A Bit Cagey

Waves and undertows; A Bit Cagey writes music that pushes and pulls. Dark, trip hop pulses shimmer with surreal melodies. The self-produced duo includes Sajida Jalalzai and Melissa Shampine, both hailing from rural northern New York. The two met and began collaborating in their teens, writing music together during junior high school, but went their separate ways after graduation. Almost a decade later, Sajida and Melissa decided to devote themselves to a serious musical collaboration in 2007, forming A Bit Cagey.

Harnessing the duo’s classical training with raw rat-a-tat beats, ethereal vocals, and driving piano, the music of A Bit Cagey draws from trip-hop, dubstep and experimental noise rock. Reflective and apocalyptic lyrics reveal an effort to connect music and social commentary. Artistic influences include Portishead, Radiohead, and Modeselektor.

Sajida Jalalzai resides in New York City and is a doctoral candidate in the Religion Department at Columbia University.
Melissa Shampine resides in Boston and is a student at Berklee College of Music. She plans on pursuing a degree in Electronic Production & Design.

Split between New York City and Boston, long distance musical collaboration is made possible by digital correspondence and frequent trips between cities to write, record, and rehearse. A Bit Cagey’s demo is due for release in the early fall with an EP to follow in the winter of 2010.