Exclusive Cassette Interview
Cassette formed in 2005 and are known for their “often-outrageous live performances and their dedication to entertainment.” They opened the 46664 concert which was “an unbelievable honour, only beaten by meeting Nelson Mandela! Wow! We also met Annie Lennox and Corinne Bailey Rae and they were great.” They also played with and opened for Pink which “was probably the most memorable for us because she completely blew us away. She seems like a pop queen but she is a genuine rock goddess. Having 30 000 people a night singing all the words to our songs didn’t hurt either.”
Trying to pin down their biggest musical influence “is impossible! It’s so diverse in Cassette and we don’t agree on a lot of music! Everyone would give you a completely different answer. The one thing I would say is go find a song called Cops On Bikes by Facing New York. We unanimously agree that it’s the coolest song ever.”
They are “busy touring the album [Who Do You Trust?] and things are picking up beautifully!”
Recording the album was “very hectic but very rewarding! It took a year to make this album with 6 months of preproduction in a house in Parkhurst. Then 2 and a half months in studio with Darryl Torr which was really amazing. Then a month in Los Angeles mixing with international legend, Mark Needham (The Killers). Then the design work and album part! Wow it’s been intense.” Jon’s favourite track off the album is ‘Useless Confusion’.
He says “We experimented a lot in studio. We tried a whole range of things that are studio no-no’s! Plugging things into the wrong holes and pressing all the wrong buttons to see what would come out. One drum line is actually 4 of us playing at the same time!”
They “would like to penetrate the global music market in a serious way as it has been our intention since the beginning but, when your starting point is SA, it’s baby steps all the way.”
Performing to Jon “is a chance to lock into the music and free yourself from the constraints of society. I can just be me, as rude or as nice or as hectic as I want. Rad!”
They did a tour of Japan and it was “like being on the moon. They say “you HAVE to go! We can’t wait to go back!”
The new single-out now is called ‘Who Do You Trust’ it’s certainly got hit written all over it!
Jon’s most memorable moment with Cassette was “Obviously meeting Nelson Mandela. It’s at the top of the list. Playing Nigeria was also scary and cool!”
Jane (who is ‘a princess’) takes the longest to get ready before a gig, most of the band members happen to work on side projects. As for who talks the most rubbish that would have to be Jon, Nathan and Andrew. Jon says “we collectively fill the rubbish quota many times over.” Jon is also the messiest on tour and as for one the craziest things that happened at a show was that “Andrew got electrocuted in the middle of a song on an electric fence.”
Enjoy the video for ‘Who Do You Trust?’ below
xx
yours in musical madness
