New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Canadian pop singer-songwriter
Cassie Dasilva releases her new single, "Rough Cut", and its official music video via Top40-Charts.com! Produced by Mike Wise (bülow, Allie X, Serena Ryder, Ralph) and co-written by
Cassie Dasilva, Ryan Stewart, and
Laurell Barker, the song is a dose of infectious, danceable pop. Listen below:
https://cassiedasilva.lnk.to/roughcut
Initially written as a folk song on a ukulele, Dasilva brought "Rough Cut" with her when she ventured into the pop world. "Once I was in production with Mike Wise, I started going back to the song a bit, fearing that it'd been overlooked because of the vibe of the demo," she remembers. "I was driving in the car (where most of my ideas begin) when I started to reimagine what it might sound like with a more pop-leaning production and a change of pacing." Dasilva's education in sound engineering and production allowed her to rework the original version alongside Wise into a revamped pop anthem about being unapologetically herself.
"Moving into the new genre, I figured out that what had worked for me for so long in cute folk-pop was the opposite of what I needed in pop. I needed heavier undertones in my production to balance out the brightness of my voice. I also wanted the song to have more of a dance vibe for the post chorus than in my other tracks. I like little quirky things in production, and I think one of my favourite things in 'Rough Cut' comes at the start of the second verse. I wanted the stabs to be a bit more 'out there' to keep it interesting and Mike varied the textures and volumes in a really cool way there."
The "Rough Cut" lyrics were written at a time when Dasilva was in the beginning of a new relationship, as evident in the chorus: "I like you so much / Gonna give the act up / I'm showing you the rough cut". "It's about meeting that person that makes you want to be honest and real," she says. "I'm a 'text you first' kind of girl. I talk too quickly when I'm nervous and open up about myself without realizing I'm doing it. I think everyone has this defense mechanism that kicks in when you meet or start dating someone new. We kind of dumb ourselves down and try to present this perfect image of what we think the other person wants. But when we do all of that, we are masking the parts about ourselves that someone— the right one— might love the most."
The video for "Rough Cut" plays on the lyrical theme of the song with two "Cassies" shown - the one trying to be play a role, and the authentic Cassie. Watch the official video, directed by Emma Higgins and filmed at The Factory Theatre in Toronto.
"Rough Cut" is Dasilva's second single with Universal
Music Canada following her major record label debut this spring with the release of "Welcome To My Castle". Earlier this month, Dasilva released the live video for "Welcome To My Castle."
Cassie Dasilva has had an eventful first half of 2018. In addition to the release of two music videos and two singles via Universal
Music Canada, she returned to her stomping grounds in Vancouver to attend the Juno Awards where she took over the official Umusic Instagram account for the entire Juno weekend. Dasilva also walked in the Toronto Women's Fashion Week Celebrity Charity Fashion Show, WomensFashion4Hope, this past March.
After spending years honing her craft on songwriting trips to L.A., collaborating with award-winning writers and producers like Joshua Bartholomew and Lisa Harriton ("Everything Is Awesome") and Ryan Stewart (Carly Rae Jepsen), and graduating from production and audio engineering school,
Cassie is now on the verge of taking on the pop music world.
