Cassy is the latest leading light to be invited to mix an edition of Fabric’s longstanding and highly respected mix series, Fabric 71. Here, Defected’s Ben Lovett spoke to the electronic craftswoman about the approach she took.
“It was a big project for a big club, but I have done similar compilations before so, ultimately, I was comfortable about tackling it,” so says increasingly ubiquitous DJ-producer Cassy of her contribution to the revered Fabric mix compilation canon – episode number 71.
But this is not the cocky, throwaway chit-chat of an artist obsessed and blinded by limelight. Cassy – full name Catherine Britton – has enjoyed a career rise in recent years as consistent as it has been impressive, wedded to common sense (not always that common in clubland) and, in turn, respect for her chosen craft and field.
Her take on Fabric is particularly insightful. “The soundsystem is amazing there, so good and the set-up so well maintained,” she beams with giddy enthusiasm. “It means you can play all sorts of different music and still deliver that pressure...that power that the dancefloor needs. It’s a great place to express yourself as a DJ; you can’t be timid if you’re going for something slightly more unusual but, still, Fabric offers the right environment for creativity. It was the same approach with the new mix, to be honest.”
fabric 71 is a veritable tour de force; a colourful progression from the pure minimalism of her early days. Cassy moves slickly, and thoughtfully, between a stack of carefully-selected house ‘n’ tech licks offering both punch and funk. Kuumba Project’s Black Thoughts splices afro-choirs, electronic melodies and scissoring percussion with aplomb, preceding the shimmering loops of Norm Talley, the soaring breaks of John Talabot (his Pachanga Boys-remixed When The Past Was Present) and self-explanatory buzz ‘n’ zip of Affie Yusuf’s Bring You Techno. Beyond that there’s room for exquisitely deep, emotive synth-stab house via Benjamin Damage and, at the other end of the 4-4 scale, murky minimal from Adam Marshall’s Thelon (tweaked by Todd Sines). Cassy ensures continuity and ass-shaking flow between a variety of expansive tracks, her skill and confidence more than evident. fabric 71 pulsates with deep yet accessible groove.
“Sure, it’s always a little daunting putting a compilation together...having to select tracks and fit them on one or two discs” she reflects. “I had one or two moments of panic thinking about how I was going to do the Fabric album but I quickly clicked, then picking stuff from record stores I like, and from artists I respect. At that stage it was about developing a trust with my final choices, and just pulling off the mix. It’s up to the people now, but certainly the mix is from my heart and built upon the high standards I always set myself.”
Early reviews suggest Cassy has taken another massive step forward in a DJ career that has seen her migrate from unassuming local gigs in Austria (where she grew up) to world-class festivals in dozens of countries (think Coachella, Burning Man, TimeWarp, BPM), to securing a residency at Berlin’s ever influential Panoramabar and, subsequently, helming boss compilations for Cocoon (two), Ostgut Ton (that very first, revelatory Panoramabar 01 mix) and Resident Advisor.
She has already spoken elsewhere about fabric 71 being an assertion of the true ‘roots’ of DJing – playing records for the love of playing records. What, generally, does she think about the cult of DJ in 2013? “A lot of my younger colleagues are beautiful, strong, upcoming artists. They have real talent” she begins. “On the other hand they have different pressures and motivations. They need the media craze. That’s legitimate if they have something important to say, or they’re a huge ego-maniac, but I think the sound of stuff is suffering. This presence of the internet all the time, and the sociality of media, is having a negative effect. There’s too much going on sometimes... there’s no time to really make the music as tight as fuck, and a lot of the music I hear really isn’t as tight as fuck.”
The internet’s bringing together of different clubland scenes has also, to Cassy’s mind, created as many problems as it has solved. Digital revolution may have sparked the formation of several exciting new hybrid genres but in doing so has undermined house and techno’s original, standalone power; a force of sonic nature she was raised on. “It was completely different when I started out, a different vibe. The different worlds of music were not as joined as they are now, so you had this purity and ignorance that drove strong ideas and records forwards” she says. “It’s a bit like if you’re growing up in a house with parents who have strong beliefs; that environment shapes your own strong beliefs as you mature...you gain a strong voice. Today, everyone has this overview of everything; there’s a lot of sycophants and, yes, that’s hurt some of the music. I’m not sure I’d be able to recreate my current journey if I was to start out as an artist now.”
Cassy left England for Vienna during the mid-Seventies, moving with her Austrian mother and Caribbean father. There she studied music before alternating between England and Austria with various acting and theatre courses and assignments. In time, she realised that the profession wasn’t for her and switched back to music. Come 1999, electronic producer Alexander Muller (AKA DJ Elin) had invited her to sing on his ‘Repaint’ of Ganymed’s Music Takes Me Higher (for Austrian label Sabotage Recordings). And then female Austrian DJ Susanne ‘Electric Indigo’ Kirchmayr encouraged Cassy to try her hand at mixing, which led to gigs in Vienna and Munich, and her first studio productions with Dave The Hustler (Her Dream) and Munich-based Zombie Nation (Unload), both in 2002.
Since then, Cassy has recorded for discerning techno labels Dessous, Perlon and Souvenir, as well as her own eponymous imprint (three EPs, the last, Cassy 3, released in 2010), and collaborated with Luciano, Tiefschwarz and A Guy Called Gerald. Whilst her remix portfolio continues to expand this summer – primarily through commissions for Paris Mitchell and Phillippe Quenum, the latter forthcoming – it’s been a while since her last original studio cut; Cassy 3, in fact. The extensive DJing is inevitably to blame but has she any plans for new material? In clubland terms, three years is a lifetime....
“There is some movement” she smiles. “I’m working with a few people right now, people in Switzerland and Ibiza. I feel like I genuinely want to record now. But I am always on the move. I can’t stand sitting still in one place for too long. Therefore, I’m always looking for another studio to do stuff in because I don’t have my own. That’s definitely how I get the best out of myself...being able to travel and continually experience new things, meet new people and hear new sounds. The idea of working with other people around the world definitely suits me right now.”
She continues: “At the same time I’ve come to realise that using [Ableton] Live on a laptop isn’t for me. I don’t always like working by laptop but Logic is definitely my preference now. There are productions on the horizon but they’ll happen when they’re ready. I’m not changing the way I live just to make more records, or because there’s an expectation to. I like to do things in my own time.”
That, Cassy argues, helps deliver artistic longevity. She is not prepared to bow to short-term considerations where a bigger, longer-term payback is, she feels, at stake. “Not just with electronic music, but with any process, or craft, or walk of life, people are always defeating themselves by constantly worrying about problems and creating new ones” she argues. “The key is to not keep looking for them. If you set yourself out strongly and put the work in then you’ll do well. You don’t generally fail overnight. Things rise and fall over a course of time, so it’s about the long-term I think. And for me, with the music, it’s about building slowly and carefully towards something...a happy, successful life in music.”
Nevertheless, Cassy has had personal obstacles to hurdle; notably divorce in Berlin three or so years ago. That she has been able to protect her musical ambitions and, indeed, accelerate them is testament, it seems, to her strength of character and sensible worth ethic. “I’d been living in Berlin and had a studio of sorts, but then there was the split with my ex-husband. I needed to leave and explore. I didn’t want to get lost in one thing. The work saved me really” she reveals. “I threw myself into the DJing and stuff but allowed myself a private space from time to time to re-assess what I was doing and where I was heading. I still do that now. I also had the right people around me, good friends. My friends have always supported me and provided a reality check when I need it, particularly when I’m travelling around so much. I see other artists who have some really stupid people with them and that can end up making things a lot more difficult.”
Cassy’s status has spiralled upwards at a dizzying pace; is still doing so. Is she confident she’ll be able to keep her feet on the ground in the coming months and years? “I try not to over-think it” she replies. “I’m enjoying what I’m doing, but there is always difficult balance between being able to play all these gigs, and do all these things, and not exhaust mind or body. I have experience of being consistent already, so I’m not too worried. But it’s important to look after yourself. Depending on my mental state in any given week, I’ll do some sports between the music, or jog, or even work with a personal trainer. At the moment I’m probably over-doing the exercise!”
Words: Ben Lovett
Photo credit: Jimmy Mould
Cassy – fabric 71 is out now on Fabric Records (UK).
