THE PERMANENT RAIN PRESS INTERVIEW WITH CASSIDY MACKENZIE
Cassidy Mackenzie is sharing her truths and aspirations – one R&B pop beat at a time. The Vancouver-raised, Nashville-based artist will be releasing her debut EP One Look this spring; recorded and co-written with Ryan Stewart (Carly Rae Jepsen, Simple Plan), the album is primed to be a vessel for heartbreak, strength, and the pop rock you can’t help but groove to.
We caught up with Mackenzie to discuss the album’s lead single “Wish,” majoring in music, and her hometown.
Tell us about your passion for music, when did you decide you wanted to pursue it?
Music has been the biggest part of my life for as long as I can remember. I started playing violin when I was four, and then guitar when I was six, which really made me fall in love with it. I never considered a career in anything but music, but I was around thirteen when I decided I wanted to pursue it as a songwriter/singer.
Your debut single “Wish” was released on February 22nd. Tell us about what inspired the lyrics, and the feelings you hope listeners take away from the track.
“Wish” is about falling for someone who you know you can’t be with, and the feeling I hope listeners take away from it is that overwhelming, passionate, and heartbreaking desire of wanting to be with somebody, while thinking you shouldn’t feel that way. The lyrics were inspired by a very real event that happened to me the night before writing it. I was playing a show at a bar and I met a guy who I basically immediately fell for. After a lot of talking and establishing that we both felt that way, he told me he had a girlfriend, and I couldn’t get him out of my head for weeks.
“Wish” has a real captivating blend of pop, R&B and EDM. Has the recent music you’ve been working on followed the same genre mix?
I have definitely tried to follow the sound of “Wish,” because I really love it. I also love writing and performing acoustic songs, which is how all of my songs start, but since “Wish” I’ve really fallen into that pop, R&B, EDM sound.
What inspires your sound on the forthcoming EP? How was the writing process?
Ryan Stewart and I spent a long time talking through what we wanted for the sound of the EP, going through different references and new ideas we had. We wanted it to be unique, so we went for a sound with a mix of inspiration from artists like Avril Lavigne, The 1975, and current pop/EDM artists, which you can see in the drops. The writing process was so fun. We clicked so well together creatively and wrote four songs in four days in the first week we worked together. I would come into the studio, Ryan would ask me what was going on in my life and what I wanted to write about, and we would go from there.
You’re studying music at Belmont University in Nashville. What valuable lessons are you taking away from your time there?
Studying here has been so amazing. I major in song writing and minor in music business, so for almost three years I have been constantly co-writing, learning song writing techniques and taking classes on different aspects of the music industry. It’s constantly teaching me how incredible the industry is, and how valuable it is to have knowledge about the business, rather than going in blind.
You’re from Vancouver. What’s your favourite part about being on the west coast, and where are some of your favourite places to eat/hang out?
I love Vancouver so much; the west coast is beautiful and has a unique energy I would never be able to give up. I basically lived at Locarno Beach in high school. My friends and I were always there and my school was right beside it. I also spend a crazy amount of time at Neverland Tea Salon and Aphrodite’s Café.
You’re a ‘movie geek’ according to your social media. What’s the most recent film you’ve seen, and would you recommend it?
I just watched Walk The Line, which is one of my favourite movies. I would 120% recommend it, it’s amazing.
If you could describe yourself as any ice cream flavour, which would you be and why?
I think I would be coconut, chocolate, hazelnut fudge. It’s my favourite and I like how much is going on in it, ha ha.
