Cassadee Pope has just released two new singles from her forthcoming acoustic record, Rise and Shine. Here, we chat to Cassadee about the project and her journey to this point.
Hello! Happy single release week, it must feel like a very strange time to release week?
Thank you! It’s weird, I was just looking at all the virtual press for the next few weeks. It’s bizarre to think that this is the most unique release I’ll probably ever have.
You’ll never forget it! How have you been handling quarantine so far, have you been able to do lots of writing sessions?
I have, the first two weeks, I felt like a jolt because I’m used to being on the road, especially this year, in March I was supposed to be on this tour in Japan and Australia. It will happen again, it’s been rescheduled for next year, but I definitely felt a jolt where I didn’t know what to do with myself and so for the first two weeks, I felt so unmotivated and I didn’t do any writing. After realising that this is going to be a thing for a while, I tried the Zoom writing thing and I actually really love it, I’ve got some great stuff from it.
I know with ‘Stages’ you felt like you dug a layer deeper and it was a big transition for you and your music, but the glimpses we’ve seen of this record feels like it goes yet deeper. Have you felt that transition in what you want to say with your music?
It’s been quite the journey (laughs). I think for a while, I didn’t realise I was doing this but I was chasing a sound and chasing country radio. Actually the more that I really paid attention to what made me feel good, I did that with Stages, my fans could tell and I grew more fans. My career took this really cool turn and I felt like I had this new respect from people.
I do feel like people connect to that authenticity.
Yeah, I think there’s so much fluff going on in the world and being able to really sift through and find the real stuff, what makes me feel good is usually what makes me feel something and that’s what I really wanted to accomplish with this record. I know it’s a weird time and we’re all going through this crazy self-discovery journey, I think this journey is that. It talks a lot about my journeys with self discovery and seeing where I am and not liking it, and wanting to be somewhere better and making those changes, so it’s really a reflective record.
Do you think that it being an acoustic record reflects that more because there’s really nowhere to hide, it’s all about the songwriting and your voice?
I’m definitely more exposed and my voice and lyrics are more upfront than ever. I think that it’s sort of reflecting where we are in the current situation, it’s stripping away all the stuff that is usually so distracting. I wanted the record to reflect that we are in a place where there’s really nothing to do but look inward and work on ourselves, that’s why I felt like acoustically that’s where the songs could live – it’s how they were all written, so it was nice to take them all back to where they started. It’s kind of crazy, I never thought I would release an acoustic record!
I guess that’s what makes it so special, you’re right that it does feel like the right time to do this. The first single is going to be ‘Let Me Go,’ which you wrote with Kevin Rudolph and Tina Parol – talk me through the writing room that day.
Gosh, that was a hard day. I had gotten some not good news about my situation with my record label at the time, I felt like I was so misunderstood and I also felt that I was in a place in my life where I felt trapped and didn’t know where to go from here. After bringing that idea to Tina and Kevin, I realised that this isn’t just about a profession, this is about anyone who’s going through a situation with a family member or a friend or significant other, where they just feel like they’re at a crossroads and it’s hard to call it and say ‘ok, we’ve got to move on’ because it’s more comfortable to sit in something that’s not great. That’s what the songs about, really realising that I would be better off without this situation and why can’t you understand this and just let each other go.
That’s interesting that it’s about a label, because when you’re listening to it, it’s so relatable to so many other situations.
I didn’t really try to write about it to be broad and be about relationships. Music and my career and the business side is all personal to me, this is my livelihood, this is my passion. So when something goes really well or there’s a team problem, it affects me in my heart, it’s not a business transaction it affects my whole being, so when I write songs about the business side and how it affects me, it usually comes out that way.
I almost feel that if you don’t feel that way, you’ve come so far from where you were.
Yeah exactly and I think the reason why I haven’t really had that situation happen since I left the table is because I have a team around me who I trust so much, they’ll take care of that side of things for me and will handle that stuff and I won’t really have to be subjected to the not so fun side of the business. It’s nice, I’ve had a break from that for a while.
Absolutely. This Friday, you’ll also release ‘Built This House,’ written with Kelly Archer and Forest Glen Whitehead. Are there certain people you take certain ideas to?
Yeah, I went into that situation, I had just bought this house with my boyfriend and I felt that it was so symbolic, even just coming from my last house which I got when I became single and I was like ‘gosh this is the house that built me.’ I felt like this house is the product of all the things that I’ve gone through in the last two years, personally and professionally. It became so symbolic – my life is the house that I’m building, the foundation feels so strong and solid and I built that, no matter what it’s still going to be there and I’m going to be ok. That was a really fun session, we just were able to go through all the terminology of houses and building it.
The rest of the album will be out in August, are there any other songs you’re particularly excited to get out and what do you hope people take away from the record as a whole?
I want people to listen to it, and not that they’re not already giving themselves permission to feel, but I hope if they’re not letting themselves feel in this interesting time, I hope these songs aid the emotional journey. I think it’s really important for us to acknowledge that this has been hard and it can really bring you down and I think it’s ok to feel those things. There are some songs on the record that will hopefully let people feel and cry and let it out, but there are also songs that will hopefully put them back together and make them feel good. ‘Rise and Shine’ – the reason why I named the album after that title song, I’m so excited for people to hear this one because it’s about coming out of the other side stronger from a really difficult period of your life. You have two options, you can let it defeat and consume you for however long, or you can sit in the muck for a minute and get out of it and get something out of it.
We all need that message right now!
That’s my hope. I hope that people who are still not working and are twiddling their thumbs, I hope this keeps them company. It’s a stripped back project.
You’ve also co-written and co-produced every song on the record. Does that make it feel more scary, because it’s that bit more personal?
It is. I feel like any time I release anything I’m scared because it’s important to me. I feel like I’d always done what I did in the studio, but I think since there were so many less cooks in the kitchen, I’m not putting anyone out by having myself as a co-producer. Todd and I had a lot of fun exploring the different sounds, he really got it and it was really fun to collaborate with him on it.
It must have felt very different in the studio with all the new precautions?
Yeah, usually there’s an engineer and there might be someone else from the studio to help, I had the guy Chance who does a lot of videography for me, he came and stayed out of the way. It was bizarre. I’m so glad we documented it, because it was just so bizarre. Then we had a storm here, the first day that we did the vocals, there was a huge, almost hurricane come through Nashville without any warning. The next day we came in and there was no power, no lights, it was so bizarre.
Well it will be worth it when it’s released!
Final Few
Would you rather give up songwriting or performing?
I guess I’d rather give up songwriting…
What’s your favourite song you’ve ever written?
I think honestly it’s something I’ve written recently that hasn’t been released that’s called ‘Thrive.’ It’s talking about how I didn’t just survive you, but now I’m thriving.
What record would you bring to a desert island?
Probably, ‘Hotel Paper’ by Michelle Branch.
If there was a biopic about your life what would be the opening track?
‘Breathe’ by Michelle Branch.
Favourite thing to do in the UK?
High tea, I know that’s so bougie…
Complete the sentence…
Music is… therapy.
Country music is… relatable.
Cassadee Pope is… driven.
