I composed this album last summer, while in my seaside Italian hometown. I remember closing my eyes while listening back to tracks, feeling the sea breeze run over me with my feet in the sand and the echo of crashing waves in the background. Creating this album was a freeing experience for me — from following any rules, norms, music styles or trends. Whenever I make music for the dance floor, I follow a few rules and arrangement techniques that help me shape a track in a way that gets people moving and having fun. While people can also certainly dance to this album, the purpose behind it represents an artistic shift. 

You can listen to every single track while reading The Outlaw Ocean without losing your concentration, because the motive of these songs is to guide you through a journey and lead the words you’re reading to touch your feelings — making the words and the music unforgettable. That’s part of what makes this project kind of breakthrough, is how it involves a mass of people to tell a story that extends past the words on the page. I’m not a writer. If I want to make people experience something, my music is the perfect vehicle for that expression. I didn’t include any lyrics in my tracks, instead allowing Ian to function as the storyteller while I help guide people through the narrative and feel like they’re part of it.

CASSIMM