Kat Harlton
Canadian pop singer / songwriter Cassie Dasilva recently released her debut EP Enough independently on July 23 via all streaming platforms. The 6-track EP is a collection of songs that focuses on relationships and explores both dealing with a breakup and finding love.
Ontario based Dasilva was determined to create the EP with an all-female production team after a disappointing major label deal left her navigating the industry on her own. Working with multi-award-winning Canadian songwriter/producers Robyn Dell’Unto (Wild Rivers, Gus, Lu Kala) and Hill Kourkoutis (Jules, Serena Ryder), with Grammy award-winning mastering engineer Emily Lazar, Dasilva’s EP came to fruition.
We had the opportunity to chat with Cassie about her EP, what she hopes fans connect with, and what’s next.
Kat: Can you talk about the inspiration behind your EP “Enough”?
Cassie: ‘Enough’ is fully autobiographical and deals with romantic relationships– ranging from sassy breakup songs, to songs about shutting down an ex, and there’s even a love song. I use songwriting to work through my own thoughts and feelings, and this EP was written as I was dealing with feelings of heartbreak, frustration, and falling in love again.
Kat: What do you hope fans take from the album?
Cassie: My hope in all my songwriting is to make someone feel less alone in their feelings, because music has always been that for me. My favourite memories with music have always taken place in the car– whether it was my mom blasting Petula Clark’s “Downtown” or John Denver on road trips when I was younger, or screaming Taylor Swift songs in the car with my friends in high school, or coming up with song ideas and listening to demos and mixes when I go for car rides now. Throughout the production process I focused on wanting these songs to be the soundtrack to somebody else’s car rides. There’s a few angsty breakup songs to scream with your friends, a love song to sing to your special someone, and a moody song to listen to as you drive down a backroad at night.
Kat: What do you find is the most challenging part of your creative process?
Cassie: I think the most challenging part of the creative process is figuring out how to make music and videos that feel big budget while being a small independent artist with an even smaller budget. It’s also one of the most rewarding parts of it, because it forces me to be my most creative and to think outside the box. I’ve had my sister, a dance teacher, choreograph every video. I’ve styled videos myself, borrowed old sports cars from old friends, begged and bartered with AirBnBs to shoot in, and stayed up all night making props for music videos. When you can’t rely on anything flashy, I think it forces you to be more inventive and inherently authentic.
Kat: What has been a career highlight for you so far? What have you learned along the way?
Cassie: I used to think that the biggest thing you could strive for was to be signed by a major label. Having done that and having it not gone the way I could’ve hoped for, I learned a lot of lessons– the main one being that though incredibly stressful, doing this all independently, and on my own terms, has been the most rewarding and fulfilling experience. One of my biggest highlights has to be releasing ‘Unsolicited Contact’, because when I released it, it was the first song I’d released that really captured who I am as an artist, both musically and visually with the video. I did it all on my own terms, with an all female and non-binary team, and I’m super proud of that. After all of that, a clip of the video went viral on TikTok (earning over 1M views), which felt super validating after all I’ve been through. This song was a window to a new audience, and a window into the artist I hope to become, and the level of artistry I’m striving for.
Kat: What’s next?
Cassie: I’m excited to bask in this release for a little while. I hope that I can find myself on a tour with another artist and reach some new audiences that way. I’m itching to play these songs live! Until then, I’m still writing new songs, and there will certainly be more to hear from me!
For more on Cassie Dasilva visit: http://www.cassiedasilva.com