Bio:
Amidst his burgeoning success, Ben Carr, the New York-based multi-instrumentalist and producer known as CARRTOONS, remains anchored in his musical roots of soul and jazz. His signature retro-inspired sound resonates deeply, with the electric bass taking center stage in his intricate, rhythmic compositions. Carr's love for jazz was honed during his studies at SUNY Purchase Conservatory, influenced by pioneers like Thundercat and Madlib. Following his Jazz Performance degree, Carr embarked on tours with Mad Satta and Joanna Teters, gradually building his career.
While success didn't come overnight, Carr's dedication and tireless work ethic propelled him forward. For CARRTOONS, creativity flows continuously, recognizing that music is discovered in every moment. Since adopting the moniker in 2017, Carr has consistently churned out viral videos and garnered attention with each new release, leading to high demand for his distinctive sounds. His unique basslines and compositions have earned him recognition, including a performance on NPR's Tiny Desk and placements with brands like Supreme, Nike, MAX, and Peacock. Collaborations with artists spanning various genres, such as Usher, Mac Ayres, and George Clinton, further solidify his influence.
CARRTOONS' breakthrough came with the 2022 release of "Homegrown," which has garnered over 30 million streams on Spotify alone, contributing significantly to his impressive 40 million total listens on the platform. His music seamlessly transitions from digital platforms to live performances, with sold-out shows in key cities like New York, Los Angeles, and London. As he prepares for his 2024 tour, CARRTOONS unveils his seventh album, "Saturday Night," showcasing his unmatched ability to innovate and push the boundaries of his musical prowess into new realms.
The Recôncavo is an almost invisible center-of-gravity. Circumscribing the Bay of All Saints, this region was landing for more enslaved human beings than any other such throughout all of human history. Not unrelated, it is also birthplace of some of the most physically & spiritually uplifting music ever made. —Sparrow
"Dear Sparrow: I am thrilled to receive your email! Thank you for including me in this wonderful matrix."
—Susan Rogers: Personal recording engineer for Prince, inc. "Purple Rain", "Sign o' the Times", "Around the World in a Day"... Director of the Berklee Music Perception and Cognition Laboratory
I'm Pardal here in Brazil (that's "Sparrow" in English). The deep roots of this project are in Manhattan, where Allen Klein (managed the Beatles and The Rolling Stones) called me about royalties for the estate of Sam Cooke... where Jerry Ragovoy (co-wrote Time is On My Side, sung by the Stones; Piece of My Heart, Janis Joplin of course; and Pata Pata, sung by the great Miriam Makeba) called me looking for unpaid royalties... where I did contract and licensing for Carlinhos Brown's participation on Bahia Black with Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock...
...where I rescued unpaid royalties for Aretha Franklin (from Atlantic Records), Barbra Streisand (from CBS Records), Led Zeppelin, Mongo Santamaria, Gilberto Gil, Astrud Gilberto, Airto Moreira, Jim Hall, Wah Wah Watson (Melvin Ragin), Ray Barretto, Philip Glass, Clement "Sir Coxsone" Dodd for his interest in Bob Marley compositions, Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam and others...
...where I worked with Earl "Speedo" Carroll of the Cadillacs (who went from doo-wopping as a kid on Harlem streetcorners to top of the charts to working as a janitor at P.S. 87 in Manhattan without ever losing what it was that made him special in the first place), and with Jake and Zeke Carey of The Flamingos (I Only Have Eyes for You)... stuff like that.
Yeah this is Bob's first record contract, made with Clement "Sir Coxsone" Dodd of Studio One and co-signed by his aunt because he was under 21. I took it to Black Rock to argue with CBS' lawyers about the royalties they didn't want to pay. They paid.
MATRIX MUSICAL
The Matrix was built below among some of the world's most powerfully moving music, some of it made by people barely known beyond village borders. Or in the case of Sodré, his anthem A MASSA — a paean to Brazil's poor ("our pain is the pain of a timid boy, a calf stepped on...") — having blasted from every radio between the Amazon and Brazil's industrial south, before he was silenced. (that's me left, with David Dye & Kim Junod for U.S. National Public Radio) ... The Matrix started with Sodré, with João do Boi, with Roberto Mendes, with Bule Bule, with Roque Ferreira... music rooted in the sugarcane plantations of Bahia. Hence our logo (a cane cutter).