This past year has been a tumultuous one; full of confusion, paranoia, and fear, but in the darkness, artists are inspired to take up arms through dance, poetry, visual art, and in Paul Cafcae's case, song. Paul was watching the world like all of us; watching the news of the murder of George Floyd, watching the governments politicize the pandemic, watching the storming of the US Capitol Building, etc. He decided to write a song, a rockabilly shuffle, that could say all the feelings and views he was feeling. That song is "Longest Day of The Year," a follow-up to Cafcae's March release, "Downtown."
"All of these things were happening and it felt like one long day frozen in time. I kept on thinking 'What's next?'" Paul says. "I couldn't be there for the marches, but I wanted to express my views the only way I can—through song."
"Longest Day of The Year" begins with a ridiculously catchy hook—a unison between guitar and saxophone right before Paul sings, "I think it's time to stop chasing phantoms," a wonderfully layered line that sets the tone of the song.
"It is a protest blues inspired by observing personal freedom restrictions, systematic abuse of power, administrative incompetence, the spread of misinformation and the fuelling of various civil unrests of the past 14 months, as observed by a character who is watching the news in the lockdown and decides that they no longer can be on the sidelines," Paul says.
Impeccably mixed by the industry veteran Glen Robinson—who has worked with rock idols like The Ramones, The Beach Boys, and Nashville Pussy—"Longest Day of The Year" is a living testament that if you put enough talent together, you can revive rockabilly—a genre that is now 70 years old.
The accompanying music video features a history lesson in past civil unrest, using footage from the early 30s in places like France, Argentina, and Berlin to the more current footage from Hong Kong to Minneapolis after the George Floyd murder. Paul's vocals pair perfectly to the important footage.
The song has a rockabilly surf vibe throughout, reminiscent of something from The Ventures or Dick Dale era. The lyrics, brimming with social unrest as Paul echoes many of the feelings felt by activists, are met with an unforgettable layer of musicianship. And to top it all off, a passionate saxophone solo by Dennis Kwok, bringing to mind the solo in
Pink Floyd's "Money."
"Longest Day of The Year," is in fact a protest song, but it's a protest song meant for the dance floor.
