Cassy “Route to Thonon”

Longtime tastemaker Cassy has fashioned her craft in the house and techno worlds over the past decade. After a considerable period of time, she announces her debut album on the prestigious Aus Music imprint – but with a sound that may come as a surprise to most.

Titled Donna, the album is built of twelve songs that mark a real evolution in Cassy’s sound. Her first ever coherent long player made up of what can only be described as very real songs. A far cry from her peaktime slots at Berghain and Panoramabar, and drawing fewer sonic parallels to her left-of-centre dance music formerly released on Perlon and Uzuri – Donna captures Cassy at her most natural sate. Instead, it simply reflects the inspirations and enthusiasms that Cassy has encountered over the years.

“I had broken up with my husband, left Berlin, my friends and a way of making music and of living life,” Cassy explains. “It was too painful to make music. I tried singing and it felt awful. I had to look at myself and understand how much I truly disliked myself. I had to get out of all my unhealthy relationships with people that were a mere reflection of how I felt inside. Music producing was out of the question. It reminded me of who I tried to be for other people.”

After six years of stop-starts, the album writing process eventually started. Six months of structural experiments, two relocations to LA and Philadelphia, and one new born son later – Donna was complete. These helped Cassy transform the album into “a more mature version of me and my music. Into the version I am ready for the world to hear.”

The highs and lows of Donna, as well as its fearlessness to express vulnerabilities, are what make it a truly exciting step in the dark for Cassy. Our highlight comes in the more upbeat brightness of “Route to Thonon”. A mechanical creepiness is ever present, with many shiny techno elements glaring in and out of the texture. The sheer variety of the album – from its minimal techno moments, to soulful house, to Latin-infused beats, to disco-style cuts – are what make it so enticing as a release. Not to mention the saturated use of vocals, adding to the personal feel which helps narrate Cassy’s accomplished and unpredictable journey.

Donna drops on 24 June.

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