Track By Track: Cassian Takes You Through His Debut Album 'Laps'

Best way to understand what I was trying to do with the album is to listen to it through the lens of it being a story. The journey of going through a relationship, from start to finish and starting again. That said I also want everyone to be able to listen to each song through their own experiences and find what it means to them.

Banza

This song was written from the ground up with the idea of it being the first song on the album. The very first sound you hear is actually my voice.

Magical featuring Zolly

Got to collaborate with some of my favourite artists on this album. Huge fan of Zolly and his band Crooked Colours. The original demo of this song was actually a really monotonous (almost techno but slow) track. I incorporate some of the elements from the old demo when I play this one live.

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Zolly: I first worked with Cass when he mixed the Crooked Colours record Vera and the plan had been for me to jump on a track with him down the line at some point, so when we both found ourselves in Sydney at the same time I jumped in the studio with him for a writing session. Cass had this cool idea of making each track on his record represent a different part of the evolution of a relationship. So he had a very specific spot for our song. The track is meant to be the point where you realise it's probably not working, but you're trying to salvage it anyway because it feels like the right thing to do. After that session Cass went back to LA and we kind of just did long distance updates. The whole process felt really organic and natural and taught me a lot about setting up your approach to a song and Cass obviously knocked it out of the park with the production.

Imagination featuring Tora

One of the last songs I finished for the album. Was very lucky again to be able to collaborate with Tora on this one. The only song on the album with a shuffled drum groove. One of the first elements that inspired the song was a granulated guitar loop, it's barely audible in the final version but if you listen to it on it's own it encapsulates the emotion of the whole song.

Tora: Imagination was written in stages. For months it was just the chorus melody floating around my head. Over this time I was thinking a lot about society and how complex it has become. I had an idea what I wanted to say lyrically, but I couldn’t find the right music to pair it with. When I got in the studio with Cass, I showed him the idea and we both felt it was right to work on it together, within just a few of hours we had mapped out the main sections and refined the lyrics to be what they are now. I remember feeling super relaxed working with Cass, we were both on the same wavelength that day, it just flowed so easily and effortlessly, the vibe was right. For me this song is about the paradox we have in society today, a world in which people are more connected than ever before, yet many feel overwhelmingly lonely. As our population grows, our sense of community shrinks, and the global division intensifies. It’s a reminder to take a step back and have a look at what’s truly important.

Same Things featuring Gabrielle Current

One of the songs that helped define the album in it's early stages. We wrote the whole song in about two-three hours which is rare for me. One of the few tracks on the album I played guitar on. It was originally released at the start of last year and looking back on it, probably my favourite thing about the song and it's release has been getting to know Gabrielle Current.

Gabrielle Current: Cassian and I met maybe three years ago now. He was looking for vocals for Same Things and after hearing the tune, I knew I had to be a part of his future project. What started out as an effortless collaboration quickly became an exciting journey of live shows and building a great friendship with him.

Together featuring Thandi Phoenix

Ironically this is the oldest song that made it onto the album, but was also the last one to get finished & have vocals recorded. The album was due and I still didn't have vocals for this song. I've been a fan of Thandi for a long time and one of my buddies suggested I hit her up. It was a long shot but I sent Thandi a message on instagram and within a couple weeks we had the final recording, and the song was finished!

Thandi Phoenix: Cassian hit me up about Together during lockdown and it was the last song he was looking for vocals on for the album. As soon as I heard it I knew I wanted to to work on it. I found the track quite hypnotic, I was really drawn into the brooding essence of it. It's dark yet dynamic and punchy. Cassian was so easy to work with, he’s just a really genuine and talented dude. The album sounds amazing and I’m so thrilled to be part of it.

Lafayette

The first song I released from this album. I came up with the main horn idea when I was on tour with the RÜFÜS DU SOL guys back in 2016. We were doing a pretty gruelling run of shows in a sprinter van and each day on the road we'd all be on our laptops making music then playing it to each other when we got to the next venue. It feels only fitting that they'd release it on their own label a couple years later!

Open Up

I started this song with one of my favourite people - Surahn from Happiness is Wealth. The original demo had a full vocal and a more familiar song arrangement. Jon from RÜFÜS DU SOL sent me a sort of remix he did of the original version that only kept the chopped vocals. After I heard his version a new idea for the song appeared in my mind and I stayed in the studio deep into the night sketching out the final version that made the album. I hope the original can see the light of day in one form or another, Surahn's vocal was really special.

The Rise

This one first took shape in my bedroom. I came up with the main synth lead on my prophet 6 and recorded the vocals that same night. There were a few other demos I had done around the same time with me singing but this is the only one that felt right for the album.

Laps

The longest track on the album and the one that took the most time to get right. I always knew I wanted to have a long, epic track on the album and once this one took shape I knew it had to be the final track. Similarly to Banza it was made from the ground up to be the final chapter and close out the album.