- By looking to the past, Cassy returns with her best release in years.
- Listening to this new one from Cassy, I found myself thinking about Lisa Stansfield, and in particular her vocal on Coldcut's 1989 hit "People Hold On," before I found out she'd actually mentioned Stansfield as an inspiration. On both "A Place For Us" and "The One," Cassy channels the English singer's range from intimacy and theatricality. These are probably the most expressive vocal performances Cassy has turned in, a long distance from the subtly hypnotic style, heard on records for Perlon and her own eponymous label, she established in the early days of her career.
Cassy also lists Masters At Work and Todd Edwards as influences, and yes, this is also pretty obvious. "A Place For Us" is a filtered-disco hip-swinger that draws plenty of momentum from Cassy's vocal, while "The One" is also a house cut for sun-drenched dance floor moments. Vocal-free dub versions, the inclusion of which used to be something of a house music standard, further fuel the '90s vibes. As you might expect, these are tracks low on originality but high on back-to-the-old-school attitude. The same can be said for most of Kwench's recent catalogue (this is the 17th release from Cassy's Kwench label). Going back to the source is something plenty of established artists like Cassy do eventually, and while it feels entirely predictable, it does work quite nicely on A Place For Us.
Tracklist01. A Place For Us
02. A Place For Us (Dub)
03. The One
04. The One (Dub)