Interview — Cassia
»We’ve become a little braver talking about our emotions«
With their second studio album, »Why You Lacking Energy?«, Cassia present a thoughtful, strong, and mature piece of music that is full of soul. In a personal interview, the three guys from Manchester reveal why they decided to show a completely different side of themselves with this album—musically, lyrically, and emotionally. They also explain why they are trying everything to make the world aware of their music, even if that means they have to join TikTok.
16. Juli 2022 — Interview & text: Jonas Meyer, Photography: Maximilian König
In a time when pretty much everything is considered already said, written or invented, it is not often that people create something unique and distinctive, especially in the music world. But sometimes it does happen. Like in 2019, when the band Cassia from Macclesfield, Manchester released their debut album »Replica«. Back then, vocalist and guitarist Rob Ellis, bassist Lou Cotterill, and drummer Jacob Leff left a musical mark on the world that felt quite new and refreshing.
Cassia’s energetic, vibrant and positive sound is often described as tropical or Afro-Caribbean, which is no coincidence. Both, Rob’s father and grandfather spent many years in Zambia and brought back a lot of music from there. At the family’s house in Macclesfield, there was a large record collection of African music that certainly has modified Rob’s musical genes. When Jacob bought a djembe (an African drum whose body was made of the wood of cassia trees) the band’s name was found.
Now, three years later, after the world has been facing multiple crisis, Cassia present their second studio album, named »Why You Lacking Energy?«. As is often the case when a band has set the bar high with their debut album, album number two will inevitably have fans, critics, and others listen closely to see if the band has firstly, stayed true to themselves and secondly, gone next level. The mechanisms of the market apply, as we all know, also and especially in the music industry. When you are an artist, you have to fulfill expectations—period.
With »Why You Lacking Energy?« Cassia refuse to do that—fortunately! Sure, it would have been easy to just copy the pattern of their first album and stick with what works. But the British band has decided to show a completely different side of itself—musically, lyrically and emotionally.
The new record sounds thoughtful, strong, and mature, sometimes even melancholic: probably because the compositions seem more complex and sophisticated; probably because there is a big portion of soul in it; probably because they open the door to their personal stories and experiences in the lyrics. In any case, it is wonderful to listen to Cassia reveal a previously unknown side and to discover songs whose catchy hooks just stick in your head.
Yes, we know that we may be crossing the line of journalistic objectivity here, but this album just sounds like you are getting to know a new, deeper side of someone you spontaneously made friends with three years ago. But enough said: let Cassia tell you everything else. We met the three guys before a concert at the honored Lido venue in Berlin-Kreuzberg for an interview and photo shoot.
»When you’re in your own bubble, you tend not to see things from anyone else’s perspective.«
MYP Magazine:
Three years ago, you asked your fans on Instagram to preorder your first album »Replica«. You said that the music industry was a tough one to crack and that you guys really wanted your new album to hit the top 10. Have you now, three years later, reconciled with the music industry?
(All three are rolling their eyes)
Rob:
Oh no, I don’t think so. Although we’ve had some lucky breaks and things, making it in the music industry is still pretty hard. That’s exactly why it feels so good for me to play our music live on stage in front of thousands of people and have fun touring the UK and Europe. But we also know in our heads that it’s still a long way to go for us. There’s still a lot to achieve.
MYP Magazine:
With your first album »Replica«, you succeeded in two things: First, you presented a very unique and distinctive sound, and second, you created a couple of songs with real earworm potential. Does that kind of success turn out to be a burden when you start writing a second album?
Rob:
I think it’s more an enabler. »Replica« didn’t really feel super successful to us, that’s why we think we can always go bigger and better…
Lou:
…because when you’re in your own bubble, you tend not to see things from anyone else’s perspective. So, we’re always being under way and working on new music all the time. But my main motivation is to play shows, go see different places, and take something from it for ourselves and the music we create.
»There were so many rejections, we had to work, work, work.«
MYP Magazine:
Rob, you just said that you consider your previous album not super successful. How do you personally measure success?
Rob:
I don’t really know. I mean, you’ve got the charts and stuff. But does that even mean anything? I try to define success more from a musical perspective. For us, »Replica« was a good foundation for our work. It gave us a platform to get out and play live shows. But as musicians—at least it’s like that with us—after every album you ask yourself: What’s the next step?
I remember well the time when we were so far off, shooting our e-mails to get a gig and just start. There were so many rejections, we had to work, work, work. And with »Replica«, we could see the result of this work for the first time.
MYP Magazine:
How many people did you write to back then?
Lou:
Millions! We tried everything to make the world aware of our music.
Rob (smiles):
Absolutely everything! In the end, tons of people bought the album, which was really cool. And over the years, a lot of people have come to see us play, that’s even more exciting.
»We always wanted to write positive music—and we really haven’t stopped doing that.«
MYP Magazine:
In the time between your first and second album, the world seemed to have turned upside down. We experienced Brexit, Corona, and now there’s a war on European soil. To what extent do these events influence your music? Or to put it another way: Would your music sound differently without these world events?
Lou:
Outside influences definitely inspire us to write differently. But I don’t think it fuels the main thing and we go for a musical turnaround. From the beginning, we always wanted to write positive music—and we really haven’t stopped doing that.
Jacob:
I would say the influence of these events has more of a secondary effect on each of us. Also, how can things like Covid or the war pass you by? I’m sure that all of this affects us as human beings in a certain way. But we can’t say how exactly.
»We wanted to spin a bit more of a story through each song.«
MYP Magazine:
Let’s talk about your new album, »Why You Lacking Energy?«. There’s not only a big portion of soul in it, it also feels a little more thoughtful and serious. And especially when it comes to songs like »Colossal Happiness« or »Boundless« there’s some melancholia in the air—kind of like how it feels when summer comes to an end. Is this a new musical and emotional facet that you have discovered for yourselves?
Rob:
I think it’s more because we had a lot of time to create something new—something we wanted to be very proud of. That was the first thing we said when we started writing on it. Lyrically, we definitely worked a little more intense on how the words come across and how we want them to sound to people. We wanted to spin a bit more of a story through each song and went crazy on details and stuff. It’s very cool that you say that you hear a lot of soul in it and that it feels more thoughtful—because that bounces what we really wanted it to be like. It hits a completely different part of our Cassia sound.
Lou:
We put a lot of different moods and emotions into the album. This has not only influenced the sound, but there’s also a depth to the lyrics, that surprised even us, while writing the music. It’s deep shit a lot of the time…
(All laughing)
»We’ve become a little braver talking about our emotions.«
MYP Magagzine:
Sometimes you combine these deep, thoughtful lyrics with a happy song title, such as »Colossal Happiness«.
Rob:
Yeah, we actually like that happy-sad-pairing thing.
Lou:
Our music has changed a lot. We always wanted to make happier music—for sad moments when it’s raining or something like that. But now we create this duality within the songs.
MYP Magazine:
Would you say your music has grown up?
Jacob:
I would rather say that we’ve become a little braver talking about our emotions. When we were working on our first album, we could say relatively easily: this is a Cassia song, and this isn’t—because of the musical aspects of it. That tiny thing has been slightly taken away—not fully, but substantially. In the song »Boundless« for example there is a quite dark piano part, that would never have been on the first album. But at that particular position, this piano part expresses our feelings best. That’s why the new album is much more open—and a song like »Boundless« becomes a Cassia song for that very reason.
»There’s lots of different vague questions and ideas on the new album.«
MYP Magazine:
Your new album is called »Why You Lacking Energy?« What is behind this question?
Lou:
It was a lyric in the song, »16-18«. I don’t know if it was ever meant to be the album title when we wrote it. But listening back to the whole album, this particular line seemed to encapsulate this very introspective thing we built. It is not necessarily asked specifically; it can apply to many things… I really like how that works: There are lots of different vague questions and ideas on the new album and for us, it feels like an exploration of our own emotional state. So, the title »Why You Lacking Energy?« is pretty representative—and I guess the question isn’t answered on the album (smiles).
Rob:
No, never answered!
»Reality is often just completely different than expected.«
MYP Magazine:
In your song »Motions« you deal with the construct of time in a very introspective way. Have you already reached a point where you start looking back at your life?
Lou:
Actually yes. The song »Dreams Of My Past« also deals with that topic, both tracks are tales of going back and forth between the past, the present, and the future. This subject is brought up quite a lot.
MYP Magazine:
Not to sound cheesy, but do you »look back in anger« in the words of Oasis?
Jacob:
Not in anger, more in uncertainty. You always say to yourself: In three or four years, I want to have achieved this or that. And when you hit that point, you start looking back to your idea: where you wanted to be, comparing it with the reality, and with where and who you are today. That’s not so much a matter of better or worse than planned, it’s often just completely different than expected. And this experience always raises the question if it will be going well in the next three or four years to come.
»When we started as a band, we didn’t think about being on a platform like TikTok.«
MYP Magazine:
The video to the song »Motions« opens with the information that it’s 2081, and that information overload has drained people of energy. Would you say that information overload is the greatest threat to the creative output of artists nowadays?
Rob:
Absolutely. This overload really influences you and pulls you in. And you definitely start thinking that you should be doing more of the things that have a higher entertainment factor and attract people’s attention. When we started as a band, we didn’t think about, for example, being on a platform like TikTok, where the audience has an attention span of five or ten seconds. The way people consume media, and therefore music, has completely changed, and you have to adapt to it. That’s crazy. Just too much information!
»We didn’t really think that we would be doing any of this stuff one day.«
MYP Magazine:
In your song »See Myself« you sing the lines »I don’t wanna lose track« What do you do as a band, but also as good friends, in order not to lose track in the future?
Lou:
It’s very simple: we just keep making music together.
(Rob and Jacob agree)
Rob:
And we keep playing shows! This is the one real thing and the whole experience. When we started Cassia, we didn’t really think that we would be doing any of this stuff one day. I remember watching videos of bands, looking all tired on tour, and I thought: Why do you look tired? What you are doing is really cool, you should enjoy this moment. That’s why we wanna crack it as long as we can. It’s just fun—and a very special experience that we can share as friends.
