Album interview : Erika de Casier, Essentials
Posted
Words by: Henrik Koefod Petersen
Fresh off of her debut record ‘Essentials’ being released yesterday we caught up with Erika de Casier, who seems to be shaping up for a great year in 2019 with three U.K. shows in the past weeks, Germany on the 4th of June and an appearance at Heartland Festival in between.
Knife ‘Essentials’ marks your first solo record as Erika de Casier, apart from previous guest-appearances on releases from the Aarhus-based house music collective Regelbau and as the lead singer of experimental R’n’B duo Saint Cava. Can you take us through the process of getting to this stage and becoming ready to release your debut?
Erika I think it came very naturally. I made a few sketches that didn’t fit into any of the projects I was currently in, so I decided to start “Erika de Casier”. I wouldn’t call it a solo- record though because I didn’t make it by myself. I wrote all the lyrics and melodies and produced some of the tracks, but a big part of the record is produced by my friend El Trick (Natal Zaks, DJ Central) who I also made “Drive” with, and there are a few tracks by Milan Zaks (DJ Sports), one by Niels Kirk and another by Carl Barsk.
Knife Speaking of Natal Zaks who also has released loads of great music under various monikers, how has it been working with him on ‘Essentials’?
Erika It’s been great. We’ve known each other for many years and I feel like we are in tune with each other’s musicality, so it has really been a pleasure to work with him.
Knife From the initial singles ‘Intimate’ and ‘Do My Thing’ it seemed clear that you had chosen a new musical direction for ‘Essentials’ that is very different from your previous projects including Saint Cava. Was this a deliberate decision to distance yourself from your previous work?
Erika I wasn’t trying to distance myself at all. Saint Cava lives - quietly, but it lives. I have a broad taste in music and it’s important for me to have different projects where I can try out different things.
Knife Your new record also seems to feature some heavy Bossa Nova influences which especially shines through on tracks such as ‘Good Time’. Can you talk a bit about the Brazilian inspiration in your music?
Erika I actually made the original sketch for “Good Time” with some awful pre-made Bossa Nova loops in Ableton Live. I think there’s something magical about old Brazilian music that you don’t see much of today, so I wanted to experiment with that. The original sketch led to the vocal melodies and lyrics and then I showed it to Natal, who then made a completely new production under the vocals and voila.
Knife Finally, apart from a long list of shows abroad this summer, you will also be playing at Heartland Festival in a few weeks. What can we expect from your concert there?
Erika Bombs going off, fireworks, screaming, mosh pits etc.
Knife Sounds amazing, Erika! We are definitely looking forward to it. Thank you for your time!
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