- Bryon Harris
Fat Cat Affair - 'Up At Dawn'
By Abby Kenna & Staff
Fat Cat Affair is especially intentional with the instrumental arrangement of “Up At Dawn”. He carefully introduces each new layer like a new character to a film, each of them bringing another color of emotion to the song.
The pop ballad opens with an acoustic guitar dancing through a rhythmic progression. For the first verse of “Up At Dawn”, the guitar acts as both the harmonic and percussive accompaniment, yet maintains a catchy, clean motif. An acoustic piano enters the stage next, starting out small with occasional melodic flourishes – just a decoration for the time being. Then, synth chords begin to fade in, with a crescendo, and dissolving into the background as quickly as they appeared. Plucked strings adorn the collection of sounds, adding an illuminating garnish to this soft arrangement.
Each of these elements are light and gentle, introducing us to the sweet-tempered story that Fat Cat Affair is telling through “Up At Dawn”. His lyrics are sentimental but achingly honest, intertwining poetic imagery with bluntness to lace Fat Cat’s message with a rare genuineness. The pairing of these two verses is striking, evoking a thoughtful, but universally known yearning for love:
“When the moon leaves the dark sky
Colorful dreams
still tend to fly
It’s dawn but an angel
Still sleeps in my bed like
She’s under my spell.”
The concept of waking up next to your partner is well known, but once the words follow a Van Gogh-esque description of early morning, they take on a new vibrancy.
This vivid storytelling continues in the instrumental arc of “Up At Dawn”. As drums finally enter the arrangement, Fat Cat Affair is able to let his voice spill out with a bit more fervency, depicting the intricacy of his love. There’s tension mixed with the simplicity, fear mingling with delicacy. Minor chords end each verse, adding the smallest touch of apprehension to the song’s message – just enough to embody the real feeling of love.
An electric guitar solo rounds out the song, coursing with wordless emotion and leading Fat Cat into one final verse. “Up At Dawn” is an instrumentally and lyrically rich ballad, deserving a place on every lovebird’s upcoming Valentine’s Day playlist.
About Fat Cat Affair
There is a legend in Europe, on the streets of the great cities. The name is whispered in the alleyways, talked about in the artist quarters and spreads like wildfire whenever he plays. Fat Cat is in town! Fusing RnB flavours with pop and funk undertones, Fat Cat is one of those rare felines that everyone wants to work with.
A multi-instrumental, multi-genre, funktastical cat-beat monster! Many have said that his skills come from his friendly nature and his love for people whilst others say it is because music is in his blood.
For more information, please visit Fat Cat Affair's website.