Cafuné

Brooklyn-based duo Cafuné emerged from the NYU campus in the mid-2010s with a beguiling strain of percussive dream pop with electronic and shoegaze undertones. After their 2015 EP Love Songs for Other People gained some streaming traction, they spent the next several years focused on releasing singles and evolving their sound. Led by the sprightly single “Tek It,” Cafuné issued Running, their full-length debut, in 2021.
Sedona Schat and Noah Yoo met during their freshman at New York University, where they were both enrolled in the recorded music program. They immediately clicked as friends and collaborators and began writing songs together under the name Cafuné, a Brazilian-Portuguese word whose rough translation refers to “the act of running your fingers through a loved one’s hair.” Recording at the school’s studio, they issued their debut single, “Letting Go,” in 2014. An EP, Love Songs for Other People, followed in 2015 and one of its songs, the glittered electro-pop cut “Warm Body,” was streamed heavily. The pair found similar success with follow-up singles like 2016′s “Don’t You Forget” and 2019′s “Tek It.” With its vibrant groove and quirky melodic patterns, “Tek It” quickly became Cafuné’s most successful song and, along with follow-up single “High,” was included on the duo’s debut album. Released in 2021 on their own Aurelians Club imprint, Running featured a more guitar-based indie rock sound than their earlier work. An EP devoted to different versions of “Tek It” was released the following year. ~ Timothy Monger