Rainy Day Café x Rankd
Tape recorded analogue nostalgia
Rainy Day Cafe is the brainchild of Brighton’s Ben Williams, and the name alone conjures an image of warmth, comfort and repose – something that translates effortlessly to Ben’s latest lo-fi offering ‘When I’m Older‘, released back on Feb 19th. Pushing the digital aside and opting for a more traditional set-up, Ben adopts sounds reminiscent of Rock and Roll Night Club-era Mac DeMarco and Buds-era Surf Curse – incorporating production techniques have slowly phased out of the mainstream or become entirely digitalised to reinforce the sunshine-filled nostalgia bursting from self-produced discography.
'I recorded these songs in my old flat in my lil room, I had a fun time making them and have good memories associated with them. Now I’m no longer in that lil room, this collection of songs feels complete.'
‘When I’m Older‘ is a retrospective ballad diving head-first into themes of childhood, growth and reflection – an uplifting blast of light on a theme that evokes mixed feelings on the subjective experiences of the listener. Rainy Day Cafe’s authentic style rears it’s head away from seamless perfection, embracing the joy of home recording and the unpolished nature of the final product.
Rainy Day Cafe’s upcoming EP (bearing the same name as the recent single) releases on April 4th, and was crafted from the confines of his own self-studio – a space bursting with experimentation and creativity (aside from bucket-loads of analogue perfection in the form of his Fostex A-8, Tascam 244 amongst plenty more kit!)
The natural modulation of Ben’s recording approach has become an intrinsic element to his sound – paired with chorus-kissed guitar and a stripped instrumentation to give ‘Rainy Day Cafe’ an unmissable flair within the local music melting-pot.
As a multi-instrumentalist, Ben has played an independent role in building his ever-expanding discography, but has recruited other local masterminds to take ‘Rainy Day Cafe’ to the stage. Making an appearance at 2024’s Homegrown festival and getting airplay from BBC Introducing, Ben has come a long way since his first debut show in November ’23 – and 2025 is en-route for success.
The debut EP from Rainy Day Cafe releases on April 14th, and can be pre-saved HERE. The title track is out now, so get your daily dose of analogue bliss while its fresh off the press.
