Cassy
Origin: Austria
Cassy’s lifelong love affair with music makes her one of the most respected selectors of her generation. A dynamic, passionate DJ with an encyclopaedic knowledge of electronic music history and a record bag to match it, she can dig deep in any given situation, bringing good vibes and contagious energy to the dance floor. With past residencies at Panorama Bar, Trouw, DC-10 and Rex Club, as well as an exhaustive list of the world’s most influential club spaces on her resume, Cassy is an unrelenting ball of positivity behind the decks, delivering high quality to every dance floor she plays to. A versatile and professional selector with an acute understanding of how to adapt to various settings, Cassy retains that unique touch that only she can provide, never losing sight of her own musical identity and staying true to the art of DJing every step of the way.
Born in England and raised in Austria by her Austrian mother and father from Barbados, Cassy was exposed to many cultures growing up and she was surrounded by music from birth. At the age of five she went to music school and, later, she met jazz musicians including Sun Ra, Archie Shepp and Lester Bowie, when they stayed at her parent’s countryside inn on their way to play an Austrian jazz festival. “They left a trace behind of somewhere I knew I belonged, without knowing how to get there,” she says. Artists like Spandau Ballet, Madness, Sarah Vaughan, Talking Heads, The Cure, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Gilles Peterson and the influential label Talking Loud are among the many influences during the early stages of her life, laying the unbreakable foundation that remains today.
Since the early 2000s Cassy has earned a reputation for excellence across the board, moving home on a regular basis in order to evolve and immerse herself in new scenes including vibrant cities like Geneva and Berlin in 2003, to Paris and Amsterdam in 2010. In Berlin she was deeply involved in the city’s club culture; working at iconic record shop Hard Wax, socialising and working with the some of the scene’s most innovative artists – producing, collaborating, singing and enjoying the creative freedom that a liberated city like Berlin can provide. Cassy was one of the early residents at Panorama Bar, recording the club’s first ever mix CD, while also releasing music with a range of influential labels and her own self-titled imprint.
Now back living in Vienna, she is working towards a more grounded state of being; embracing her femininity, invoking strength, wisdom and tenacity. These tenets of womanhood are at the forefront of her inspiration, Cassy’s approach to music has matured; benefitting from a refreshed outlook. Over two decades of playing records has bestowed Cassy with a ‘sixth sense’, a refined level of intuition achieved by dedicating much of her life to DJing. Representing herself in a true and sincere way and cultivating a mutual connection with the dancers in front of her, whether it’s 150 people or 5,000, is what drives her forward.
Through Kwench Records Cassy channels her experience into A&Ring fresh new music, encapsulating that uncompromising core vision. Launched in 2017, the label is intended to blur the lines between commercial and underground, house and techno, fun and top notch quality, bringing in artists who embody an open-minded view of electronic music. Producers such as Ron Trent, Fred P, DJ Sneak, Art Alfie, Hector Moralez, Sascha Dive and, of course, Cassy herself have released music through Kwench, contributing to a diverse back catalogue with strong ideals at its foundation.
In 2013, Cassy was invited to join their fabric hall of fame when she recorded fabric 71 – a sultry addition to their prestigious mix series. Three years later, Cassy channelled years of production experience into her own debut solo LP ‘Donna’ released via Will Saul’s seminal Aus Music. It was the culmination of years spent collecting and playing music, producing her own tracks and singing. Her voice present on all but one of the 12 tracks featured on the long-player. A remix package followed the original release, with Radio Slave, Marcel Dettmann, Osunlade, D’Julz, King Britt and Ben Sims delivering a wonderful selection of reworks.
A lifetime dedicated to music lies at the heart of Cassy’s expertise. A woman who embodies the fundamental characteristics of the archetypal DJ; skilled, knowledgeable, passionate, committed to entertaining the dance floor and utterly smitten with music in all its forms. As the infinite power of love for music continues to energise her, Cassy is alive and kicking, keeping the spirit of her idols Chaka Khan and Sade present in everything she does…
