Josh Karpeh, AKA Cautious Clay (born January 30, 1993) began his artistic journey at the age of seven in Cleveland, OH, when he started with classical flute. When he was studying he discovered the worlds of blues and jazz, and when he hit college in Washington, D.C., he’d added a number of other instruments to his repertoire in addition to songwriting and production. He is at the moment living in Brooklyn and is consistently working on his own music & projects and for others.

First Avenue said this about Cautious on their site:

It’s that deep emotional intuition that fuels Cautious Clay’s sound. Blending R&B, hip­hop, and experimental indie, his productions are dark and engrossing, built upon a unique combination
of organic instruments, digital programming, and soulful vocals. He writes with unflinching honesty, engaging in deeply personal self­ reflection with boldly vulnerable and vividly poetic lyrics. At times
recalling contemporaries like James Blake or Sampha, Cautious is a profoundly modern songwriter and a forward­ thinking producer, but he’s also steeped in the past, quick to cite Burt Bacharach as an idol and credit Stevie Wonder and Quincy Jones as ever­present influences in his artful arrangements.

Cautious added something too:

I used to think about songwriting and production as completely
separate but when I learned how to merge those two
things, that’s when I was able to start creating music that really
connected with people.