Meet Wollongong’s latest music collab Benjamino x Meadowhip – aka Ben Cauduro and Cara Walkam – and their new track ‘On Repeat’

Described as sweet, lilting and slightly despairing, On Repeat is a melodic complaint about being stuck in a rut. With a gentle jazz beat, Benjamino’s buttery brogue weaves into Meadowhip’s delicate inflections, lending a soothing, multidimensional vocal-scape to an age-old question – “Is this really all there is to life?”

Tell us about your music careers so far…

B: I’ve been doing Benjamino since 2019, which was the first time I’d really gone in all in for a solo project. I wanted to explore some music that I hadn’t been able to delve into before in previous bands – mainly indie rock bands. I’m a multi-instrumentalist, playing keys and guitar, but also used to play the trumpet. I wanted to try to write music that would be able to incorporate all those aspects.

C: I feel like my backstory is very similar. I’ve been in indie/alternative pop bands forever, but Meadowhip is my first solo project which started in early 2020/late 2019 as well. The bands that I’ve been in have always been very focused on guitars. I love that type of music, but I was also writing a whole bunch of stuff that didn’t work for that. I was in the Art Studio in Sydney and started working with an R&B producer. I’ve been working with her pretty consistently to develop my sound as it were.

You’ve both worked primarily as solo performers, how did this collaboration come about?

B: It was after Cara released her single – we had a conversation about the fact that there aren’t many solo R&B artists around town. From there we agreed to write something together. It has been about two years in the making. During Covid we started talking about wanting to do a collaboration together. And even then, it was rather delayed because just about every time we’d agreed to get together for a writing session or rehearsal, there’d be extra lockdowns and restrictions, so we had to exercise some patience!

As new collaborators, how do you navigate the creative process?

C: I have a lot of experience with co-writing but I’m quite limited with instruments. It’s great to get someone who can play an instrument and who can come up with some different types of groove that I’m not capable of.

B: In the bands that I’ve ever been in, it’s been that old Crowded House saying “two dogs and a dictator” – so I’m the dictator in that scenario! I was keen to give writing with someone else a go, but also keen to write with someone who wasn’t necessarily an instrumentalist. I’m an instrumentalist first and foremost. I’m just keen to hear some other ideas that aren’t my own.

C: That’s similar to me – the thing that I focus on most is lyrics. And I thought: I know I’ve heard Ben’s songs. He can write lyrics. It’s not all on me! <laughs>

Was the creative process an easy one?

B: It was pretty easy. We didn’t ever really butt heads in terms of creative decisions. A lot of the lyrics came together over a Zoom session. We were both just coming up with the words – it was sort of putting the puzzle pieces together.

C: Yeah. It’s funny that like. It was very simple, but I did have little moments of thinking “if I make this decision and it’s got Ben’s name attached to it, then I’ve made a terrible decision on his behalf”. I get into the weeds with production mixing. Ben’s notes are so concise with the production and mixing – like six dot points, really clear. And I’d have pages and pages of feedback… I’m a bit too much! But in terms of the creative [process], it was pretty smooth.

What are the perks of working as a duo?

C: It’s been handy to have someone else involved. It takes some of the weight off all the tasks that you have to do to get [the song] out into the world. Seeing how someone else operates as an independent artist.

B: I’d agree. The whole thing has almost been like a big field research project. How does someone else who’s an independent artist do this? We’ve both been in the exact same scenario, having to release our music. We have little differences in how we go about it. So, it’s been good to [see what] I might use that for the next single.

C: I’d never even contemplated what a [joint] show looks like before. You have to start thinking about how you present yourself on stage outside of just doing your own stuff. So that’s a new challenge for me… and a little bit frightening. Why have I signed up to play instruments on stage? <laughs> Why did I do that? But I’ve done it, so it’s happening. It’s awesome.

What’s next for this collaboration?

B: The plan is to tour the East Coast, from basically from Brisbane to Melbourne at this stage, and hopefully some more regional shows too. So that’s something that I’m really excited for. Personally. I’ve played a fair bit in different regional areas around New South Wales and they’re some of my favourite shows to play.

C: We’re in the process of recording an acoustic version of it as well. I feel like that’s going to lend itself a little bit more to the local scene. More sort of like guitar driven and low key.

Follow Benjamino x Meadowhip for local gigs or catch them on their On Repeat tour:

• 1 July – Can You Keep a Secret, Brisbane

• 28 July – Transit Bar, Canberra

• 30 July – Hamilton Station Bar, Newcastle (free)

• 5 August – Brunswick Artist’s Bar, Melbourne