Welcome once again to another edition of New Music Friday here on Le Café Music Blog. It’s been a bit of a hectic week, so I haven’t posted since last Friday. I will definitely have more for you guys this week!
Now let’s get to the music!
Olivia Rodigo – Deja Vu
Olivia burst onto the scene with her debut track Drivers License, so it’s going to be hard to top that on her second shot.
This song seems to be a follow up about the blonde girl that always made her pout. This time, she wasn’t driving through the suburbs. She started this song with a car ride to Malibu.
Let’s see what Twitter had to say about this track.
BREAKING NEWS: Astronomers have recently discovered that the Earth revolves around actress and singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo! She is the first artist to achieve this. Congrats @Olivia_Rodrigopic.twitter.com/FI4GgNvDAj
So when you gonna tell her That we did that too She thinks it’s special But it’s all reused
Demi Lovato – Dancing With The Devil
Demi Lovato makes her emotional return after her 2018 near-death experience after an overdose. Dancing With The Devil...The Art Of Starting Over is Demi’s first album since 2017.
DEMI LOVATO BETTER WIN HER FIRST FUCKING GRAMMY FOR THIS ALBUM.
The Telegraph awarded Demi Lovato's #DWTDTAOSO a perfect score of 100 in their review of the album.
“Mixing intimate ballads with upbeat club tracks, Dancing with the Devil… The Art of Starting Over is the perfect contemporary pop artefact.” pic.twitter.com/bmB9YfMgLK
Lovato has been through hell and back. I won’t get into those details out of respect for her. She lays a lot of it out in this recent documentary, so have a watch if you’re interested. Just a warning…it’s a lot to take in.
Here is the title track from her new album, Dancing With The Devil.
It’s just a little white line, I’ll be fine But soon, that little white line is a little glass pipe Tinfoil remedy almost got the best of me I keep praying I don’t reach the end of my lifetime
BTS – (방탄소년단) Film out
Their first single after smashing the charts with their hit Dynamite, the South Korean boy band is back. This time, they are not singing in English…or Korean. Film Out is sung in Japanese.
The upcoming BTS album, which includes Film Out, expected to be released on June 16…is entirely in Japanese.
Film Out in the first 24 hours:
• Debuted #1 on iTunes Japan (first BTS song to do so) • Debuted #1 on Line Music • #1 iTunes in the top 8 biggest music markets in the world • 91 #1 iTunes • Top 50 Spotify Global (debuted at #48) • 29.38M views • 4.4M likes pic.twitter.com/wH45zidKJ7
(Romanized) Tantan to furitsumotta kioku no naka de Kimi dake wo hiroi atsumete tsunagete Heya juu ni utsushite nagame nagara Komiageru itami de kimi wo tashikamete iru
Iggy Azalea, Tyga – Sip It
Yup, Iggy is back and she’s teaming up with Tyga on her newest release. I’m not gonna lie to you guys. This song is f*cking horrible. It’s like a Walmart brand of WAP. Iggy, you went away for a while…what made you think this was the song to come back with? Straight up trash.
Blonde, blonde, blonde, blonde, blonde, Richard on my arm Rappers in my phone, in my DM, won’t leave me alone Blonde, blonde, blonde, blonde, hair thirty inches long Boys on my d*ck, sip this p*ssy like it’s Styrofoam, ayy
Jane Handcock – Forgive Them
Sorry, Jane. I can’t forgive Iggy for that sack of sh*t she just dropped. But this song right here…is fire. This is Jane’s second release with Estabrook Road Records and this woman deserves more recognition in the R&B world.
Conclusion
Iggy Azalea still sucks.
There is much better music out there, so have a listen to Spotify’s weekly New Music Friday playlist right here:
Welcome to another edition of Le Café Music Blog’s Indie ArtistInterview Series. Today, we will be joined by multi-lingual, 18-year-old German pop artist, CassMae!
Cassie’s story is as incredible as her voice and I am so happy she is here to share it with us today. Let’s get right to it.
Introduction
Ryan: Welcome, Cassie! Thanks for joining us today. How about a little intro for our readers?
CassMae: Hey everybody, I’m CassMae. I’m 18 and I sing and write songs here in Duisburg, Germany. Since I”m really into the Indian culture with its music and food, I integrate this spirit in my songs.
Duisburg Tiger & Turtle
Born Blind: CassMae’s Musial Journey
Ryan: I think it’s amazing how you have incorporated Indian culture into your music. The sound you create is unlike anything else I’ve ever heard. When I watched your video for My Inner Peace, I was really intrigued, so I did a little research and read that you were born blind. Can you tell us a bit about your journey in music?
CassMae: When I was three years old, I had already destroyed my feet by constantly “drumming” them on the ground, so my parents found me a Djembé teacher. At the same time I got really obsessed with Chopin, so naturally, it didn’t take me too long to also learn the piano. I wrote my first song for my dad (in German) when I was six, started writing in English when I was ten. Eventually, I applied for a scholarship to the 5-Week-Performance-Program at Berklee where for the first time I got in touch with Indian music. Returning to Germany I started googling for Indian songs and entered an Indian music school for learning Tabla. From there I knew I wanted to mix sounds from the East and West.
मुझे आपकी जरूरत नहीं है That means I don’t need you
Indian Culture and Her Music
Ryan: What is it about Indian culture that fascinates you?
CassMae: India fascinates me due to the variety of languages and religions. Their approach to music as something very divine, and of course I fell in love with the food.
Ryan: The food is incredible. Mutton Rogan Josh is so good. Have you ever been to India?
CassMae: No, never been to India but it’s definately top on my bucket list. I already started planning my stay there with an organization, but naturally, this is on hold now.
Ryan: I hope you are able to safely go soon. I miss traveling. So you sing in English, German, and Hindi. How many languages to you speak?
CassMae: German is my mother tongue. My mom was partially raised in Acton, Massachusetts, so I spoke English very early. In school, I took French and Spanish, which I speak fairly fluently. Of course, I now learn and speak Hindi, and I’m very interested also in Bengali, Tamil, Hebrew and Sanskrit.
Ryan: Wow. I’m lucky if I can ask where the bathroom is in more than 4 languages.
Release and Influences
Ryan: Tell us about your latest release and your upcoming project.
CassMae: On my very first album PAST LIFE which was released in November 2020, I combined my pop music with Indian, African, and Japanese sounds. All songs are very personal and have a rather melancholic vibe. I’m now writing new originals for an EP collaborating with Golow, who produced my debut album and is working very internationally.
Ryan:PAST LIFE is a beautiful album. So unique and refreshing. Who are your biggest musical influences?
CassMae: It has changed a lot over time. I really admired Ed Sheeran for his songwriting when I was younger. I love singers like Adele, Birdy, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, and Aaliyah. They are now joined by great Indian artists such as Lata Mangeshkar, Shreya Goshal, Sonu Nigam, Arijit Singh, and many more; A.R. Rahman is a great composer.
Life Outside of Music
Ryan: What do you like to do when you’re not making music?
CassMae: I talk a lot to friends. I meditate, read books and write poems. Whenever I can, I try to improve on languages, not really into sports but a little yoga.
Ryan: I need to find time to improve my French. It’s so hard to learn a language when you get old like me. haha. If music wasn’t an option for you, what would you do?
CassMae: I would probably train to become a therapist, glad I can do this with my music as well.
Ryan: Music therapy is a great option for you. I bet you were an interesting kid. What were you like when you were younger?
CassMae: I was pretty weird, having my own kind of language and a couple of imaginary friends. For some time I insisted people call me Chopin and sing everywhere I would go, would climb up every stage there was, and wouldn’t stop performing.
Ryan: Ha! Okay, Chopin. That’s hilarious. If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would you pick?
CassMae: I always call myself a “chicken-vegetarian,” since I can’t let go of butter chicken. So if there’s ever a great alternative I’ll give up meat altogether, but I doubt it can ever be replaced.
Ryan: How did I know it was going to be an Indian dish? Butter Chicken is delicious. If you were an animal, what would you be?
CassMae: Snake.
Ryan: My wife would be terrified of you. haha
Back to Reality
Ryan: How are you staying connected to your fans during COVID?
CassMae: I practically live on Instagram at the moment, trying to be creative in entertaining and reaching more people.
Ryan: That’s great. Instagram is a great tool to stay connected. If you could perform in any city in the world today, where you go?
CassMae: I would love to play in Mumbai, since it’s the city of Bollywood, but would also be glad to perform in any other huge city in India.
Ryan: That would be an amazing opportunity. I hope you get to perform there someday.
Conclusion
Ryan: What’s next for CassMae?
CassMae: I will hopefully be able to do a planned filming of a jam session in a very special location in May, finish the EP and shoot music videos, and be able to play the gigs that are already planned.
Ryan: One more question before I let you go. Do you have anything else you’d like to say to our readers?
CassMae: Give some Indian music and butter chicken a try and never lose hope. Thanks for this loverly interview, Ryan.
Ryan: No, thank YOU for the loverly interview, Cassie! You’re welcome to come back any time!
