Few new artists so completely embody the spirit of downtown NYC more completely than Cazwell. A leading figure in the renaissance of New York City nightlife that has taken place over the last five years, Cazwell’s music—a ridiculously fun mix of electrified dance music and old school hip hop—is the perfect example of the new spirit of pop music.
Says Caz, “When people ask me how to describe my style sometimes I say ‘Just imagine if Biggie Smalls ate Donna Summer for Breakfast.’” Having collaborated over the years with a who’s who of downtown New York—Amanda Lapore, Larry Tee, Boy George, David Chapelle, The Ones, Chriss Joss, Peppermint, GoodandEvil, Karl Giant and Lost Daze, —Watch My Mouth is the natural next step for a performerschooled in clubland, pulling together some of Cazwell’s most effortlessly catchy singles and pushing things forward with new tracks perfectly-suited to bring the party. Club bangers like “All over Your Face” (which first tore up the Top 40 dance charts in ’06) and the recent viral video sensation “I Seen Beyonce At Burger King” sit nicely next to tracks like “Give Me Tonight” (featuring a classic Shannon sample) and “Get Into It” (featuring Amanda Lepore). “All I wanna do is party and have a good time! I think everyone can relate to that right about now,” explains Cazwell.
At a time when artists like Lady Gaga (for whom Cazwell has performed as an opening act and was featured on her no. 1 hit “Just Dance”) are redefining the art and artifice of dance music, Cazwell is finally primed to take center stage. About being one of the first artists to collaborate with the pop princess, Caz exclaims “Gaga is fierce! The first time I performed ‘Just Dance’ with her was in a Lower East Side club on Ave C. “She threw me on the stage floor and started riding me, then pushed me off into the crowd. It was amaaazing!”
The music embodies the same spirit of fun and goofball experimentation that was the hallmark of artists like M.I.A., Neneh Cherry, Eminem and Deee-lite. “More than anything I want to inspire people to have a good time,” says Cazwell.
“When I go to a club I want to party and I want to make music that makes other people want to party. I’m not necessarily trying to make people think too hard, I’m trying to make them dance.”
Cazwell is also executive producer, brainchild, and songwriter behind Amanda Lepore’s upcoming debut album “I…Amanda Lepore” also due this Spring. The album features such Caz-penned Lepore classics as “Champagne,” “My Hair Looks Fierce,” (which has already been tapped for a television theme song!) and the rambunctious pop punk ode to love “Cotton Candy.”
Caz also guest stars in the “Cotton Candy” music video directed by Bec Stupak which will be Amanda’s premiere release for her album! About being Sonny to a train international Cher, Caz says, “I love working on the Amanda record because she’s so interesting and has had such a crazy life. She has a very different point of view. I think that is makeup for an amazing album. I think we definitely achieved that with ‘I…Amanda Lepore’”
While recording “Watch My Mouth,” Cazwell also has spent the last couple of years traveling the world gigging and making special appearances, soaking up the best beats and making an international slew of new fans. He’s performed at Radio City Music Hall as an opening act for Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors Tour (“Radio City was a big production.
Amanda and I performed with twenty-two drag queen ‘Rockettes’ and an additional 16 dancers with 2 costume changes. I learned a lot about keeping things under control, to say the least!”), at the Dior Homme’s 2008 after-party in Paris with electro upstarts Justice (“Performing for Dior was an honor. Very intimidating since Paris is hard to impress. Not to mention having Karl Lagerfeld at your show, you want to turn it out.”) and has been notoriously hosting outlaw Burger King parties in your city with troublemaker Daniel Nardicio.
Says Caz about finally unleashing “Watch My Mouth” onto the masses, “I wanted a CD that you could just play the whole thing through at a house party. From working so many parties in New York I definitely took on that ‘good times’ mentality and just to make sure there is something for everyone I decided to put in additional remixes at the end of the album.”
