Catherine ‘Cassy’ Britton departed England at a very early age, heading to Vienna in 1975 with her Austrian mother and Caribbean father. There she studied music before pursuing a variety of drama courses both in Austria and back ‘home’ – she eventually decided acting wasn’t for her and so began her incredible metamorphosis into one of the electronic scene’s biggest, most consistently bad-ass DJ-producers.
It was in 1999 that electronic producer Alexander Muller (AKA DJ Elin) brought Cassy on to his update of Ganymed’s ‘Music Takes Me Higher’ as vocalist. Around the same time, Austrian DJ Susanne Kirchmayr persuaded her to take up DJing, resulting in gigs in Vienna and Munich, as well as early (2002) electronic forays in the studio with Dave The Hustler (‘Her Dream’) and Zombie Nation (‘Unload’).
There have been striking production forays since. Cassy has recorded for illustrious techno imprints Dessous, Perlon and Souvenir, and her own eponymous label – the last EP here dropping in 2010, ‘Cassy 3’. There have also been striking, but sparingly deployed remixes of Ricardo Villalobos, Loco Dice and Cadenza co-founder Quenum. This year, Cassy has remixed Ralph Lawson and Laura Jones with muscular flair and collaborated with D’Julz on new studio EP ‘What U See In Me’ (for Bass Culture) but, in fairness, it is her tireless work as DJ that remains dominant and continues to propel her career forward.
Today, Cassy is a well established, high quality fixture of the underground club circuit – the world over. Touring this year has, typically, taken her everywhere from DC-10, Ibiza to Air, Tokyo via Mexico (BPM), Melbourne (Friends Of Friends), New York (Mysteryland), Serbia (Exit) and, of course, Berlin (where she is a Panoramabar regular). At the end of the month, she joins a cracking line-up for Eastern Electrics’ NYE bash at Studio 338 in Greenwich, south London – fellow DJs include Matthias Tanzmann, Agoria and Route 94. Oh, and excitingly, amidst everything, Cassy has just become a mother....
So what have you been up to this week Cassy?
I played in New York for Output but largely it’s been family stuff. I’ve just had a baby boy so there’s been a lot of organisation...getting him a passport and arranging things like babysitters as I look to start playing more again.
Congratulations! How, from a career perspective, are you adjusting to your new family?
In many ways nothing really changes. I’ve been used to not sleeping a lot for years now but I guess it’s the lack of sleep midweek which is hard! Having had my son I definitely feel more focused...I have to drill down to exactly what I need to do, and be more organised, which is a good thing.
Tell us about your upcoming appearance for Eastern Electrics’ NYE bash in London...
I don’t see it as an EE thing, or a NYE thing even. I see all of my gigs as ‘this sort of people’ and ‘that sort of energy’ – that way I know what I’m getting in to, and there’s nothing in my head telling me that I can’t fulfil a club. In the case of EE, I know that the energy will be really good and that the people will be ready. It’s one of those parties where everyone gets their tickets really early and they’re really focused. It’s a great gig to be playing because I know the people will help me along.
Do you have any pre-DJing rituals?
I do. I do like to mentally prepare myself. And to do things like put fresh contact lenses in, put on a little make-up, take a nap.... I don’t need to listen to a lot of music beforehand; it’s more about my attitude before I play. That’s really important.
And how do you go about cherry-picking gigs from the thousands you inevitably get offered?
Money is a driving force in the sense, now, that I have a family to provide for and, personally, I want to eat well and live comfortably. But it’s not really about the money; it’s more the professional aspect of being a DJ that is becoming more important. You have to treat it sensibly...like a proper job. When you’ve invested so much time and energy over so many years, this career has to make sense. At the same time, you’re picking gigs based on the places and people you know...because you know what you’ll get out of those bookings. These gigs are important because they remind you of the DJ that you can be.
Switching to the studio now, what have you got lined up there Cassy?
Well, this year I’ve been working on a solo project and that’s about all I can say! When it’s a little more finished I will reveal more but I’m looking to share it next year at some stage.
Is this project something you’ve been planning for a while?
I really, really wanted to do it, but equally I wanted to do something like this really, really well. I’d tried before but it wasn’t right and I was put off by certain other details. I know, in terms of my life, that when I force things it isn’t good. There may be an industry view that it would have been better for me to release more records by now [Cassy released EP ‘What You See In Me’ with D’Julz this year but her last release before that was ‘Cassy 3’ in 2010]. But that’s what other people want and really I’m happy where I am, and working the way I need to. Of course, I’ve had records in the past that I’m not happy with but there are years ahead of me. I love to play and make music, and adore signing. Building you own music is an amazing thing but all of it needs to make sense. It can’t be for the sake of it.
Sum up your 2014....
I don’t really look back. I am happy in the moment...where I am. But, yes, it feels like this year has been a great year! I’ve had my son, and made a lot of music...I feel I’ve done the best job I could possibly have. There have been some great gigs too. DC-10 this summer sticks out. It’s such a great club and with it being summer, the experiences there were amazing.
Sum up the electronic scene right now....
It is hype ‘n’ trend as it has always been. I think there’s some classic music and a good energy right now but I don’t really pay much attention to what’s going on around me. It can be a waste of attention, particularly where certain things are fleeting. It can even be destructive. I’ve seen people destroyed in the past by paying too much attention elsewhere; it’s led to bad energy and a bad artistic dynamic which I despise....
So what will 2015 look like for Cassy?
I want to find the right way to release my solo project, really. I want to use the right promotion, in the right way, working across the whole project so it is exactly as I want it to be. The way that our scene promotes itself can be annoying . On the one hand it’s great that there are DJ workshops, artist showcases and things like IMS [International Music Summit] – they really help inform people. But, on the other hand, it’s all so technical and no-one really steps back and focuses on whether they’re DJing well or not, or producing well or not. I think there are ways of doing everything but they need to make sense in terms of the bigger picture.
Words: Ben Lovett
Cassy plays at Eastern Electrics’ NYE party on 31 December (9pm to 7am), Studio 338, Greenwich, London. Further performers include Matthias Tanzmann, Agoria, Laura Jones, Geddes, Gavin Herlihy and Route 94. Check http://easternelectrics.com for more info.
