Cassyette has spoken to NME about what went into her debut album ‘This World Fucking Sucks’, the challenges of life on the road, and what her next record could look like.
READ MORE: Here’s Cassyette: meet the crossover punk powerhouse
The Brighton-based artist born Cassy Brooking – who originally hails from Essex – exploded onto the alternative scene with her breakout hit ‘Dear Goth’ in 2021, going on to blend nu-metal, emo and pop soundscapes together with soaring chorus hooks and brute heaviness.
Having toured with Bring Me The Horizon and Bryan Adams earlier this year, ‘This World Fucking Sucks’ arrived amidst some considerable momentum for Cassyette.
“It legitimises what you’re doing, getting to meet the [fans] who are listening to it”, she told NME, reflecting on her recent run of in-store shows and signings. “Music is such a connecting mechanism for people’s emotions.”
“One of the main through lines on the album was grief – I lost my dad at the beginning of the pandemic”, she continued. “This album has been very exposing for me. I didn’t really know what the reaction would be. Being able to hear people’s stories, it’s connected way more than I thought it would, which is a really beautiful thing to have seen happen.”
Describing her changing relationship with her debut, Cassyette recalled the idea of “dirty nostalgia”, a phrase coined by one of her friends. “Touring the album [can] leave you in this place… trapped in an old thought process, or something you’ve already accepted.”
“But then, I don’t think grief is binary, [in terms of] the journey. There have been times when I don’t have the emotional bandwidth to delve back into that… but it’s bittersweet, because some days you feel in a good place with things.”
Cassyette spoke to NME about turning grief into something beautiful, recent advice from Oli Sykes and Bryan Adams, and progress with new music.
NME: Hello Cassyette. Have certain moments in ‘This World Fucking Sucks’ taken on new meanings for you since the album was written?
Cassyette: “One song in particular, ‘Four Leaf Clover’, I wrote [about] accepting grief, but in a beautiful sense of reflecting on knowing a person and being in someone’s life. ‘I’m the luckiest, the luckiest girl in the world / To get to have you / So lucky ’cause I knew you‘ – my dad used to say, ‘Stay lucky.’ He was a really light-hearted, cheeky person. When I feel down about the fact that he’s not here, I often think about that lyric, because I was lucky to have him for the amount of time I had him for.”
READ MORE: “Pressure cooker” impact of touring on mental health “needs addressing” – but help is at hand
That’s such a beautiful outlook to have on life…
“Losing a parent – young – it changes you. You realise how precious and short life really is – it’s something we often hear, but [you realise] when you go through it. I spoke to a girl the other day, one of my fans, who had just been cleared of cancer – it was quite a miraculous thing. She said, ‘I’m literally doing everything that I can with my life to seize the moment.’
“There are times where you have to feel your emotions, but feelings are temporary. It’s like having a panic attack – you’re not in it forever. You can choose to see life through a positive lens… and actively romanticise everything. Nothing then sways you, you become a calmer person.”
You’ve put in the hard yards on the touring circuit – how have you coped with the intensity of the past few years?
“If I think about it too much, I’ll just exhaust myself! It does intensify your emotions, because it’s super overstimulating – I’ve had to learn to curb that. I have Bipolar disorder, which is kind of a nightmare when it comes to touring. I’ve had to be super on it – more than a neurotypical person – to keep myself from spiralling.
“Every tour I’ve done has been better in some ways, but harder in others. I spoke to [Bring Me The Horizon frontman] Oli Sykes and also Bryan Adams on two separate tours. Oli’s been doing it for years, but Bryan’s been doing it for twice as long. His voice is amazing, and he looks great as well. I asked him: ‘How do you keep so intact, as a person, on these tours?’ He was like, ‘honestly, I just eat well, sleep, and I don’t drink or smoke.’”
Do you feel that the new generation is outgrowing that infamous rock‘n’roll lifestyle?
“Unfortunately, it is [still] rife in this industry. It’s on you as a person to control yourself, and some of us just can’t. But I definitely think there is a new [mindset]… seeing the industry change, you literally can’t function doing that typical rock‘n’roll lifestyle. When I see people trying to live up to that, I just cringe because it’s so unrealistic.
“There’s definitely a new way of doing things. You have to gig so much more, I had to give a piece of my soul this year, I swear to God. I had some health stuff going on and had to carry on touring and ground myself right down. If I was still doing drugs on top of all of that, I think I’d be dead! I’m two years sober now, and I think that’s the key to being able to do what I do.”
You mentioned Oli Sykes – he’s been a supporter of yours since the early days. What does his mentorship mean to you?
“We talk about lots of things. On my [2022] ‘Mayhem’ tour, I was having issues with my stamina. I ended up desperately trying to find a vocal coach, and I was recommended Kim Chandler, who also does Oli. She mentioned to him that I was struggling, and he sent me the most lovely message. He said to me, ‘It’s a marathon, not a sprint.’ When people like to show mentorship, that is the nicest thing. Honestly, I hope I can be that person for someone else one day.”
Have you started working on new music?
“I’m always writing concepts and poems. We’ve started on the next project – very early stages – but there’s a couple of demos now. I couldn’t tell you one specific vibe, but one of the songs sounds like Portishead, which is so random for me. That means nothing in context to what the project will be, because the other songs that we’ve written are really heavy.
“It will be more expansive, in the sense that I’ll always be progressing my sound – I’m not going to write another ‘Petrichor’ or ‘September Rain.’ I’m going to head out of the UK for a bit, to explore working with some different people. It’s been a difficult few years. I’m in my gallivanting era – I need to just go and be free!”
Cassyette’s debut album ‘This World Fucking Sucks’ is out now. Check out her upcoming live dates below and visit here for tickets.
NOVEMBER
12 – London, The Courtyard Theatre
13 – London, The Courtyard Theatre
14 – London, The Courtyard Theatre
For help and advice on mental health:
“Am I depressed?” – Help and advice on mental health and what to do next
MITC – A collective of musician industry therapists
TONIC Rider – Bespoke training and support for music industry professionals
Help Musicians UK – Around the clock mental health support and advice for musicians
Music Support Org – Help and support for musicians struggling with alcoholism, addiction, or mental health issues
YOUNG MINDS – The voice for young people’s health and wellbeing
CALM – The Campaign Against Living Miserably
The Samaritans – Confidential support 24 hours a day
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