FEATURE:
Spotlight
Cassyette
__________
HERE is an inspiring, compelling and…
incredibly talented artist who I think is going to be a future icon. The magnificent Cassy Brooking is known professionally as Cassyette. Born in Chelmsford, Essex, her debut single, Jean, was released in September 2019. As she is about to play Brighton’s The Great Escape and there is momentum behind her and buzz around her, I wanted to highlight one of our most fascinating and strongest young artists. I will come to a recent interview that Cassyette had with NME. Before that, there are a couple of older interviews that are worth sourcing. Upset chatted with the Essex-born artist in June last year:
“Cassyette has been busy redefining herself. Dripping in 90s goth aesthetic - blonde mullet and all - she's rapidly gaining attention via where else but TikTok. After putting her impressively powerful, gale-force howls on the likes of Olivia Rodrigo's super-smash hit 'Drivers License' and Billie Eilish's 'Bad Guy', she's here to beat some life into that old dog, rock 'n' roll.
Her music, engrained within the realms of empowerment - or more precisely, using it to kick a few teeth in - is also centred around personal tragedy. After losing her dad at the beginning of last year, the pressure release value holding all that raw emotion in needed turning.
Naturally, Cassyette blew the whole thing clean off. And appearing through the dissipating steam was a cataclysmic merging of rock with her teen years of genre exploration of pop, techno and everything in between.
"I got a lot angrier," she reckons on her move into this raucously alternative-centred world. "Obviously, after something like that happening - and then living through lockdown and being so isolated…a lot of stuff happened in my personal life [too]. The music is a reflection of that. I stopped giving a fuck about everything!" she cackles.
"It didn't just come out of nowhere - I was a bit of a shithead as a kid. I've done a lot of stuff that my mum's had to get me through. Bless her, she's a saint!"
Raised on a diet of classic staples - yer Motley Crüe's, Guns N' Roses, Sex Pistols etc. - it's no wonder the roads finally merged to this point. On a deeper level, though, the adoration for her beloved genre is all born from finding rock to be "the most emotive style of music."
"It's the darkest, most aggressive, and emotional," she continues. "I mean, that's my personal opinion, but I think you really feel something with it; even if you hate it, it makes you feel something."
Remembering the feeling washing over her for the first time coming when hearing 'Playing God', from Paramore's third album, 'Brand New Eyes': "I remember seeing Hayley Williams and thinking she's such a bad bitch!" She says, still smiling with awe. "The way that she speaks, and her lyrics are incredible."
"I also loved Katy Perry 'I Kissed A Girl', that was probably the first time I was like, oh my god, I can be okay with my sexuality," Cassyette recalls. "I'd never heard anything other than like Tatu 'All The Things She Said', I'd never heard another woman in pop music speaking about another woman like that. It was a massive moment for me…" Another raucously loud laugh surfaces. "I went to an all-girls Catholic school, so you can imagine!"
If ever there were a reason to grab your chain wallet, spike your hair, and kick a door in, then Cassyette has found it. The carefree nurturing of herself has been just as important to learn as it was discovering that raw, untethered howl of hers.
Still, with her debut album to come, after she's sifted through "about two years worth of music," the promise to keep on rattling cages and dismantling centuries-old systems remains front and centre. Keeping an ever keen eye on everything as she plots out her moves - everything from merch designs to video shoots, including for her current single 'Prison Purse' - it's all in the name of exorcising those demons, and making them work for her.
"For me, even if it's a really fucking sad song, I'll still enjoy writing it because you're still getting something off your chest," Cassyette explains”.
@cassyette love this song by @livbedumb 🖤💜 #driverslicense #cassyette #rocksinger #fyp ♬ original sound - cassyette
I have only been following the music of Cassyette for a few months, but I honestly believe she will be a massive artist. There are a lot of interesting artists that are making great music, in addition to utilising platforms like TikTok to bring their music and talent to a wider audience. That is definitely the case with Cassyette. I think a debut album – whenever that is due – will get her on the worldwide map and lead to international gigs. The amazing UNDERGROUND spotlighted and chatted with Cassyette last year:
“After your dad passed away in early 2020, how did this affect your tonal shift into darker music with heavier topics? Are these topics that you would not have covered otherwise?
Totally, like I’m very conversational with my music so everything’s exposed, like I just don’t really hold anything back from it and everything is really relative, all the songs I write are completely relative to what’s going on in my life, either past or present. That was obviously a huge thing that happened, so it completely changed what I was writing about. Still though, the only song I’ve written really that’s partially about my dad is ‘Petrichor’ so far. I haven’t really written much about him because I haven’t even found the words to do that. I think it’s going to take me a long time to be able to write about that experience and him. It’s literally changed the tone because after you lose someone, I feel like you just always have a heavy heart so [you’ve got to] live with it. So, it’s definitely changed the emotion through the music.
I noticed when listening to ‘Petrichor’ there was themes about your dad, and you became a god mother too, can you describe the juxtaposition between the light and the dark that you wrote about on the song?
Just that my best friend whose daughter I became a god mother of, she was just there for me throughout the whole thing, and she has always been such a rock to me. You go through this part of you when you are grieving where you are bargaining with yourself, and humans are so good at adapting to different emotional situations and you have to bargain with yourself to get to a place where you can grow and be happy because being sad all the time is really bad for you! (laughs) I feel like I am trailing off a bit on this question…. It’s hard to explain but I think that what I am trying to say is it was a beautiful thing having my goddaughter being born after I had just lost my dad and it’s just a nice reminder to have perspective on things and to remember to just look forward because you can’t control certain things.
As someone with anxiety and ADHD, has this been something that has been a hurdle within starting your music career?
(Laughs)… It’s a hurdle in life! It just affects me in life, but I am making a special effort to try and do things that work for me, I can’t sit there and write an essay. My attention span is really bad, I forget things, I try and write things down all the time to try and remind me. I guess one of those things, it’s difficult because I’ve learnt so much about myself and about ADHD and the condition – and for me the worst thing is I have big crashes. So, if I am overstimulated for too long, I will just completely crash and I think it’s called an autistic meltdown, and it is literally what it says on the tin, it is a meltdown. So that I find really hard, and that’s probably something as things have gotten busier for me. And I am trying to do a million things at once all the time, that is quite hard because I can crash, I’m lucky I’ve got a good team around me, so that everyone helps.
PHOTO CREDIT: Jessie Rose
Does that change the way you go into a studio, some artists can go in and write song after song, when you go into the studio is it something that you have to break from?
No. I will sit in a studio longer than anyone (laughs) it is crazy because that is the only time where I am hyper-focused. For me writing a song is a formulaic process as well as a cathartic process. The two producers that I have been working with for years now [are amazing], Tylr has ADHD as well, he is more high functioning than me, and Olly is amazing at overseeing the room, so he will navigate how we do a session. It’s not something we talk about, it just happens naturally, so we just have this process where I am able to hyper-focus for hours and feel comfortable doing this. I do sometimes have a nap (laughs) because if you’re using your brain that intensely for that amount of time obviously then that’s when the meltdowns occur – so that is something I need occasionally.
When approaching the creation of music, you said you wanted to “rip up the rulebook” when it came to making music, how challenging do you feel it is being individualistic in a time where it feels like modern music cannot be completely original?
I think that’s a really special thing and I don’t think that that’s necessarily true because I think that since forever the way that you get new ideas is from old ideas, and you take parts of many different things that you like. And just because it seems like there’s so many genres out there already and there can’t possibly be any new genres – that’s bullshit! Taking from ideas and building new things out of old ideas, that is making something new, and trust me watch it, new fashion will come out of that, and I think it’s just about people being ballsy enough to take it to the next level, whatever that is. And people have just been playing it safe for so long. I look at the rock scene that is happening in America they’re just fucking ripping off blink 182 – what’s that about! Come on, it’s silly! But you look at what’s happening in the UK and it’s totally different, look at bands like Bring Me the Horizon, they are literally like the front line of it right now and I don’t know if you saw their show the other day, but it was incredible and it just shows how Oli Sykes has ripped up the rulebook too. He’s literally crossing over so many genres but still remaining metal as fuck, and he is just taking metal into the future”.
I am going to round up with a that interview from NME this month. It is clear that, in Cassyette, we have an artist with the talent, passion and popularity to be remembered decades from now:
“She wants her take on rock music to be progressive and forward-thinking, “but you need people to be able to relate. It’s so important to me that every song is about something real, that people can connect with.” Cassyette is offering that with their string of eclectic, hard-hitting singles, her TikTok covers of pop and rock classics (over 20 million likes and counting) and her Discord community.
With a new project close to being wrapped up (“bigger than an EP, smaller than an album”), and a string of huge shows locked in for this summer, NME spoke to Cassyette about finding their sound, wanting to empower others through her music, and how TikTok encouraged her to be unapologetically herself.
Do you feel like you’ve found your voice as an artist now?
“It took me a long time to get to this point, but yes, I know what Cassyette is now. I want to push rock music into the future. I had to write a lot of songs to find the exact spot where it feels right for me, though; I’m such an old school rock fan, but I love futuristic, modern music as well. I do think it’s important that, in order to discover yourself, you need to try lots of different things. I’m always extreme with it as well; if I want to do something, I’ll fully do it. I never do anything half-arsed.”
You grew up listening to bands like Green Day, Paramore, and Bring Me The Horizon. Who’s inspiring you now?
“I like people that stick solidly to their identity. Artists that don’t look around at what other people are doing. I’m inspired by 100 Gecs, they’re fucking sick and doing really innovative stuff, and so are Sad Night Dynamite. Slipknot are a big deal to me, plus Evanescence and The Prodigy – artists that have created their own space. I’m always trying to do that. It’s never about recreating [music], though. I believe you truly have to be yourself to make the best music you possibly can.”
There’s so much raw emotion in your songs. Are you surprised by the reaction to your music?
“Massively. My music is such a personal expression that anytime someone says they connect to it, it blows my mind. That’s why I put songs out though, so people feel connected to something. If you’re going through grief or depression, it’s so easy to feel like you’re on your own. I know that feeling all too well and it fucking sucks. I hope my music helps people feel like they’re not alone, because that’s what I get from other people’s music and it’s amazing when it happens. The reaction just makes me want to share more of myself.”
You’re part of a new wave of guitar heroes like Wargasm, Yungblud and Nova Twins who make music that’s vulnerable but has a real anger to it. Is that a reaction to the world we’re living in right now?
“Definitely. I’m a passionate person and a massive empath. It feels like the world is on fucking fire at the moment. It’s not the easiest time for people to be alive. So many people are going through hardship right now, it’s unavoidable. You look at what’s happening in Ukraine and it’s fucking heartbreaking. It definitely does inspire angrier, harder music.”
Do you want to show that heavy music can be made by anyone, regardless of gender?
“I am a massive feminist and I’m also queer, so I want to be a voice for people like me or others who aren’t used to seeing themselves in these spaces. I don’t think we’ve passed the need for more representation because people are still dickheads online who will go out of their way to be horrible. Unfortunately, I don’t think that will ever go away, but I believe it’s important to be empowering and show people that these things are accessible for everybody.
What are your ambitions for the future?
“I’m still an independent artist and when things are moving as fast as they have been, you feel like you could drop the ball at any moment. It could go anywhere though. I just don’t want to stop and I want to keep having fun with music. What’s the point of doing something if you’re not enjoying it?”.
If you have not followed Cassyette yet, then make sure that you do that now. With such an amazing and potent sound that is impossible to ignore, I am excited to see what else is planned for this year. After some gigs, I guess there will be eyes on her concerning an album or E.P. So early in her career, Cassyette has proved that she is…
SUCH a terrific artist.
______________
Follow Cassyette
