Biography
New York multi-instrumentalist Carrtoons first drew notice through his lush, retro-leaning soul-jazz productions, which rest on fluid, tuneful bass lines he plays himself. Three collaboration-driven albums—Saturday Morning (2020), Homegrown (2022), and Saturday Night (2023)—yielded widely streamed singles such as “Father,” “Groceries,” and “Spaceships,” each placing a vintage aesthetic on contemporary playlists.
Born Ben Carr in Rosendale, New York, the youngest son of jazz violinist and educator Richard Carr, he grew up surrounded by instruments and felt free to try them all. Serious commitment arrived only after he encountered the playing of Victor Wooten, bassist for Béla Fleck & the Flecktones. While performing in pop-punk groups during high school, he immersed himself in classic and alternative rock plus hip-hop ranging from the Bad Boy Records catalog to Madlib. After completing a jazz performance degree at SUNY Purchase, he joined the future-soul collective Mad Satta on bass. Early highlights included opening slots for Thundercat and session work with Robert Glasper; in 2017 he began issuing music as Carrtoons. The wide-ranging Saturday Morning, released in 2020, established the template for his output: rich, bass-forward R&B shaded by understated vocals from Rae Kahlil, Julia Zivic, Topaz Jones, and Mad Satta’s Joanna Teters.
Homegrown, the 2022 follow-up recorded almost entirely inside his apartment, reached still larger audiences. “Groceries,” a partnership with Lettuce keyboardist and singer Nigel Hall, became a major streaming hit, as did “Be There for You” and “Lighta,” the latter featuring Khalil. That same year Carr expanded into outside production, adding to Austin-based BLK ODDYSY’s “Benny’s Got a Gun,” which included guest vocals from Benny the Butcher and George Clinton. Ahead of a year-long tour, he issued Saturday Night in 2023, fronted by “Spaceships,” with Haile Supreme handling lead vocals, and the duet “Put Me On,” shared by Teters and Reuben James.
Born Ben Carr in Rosendale, New York, the youngest son of jazz violinist and educator Richard Carr, he grew up surrounded by instruments and felt free to try them all. Serious commitment arrived only after he encountered the playing of Victor Wooten, bassist for Béla Fleck & the Flecktones. While performing in pop-punk groups during high school, he immersed himself in classic and alternative rock plus hip-hop ranging from the Bad Boy Records catalog to Madlib. After completing a jazz performance degree at SUNY Purchase, he joined the future-soul collective Mad Satta on bass. Early highlights included opening slots for Thundercat and session work with Robert Glasper; in 2017 he began issuing music as Carrtoons. The wide-ranging Saturday Morning, released in 2020, established the template for his output: rich, bass-forward R&B shaded by understated vocals from Rae Kahlil, Julia Zivic, Topaz Jones, and Mad Satta’s Joanna Teters.
Homegrown, the 2022 follow-up recorded almost entirely inside his apartment, reached still larger audiences. “Groceries,” a partnership with Lettuce keyboardist and singer Nigel Hall, became a major streaming hit, as did “Be There for You” and “Lighta,” the latter featuring Khalil. That same year Carr expanded into outside production, adding to Austin-based BLK ODDYSY’s “Benny’s Got a Gun,” which included guest vocals from Benny the Butcher and George Clinton. Ahead of a year-long tour, he issued Saturday Night in 2023, fronted by “Spaceships,” with Haile Supreme handling lead vocals, and the duet “Put Me On,” shared by Teters and Reuben James.
Albums
Singles
