“Cape Cub’s unique brand of dream-pop has seen millions of streams descend upon his music, and as 2018 continues, so does Cape Cub’s inevitable continuation of his ascendancy to the top” – tmrw
“His talent shines so brightly that it should be pretty clear that there are some big things in store for him” – The 405
“The North East newcomer is on course for the mainstream thanks to the intelligent accessibility of his songcraft” – The Line Of Best Fit
“Quietly euphoric in a neat, uplifting, and highly melodic manner. Tune in now.” – Clash
“With a sound that will melt people’s hearts, UK’s Cape Cub has a chance to be a star” – Revue
Hailing from the shores of the picturesque North East coast, Cape Cub started life as the solo project of award-winning UK based songwriter and producer Chad Male. Now joined by four bandmates, Cape Cub released their first full band single ‘Moonglow’ on Friday 13th July 2018.
“This was never meant to be one person” explained Chad. “The whole thing started out as a project on my laptop. It’s now got to a crazy point where millions have people have listened to my demos and EPs across the world and the live show has grown into something I just couldn’t have imagined back when it first started. Our fans are literally the sweetest people, there’s a lot of them kicking about these days, and it’s because of them that this project has transformed into what it is. Like I said, this was never meant to be, or be about, one person.
“Musically, and I swear this is without immodesty, we take our cues from the arenas. We’re unashamed of saying some of our biggest influences are the ones we grew up listening to like The Killers, U2, Springsteen, The Eagles, Kate Bush, Death Cab For Cutie and The Cure. Those are the acts that aren’t scared of having that fire in their hearts. We’re equally informed by the intimate, hauntingly beautiful melodies and prose of the likes of Joni Mitchell and even Bon Iver, too.”
Back in 2015, Chad generated a tidal wave of online attention with his first song ‘Swim’, which found its way to the top of the Hype Machine chart and gained national airplay via BBC Radio 1.
Recorded in his mum’s loft, the track inhibited a haze of atmosphere and had tastemakers across the globe drawing comparisons to the likes of London Grammar, Coldplay and Aquilo. Rami’s remix of the track has since been licensed to Disco:Wax and Black Butter, picking up over 17.5 million Spotify streams along the way.
In 2016, Male self-released the ‘Closer’ and ‘6am’ EPs as an introduction to his heartfelt and grippingly spacious sound, gaining millions of plays on Spotify and extensive support from Apple Music, before retreating back into his studio to carve his way forward.
Where the ‘Closer’ EP drew upon Chad’s attachment to the stunning landscape and industrial decline around his home in the remote coastal village Marske-by-the-Sea, ‘6am’ absorbed more human themes: growing up and moving on, fighting the loss of youthful optimism, pursuing long-term ambitions, all whilst trying to maintain vital friendships and family ties.
“Every one of my songs is honest, and I’m prescribed to the notion that you need to write from a real place or what’s the point?” explained Chad.
A trio of singles for LAB Records followed in 2017 and after signing a synch agreement with Lava Records in LA, 2018 kicked into gear with ‘Keep Me In Mind‘ featuring on ABC shows Grey’s Anatomy and Deception.
With national radio plays from Huw Stephens and Phil Taggart on BBC Radio 1 and John Kennedy on Radio X already under their belt, Cape Cub have also been fortunate to pick up plenty of support from BBC Introducing and Amazing Radio.
Building on supports with the likes of Fickle Friends, Picture This, Sunset Sons and Clean Cut Kid, the latest raft of Cape Cub headline shows have been nothing short of euphoric.
Chad said, “The last few shows have been an absolute dream. No one can tell you how it feels to have your songs sung back at you like that. We can’t wait to get back in the van and play our music for you all.”
Swim
Cape Cub Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It takes you where you least expect it
Throws you out to sea
Oh and you, you can either choose to swim
Or surround yourself with water
And let it take you in
If that's something that you wanna know, oh
And I will give myself to you
I will give myself to you
Hate, hate is a difficult thing
It takes you where you wanna go
It starts to suck you in
And you, you can either fall into it
Or surround yourself with the good things
And never let it win
If that's something that you wanna know, oh
If that's something, show me where to go, oh
And I will give myself to you
I will give myself to you
If that's something that you wanna know, oh
If that's something, show me where to go, oh
And I will give myself to you
I will give myself to you
The lyrics to Cape Cub's song "Swim" explore the themes of love and hate and the choices we have in how we approach these emotions. The first stanza describes love as a "funny thing" that can take us by surprise and throw us out to sea. We are then presented with the choice to either swim and pursue the love or let ourselves be consumed by it. The second stanza presents hate as a "difficult thing" that can also consume us, but again we have a choice to either fall into it or surround ourselves with positivity and not let it win.
The "show me where to go" refrain in the chorus suggests a sense of uncertainty and a willingness to be led towards love rather than trying to navigate it alone. The repetition of the line "I will give myself to you" emphasizes a sense of surrender and vulnerability in opening ourselves up to these emotions.
Overall, "Swim" urges listeners to make intentional choices in how they approach love and hate, rather than letting themselves be pushed around by these emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
Love, love is a funny thing
Love can be unpredictable and unexpected.
It takes you where you least expect it
It brings you to places you never thought you'd be.
Throws you out to sea
It can be overwhelming and make you feel lost.
Oh and you, you can either choose to swim
You have a choice to embrace and confront love.
Or surround yourself with water
You can avoid love and shield yourself from it.
And let it take you in
You can succumb to love and let yourself become immersed in it.
Hate, hate is a difficult thing
Hate is hard to deal with and can be all-consuming.
It takes you where you wanna go
It can lead you down a dangerous path.
It starts to suck you in
It can become an obsession and overpower you.
And you, you can either fall into it
You can let hate control you.
Or surround yourself with the good things
You can focus on positivity and the good things in life.
And never let it win
You can resist and overcome hate.
If that's something that you wanna know, oh
If you're interested in learning more about love and hate,
If that's something, show me where to go, oh
Show me where to go to explore these emotions.
And I will give myself to you
I'm willing to share my experiences and insights with you.
I will give myself to you
I'm open and vulnerable to you.
Contributed by Eli N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
VJ Nirav - MINT STUDIO
Love, love is a funny thing
It takes you where you least expect it
Throws you out to sea
Only you, you can either choose to swim
Or surround yourself with water
And let it take you in
If that's something that you wanna know, oh
If that's something show me where to go, oh
And I will give myself to you
I will give myself to you
Hate, hate is a difficult thing
It takes you where you wanna go
It starts to suck you in
And you, you can either fall into it
Or surround yourself with the good things
And never let it win
If that's something that you wanna know, oh
If that's something, show me where to go, oh
And I will give myself to you
I will give myself to you
If that's something that you wanna know, oh
If that's something, show me where to go, oh
And I will give myself to you
I will give myself to you
VJ Nirav - MINT STUDIO
Love, love is a funny thing
It takes you where you least expect it
Throws you out to sea
Only you, you can either choose to swim
Or surround yourself with water
And let it take you in
If that's something that you wanna know, oh
If that's something show me where to go, oh
And I will give myself to you
I will give myself to you
Hate, hate is a difficult thing
It takes you where you wanna go
It starts to suck you in
And you, you can either fall into it
Or surround yourself with the good things
And never let it win
If that's something that you wanna know, oh
If that's something, show me where to go, oh
And I will give myself to you
I will give myself to you
If that's something that you wanna know, oh
If that's something, show me where to go, oh
And I will give myself to you
I will give myself to you
Logan
You really typed all this haha wow!
Ana
I'm obsessed with this song 💁 I love it 💗🙌
July Music
same uwu
Logan
Have you heard of (junge junge make you feel like Harding's remix) (love again by adon)
I found these 2 songs back to back from this song.
Logan
Holy shit. Your message was 3 years ago. Where the heck have I been 🥴
80sOutrunFan
I just happen to find this song again, forgot how good it is. Love the vocals ♫ ♫ ♫
Jason P
Awesome remix, love it :)
Johnny
Omg so many good and summer vibes...
lie Li
obsessed with this rhythm