Australian producer and DJ, Cassian, is hot off the release of his stellar 8 Voices EP and about to start a US tour in support of the record. We were lucky enough to have him sit down and answer a few questions for us. Check it out below and make sure to catch him this Saturday at U Street Music Hall with Penguin Prison:
We loved the 8 Voices EP. Great record and great extension of your sound. Was the more house oriented direction a conscious decision or natural progression?
Thanks! A combination of both actually. It started with an idea I had out of nowhere on a plane (which would later turn into “Survivorâ€), and after playing it out for a few months, I decided to make a track to put on an EP with it. The Ninth was definitely a preconceived track. I wanted to do something more house sounding than Survivor while keeping a similar aesthetic & emotion.
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How has the tour been so far? What’s your favorite story so far?
The Aus leg of the tour was great, I’ve been touring Australia pretty consistently now for 4 years but it still feels fresh & exciting. The last night of the tour at a club called “Elsewhere” on the Gold Coast was definitely the highlight. It’s probably the best club for me in the country and was one of my first interstate gigs way back in 2009. I put a video on Instagram/Facebook a few days ago that captures it pretty well, the crowd are crazy knowledgable and as soon as I started mixing in Da Noyz (the track playing in the video) they all started climbing the walls & screaming (in a good way haha).
Do you have any other big releases planned for 2014?
I have a remix for Classixx coming out soon. It’s a remix of “Rhythm Santa Clara” which I finished around six months ago. We’ve been sitting on it for a minute! Apart from that I’m in the final stages of my next release, which I’m hoping to have out around late April. There’s another EP for Nurvous in the works too which will be out in Summer hopefully!
How did you start DJing and producing? How do you view your relationship to both of the roles?
I started playing piano when I was really young, and guitar when I was about 10. I was always in bands playing keys or guitar and in 2007 when I started to really get into dance music I had an opportunity to play a few DJ gigs at a club that one of my bands played at. I started producing electronic music around the same time but had absolutely NO idea what I was doing so I didn’t put anything out until 2009. It can be hard to balance the roles sometimes, but for me they definitely feed each other. I don’t think I could produce dance music without having knowledge of how a dance floor works. The music I produce is almost solely inspired by what type of music I’m DJing at the time and the opposite is true as well.
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What’s your writing process like? How does it differ when you write a remix vs. an original?
It happens in 2 ways, I can either sit down and methodically work through ideas until something sticks, or it can just come to me out of nowhere. Remixes happen a lot faster than originals for me, I only ever accept remix requests for songs I’m really feeling & that I already have ideas for. With a remix usually one of the hooks will come from the original track so you don’t have to carry the burden of coming up with a big hook. With an original the options are almost limitless so it can be difficult to be decisive about an idea, but producing an original track is ultimately more rewarding (creatively) than a remix.
What’s your favorite hobby outside music? Avid cyclist? Architecture fanatic? Sci Fi junky?
Basketball. Can’t get enough. I’ve been playing since I was young & when I’m home I play 3 times a week. It’s hard to get games when I’m touring but I’ve got a few now in LA (which is where I spend most of my down time in the USA).
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Who are some artists you’ve been into recently?
Kink! Marc Romboy! Kyle Hall! Dusky! Disclosure (duh), TEED (duh), Cajmere (duh). Groove Armada & Simian Mobile Disco have been amazing the last year or so. I could go on & on…