording you can hear Ethan Tilbury’s (@ethantilbury) masterful performance on the upright bass which sits in a tight pocket with Diana Herrera’s (@zafdii) exquisite and precise drumming. The song was recorded and mixed by Andy Dmytryshyn (@nailshitter) of the School House Studios in Hamilton, Ontario, and masterted by Jamie King (@machinejk76). The single’s cover features a photo by Jessie Ciccarelli (@jcicc.photos).

The song is available on May 10, 2024 on all major music streaming platforms and in all major online music stores.

For more information please visit www.paulcafcae.com