10 Questions with Cassie Marin
Cassie Marin photographed by Gerardo De Sousa
Cassie Marin’s single ‘Tanto’, which was released at the beginning of October, is a revelation. Cassie diverges from her previous songs, experimenting with a different sound and message. While ‘Tanto’ stays true to her use of rhythmic Latin beats, this is the first of Cassie’s songs to be sung in Spanish – her first language. Not only does Cassie pay homage to her Cuban American upbringing with this release, but she opens up about an autoimmune disease that she has been battling behind closed doors. Following a serious injury, her dreams of becoming an Olympic gymnast came to an end at the age of 13; however, Cassie found comfort in her love of music and impressively became a self-taught artist and songwriter.
Clearly, ‘Tanto’ is the most personal piece that Cassie has produced to date. Cassie explains its coming about, meaning, and her future in music below.
1) What is the main message you hope to get across in Tanto?
The main message of “Tanto” is to focus on the solution rather than the problem in any situation — always have hope.
2) This is your first release in Spanish. Tell us a bit about your upbringing and how this has influenced your music.
My entire family were descendants of a generation that fled from Cuba and came to America. This would make the first language I spoke (before ever attending school) to be Spanish— which was only reinforced by nannies who were also from hispanic origins and with whom I spent a great deal of my childhood with. All these elements undoubtedly exposed me to a plethora of hispanic music, but it’s hard to point out specifically how my upbringing influenced my music other than by pointing out the fact that my music reveals who I am. My music is not so much of a conscious choice but rather a subconscious one.
3) How do you think Spanish speakers versus non-Spanish speakers will interpret the song differently?
The magical thing about music is that it’s such a universal language, I don’t think any emotion is lost whether a listener happens to speak Spanish or not.
4) Why did you choose to switch up the language specifically for Tanto, and not in previous songs?
I had been wanting to release a Spanish song for a little while now but didn’t want it to feel forced, so I just waited until it felt right and here we are.
5) The lyrics in Tanto hear you sing about your autoimmune disease for the first time. When did you realise you were ready to open up about this?
I realized I wanted to reveal more of my personal story when I stopped feeling ashamed of what I was going through. It’s easy to feel like you need to hide when things aren’t going picture perfect but I was over living my life that way. I think there’s endless strength and magic in honesty and vulnerability.
6) How has living with this impacted upon your music?
It certainly has limited me at times on a day to day but the overall impact on my music has been a strengthening one, ultimately it has filled me with gratitude to be doing what I’m doing.
7) While the lyrics in Tanto are some of your most vulnerable, the sound overall is uplifting; what inspired you to keep the music upbeat?
When dealing with something that has, in a very real sense, beat me down, my desire was to face it with optimism and candor. For some reason it felt right to do it that way. I didn’t want to feel sorry for myself. I wanted to spread the feeling of joy in the face of a hardship like this.
8) How did you feel when Tanto was complete?
Pretty quickly after writing “Tanto,” I knew it was ready for the world to hear.
9) This song has seen you take something difficult and turn it into a positive. What advice would you give to anyone who is going through a hard time?
Believe in what you’re doing, be gentle with yourself and be true to what you want.
10) What should we expect from you in the future?
More music and surprises!
If you’d like to keep up with Cassie, check out her links below. Also, Don’t forget to listen to "Tanto" on all streaming platforms.