Andrew Cassara proves that freaky good things also come in threes. The Ottawa pop dynamo is armed to the teeth with new releases: The deluxe version of his latest album Freak On Repeat, a full-length concert video and the single Gimme More Bass — all showcasing today on Tinnitist.
“Gimme More Bass is one of those songs that kind of surprised me,” Cassara shares. “It happened so quickly; at the beginning it was just a melody that was really catchy and it felt like in the blink of an eye it came to life. Growing up, I was the biggest Backstreet Boys fan and Gimme More Bass feels like I’m sticking to my roots, but that I’ve fused that ‘boy band’ pop sound with my love for retro funk and disco. It’s groove pop and it just feels like home to me.”
The album title alone telegraphs Cassara’s determination to blaze his own path and encourage others to do the same. “Freak on Repeat is actually a line from one of the songs, Bad Bad, and I think it describes this record authentically. It’s about having the best time you can have, being yourself and having fun in the moment.” Nowhere is that more evident than that first single, a track that channels the glitz and glitter of ’70s-era disco while sounding cutting-edge current, and which Cassara describes as “a fun, party tune about a night of lust and fun with a kind of Saturday Night Fever vibe.”
Although infectiously hooky, groove-driven tracks like Fever (Bring the F**K Mix) and Funkadelic encourage listeners to celebrate life, Cassara’s drive to write about his own experiences with complete honesty finds him covering rougher ground as well. “I wanted to spread a positive message, but I also wanted to write about topics that are sometimes difficult to talk about.” You Are, for example, was written explicitly about his personal struggles with mental health issues. “With You Are I had a mission in mind: To tell my story and provide positive reinforcement to anyone listening by repeating lines like ‘you are loved’ and ‘you are strong’. It’s my story, but it’s also a message of inspiration I hope will help people tackle their own issues and give them a positivity boost.”
Music has been Cassara’s go-to means of expression since first hearing the Backstreet Boys at age four. “They were so inspiring. When I was a kid, I actually won a karaoke contest singing and dancing to their songs. They really paved the way for my passion for music.” His lifelong love affair with music, his determination to write, record and perform, however, is also rooted in his parent’s divorce and father’s subsequent move to the U.S., which happened right when he started getting into music. “I guess I was just looking for more positivity in my life. Now, when I write, it brings back a lot of those emotions and that plays a big role in my music.” Previous releases including Lavender Feels, The Big Bang, and Freak on Repeat‘s first iteration — as well as a series of singles — have taken Cassara to the U.S., South Korea, Singapore, Japan and Sweden, where he has shared the stage with artists such as Shawn Mendes, Chromeo, Tyler Shaw, Lauv and more.
Check out Gimme More Bass and his Freak on Repeat Livestream Concert above, listen to Freak on Repeat (Deluxe Version) below, and keep up with Andrew Cassara on his website, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
