Sydney-born producer/DJ Cassian holds a seasoned history working as an in-demand audio engineer for highly respected acts; one being Grammy-winning electronic supergroup, RÜFÜS DU SOL. After working alongside the “Innerbloom” outfit as their primary audio engineer, Cassian became the first artist to get signed to the trio’s very own Rose Avenue Records. In recent years, Cassian, born Cassian Stewart-Kasimba, has been driving his artist project forward with head-turning new remixes, landing steadily ever since the release of his 2020 album debut, LAPS.
This year, Cassian received the coveted tap from Goldenvoice to play both weekends of Coachella. It’s safe to say the melodic techno visionary’s extensive discography is well-suited for the Yuma Tent’s inexhaustible attendees. Prior to taking the stage at Coachella’s first weekend, Cassian sat down with Dancing Astronaut to discuss his latest Jimi Jules remix, his relationship with RÜFÜS DU SOL, and what might be in store down the line. Read the official Q&A below.
Your first release of 2023 was an Anyma-assited remix of Jimi Jules’ “My City’s On Fire.” How did this remix come about?
Cassian: “I started working with Anyma about a year ago. At first, he recruited me to engineer. And to work on the production side of some of these records because he’d heard my work with RÜFÜS DU SOL. Our artist-collaboration-thing sort of blossomed out of that, naturally. When he came to my house last year, we were actually trying to remix a different song. We ended up liking the instrumental, but we decided not to include the vocals. One day, Anyma sent me a message, saying ‘Dixon sent me the parts for ‘City’s On Fire;’ I think it’ll work over the top of the idea we have already.’ I did it, and I thought, ‘This is pretty sick.’”
How do you decide what to remix?
Cassian: “I want to remix songs that are going to work in my sets. Sometimes, I hear a song and immediately think, ‘I know what the remix of this sounds like.’ And that’s what happened when I first heard RÜFÜS DU SOL’s ‘On My Knees.’ Because I engineer for them, I had the stems, and I wanted to make something special for Sundream Tulum. But then I played it, and people really seemed to like it.”
Had you been a RÜFÜS fan prior to working with them and becoming the first artist signed to Rose Avenue?
Cassian: “Funny enough, I was just with one of them earlier today. My history with them started almost ten years ago. I had done a remix for one of their songs, ‘Take Me,’ which isn’t even on the internet because it’s so fuckin’ old. But we played a show together back then in Sydney, in a small room with maybe 300 people. We chatted after the show, and the next week they came into my studio. Since then, I’ve been mixing all of their music. We’ve toured North America in a bus, a van… Now they take jets, and I don’t get the invite. It’s been a really long and great relationship with RÜFÜS, and the label [signing] came on organically because they knew I’d been working on stuff for an album.”
It’s now been three years since your first studio album, LAPS. Can you touch on any thoughts behind a follow-up LP?
Cassian: “The vision is clear. It’s something that I’m definitely thinking about. But there will be more two-tracks and singles before I get to that.”
Can you tease any upcoming releases?
Cassian: “There is one [future release] that’s gone a bit viral. It’s a new track of mine, called ‘Great Southern Land,’ which is a collaboration with the legendary Australian act, Icehouse. It’s like a remake-slash-remix-slash-whatever of their song called ‘Great Southern Land’ that came out in 1982. That’s coming out next month. It’s been highly requested. Even when I announced the release of ‘My City’s On Fire,’ all the comments were like, ‘Release Great Southern Land!’”
What would be your biggest piece of advice to aspiring producers/engineers/DJs?
Cassian: “It’s really hard, and everyone’s different. What I’m doing now as an artist I couldn’t have done earlier because I just didn’t have the confidence for it. But there’s people who are overflowing with confidence who can present themselves as artists pretty quickly. I would recommend always focusing on getting better… trying to be self-critical in a healthy way. I try to compare my music now to where I want it to be. If you go on YouTube and type in my name, you can find stuff from ten, twelve years ago… And you can hear how it’s evolved over time. To me, it’s gotten better and better, but that’s subjective, I guess. As far as audio quality goes, however, there are certain things that are objective in sound.”
Featured image: Julian Bassel / Coachella
