Cassie Henderson and ‘Burns Brighter’

Words by Hannah Powell. Images taken by James Ensing-Trussell.

Local pop artist Cassie Henderson is fresh off the release of her second single; we talked about her music, the industry, and season one of X Factor New Zealand.

Over in Auckland, Cassie tells me what she’s been up to of late. “At the moment, we’ve just released ‘Burns Brighter’, which is my second song,” she says. “Which is awesome.” 

She admits it’s taken a while to get it out there, but she assures it will be worth the wait. “We were just making sure it was in a nice wee package and ready to be shown to the world.”

Beginning music at a young age, Cassie’s done quite a bit. Busking in her early years, on X Factor at fourteen, and now, releasing her second song while on the marketing team at Rhythm and Vines, it’s a fair call for her to say she’s been a “busy bee”. Having just finished her fourth year of study at Otago, too, she’s looking forward to what the future holds.

For Cassie, she was a bit of a household name in twenty-thirteen. At fourteen, she entered into New Zealand’s X-Factor. Raised in Christchurch, and with a background of busking, ‘rising star’ shows in the local mall, and playing covers, she was determined to give it her best shot. And she did, as she placed fifth in the national competition. Looking back on it, she says “I’ve been very fortunate in that. When I released ‘Tainted’ I already had an audience who had consistently stuck by me, who were ready to listen”. She describes her experience as preparation for what was to come, saying “it really prepared me for entering back into the music world a couple of years later”.

In April this year, her first single ‘Tainted’ was released. One of the first songs she wrote where she felt proud, Cassie felt it was the first time where she wanted to show her music to the world. A more emotionally driven track ‘Tainted’ tells the story about someone in their last days of a stale relationship. “[It’s like] a really, really desperate feeling of basically standing in front of someone with this really horrible emotion that’s crawling into your throat, an ‘I don’t want to cry, but I’m about to cry’”.

Her second single, ‘Burns Brighter’, is on a different note. She tells me it’s one of her favourite things she’s ever written. Written a year ago on a car trip from Dunedin to Christchurch, Cassie cooked up the verse and chorus while driving up. “I feel like it’s an empowering song, it’s all about finding inner strength. It’s not just about heartbreak or an anthem to getting over you,” she says. “It’s about feeling more powerful than you used to be.”

‘Tainted’ was produced by Alex Wildwood, with ‘Burns Brighter’ produced by Auckland duo Ambian and Sleo. “Hearing it done, produced and on the radio,” she said. “[I] Was like, ‘Wow, we’ve come so far’.” She’s got a sweet little music video for it too.

As for the dream, airplay has always been number one. “[I’ve] always wanted it too badly - I think that’s why I went on a show”. But her dream has shifted since her fourteen-year-old self-envisioned massive stadium shows. Now, it’s just writing a song and hearing it on the radio, knowing that others are hearing it too. “This dream feels bigger than that dream I felt when I was fourteen,” she says. 

“[When you’re younger], you dream about the big picture, and you miss the stepping stones in-between.” It’s the stepping stones, she says, that have proven to be the best parts. A marketing intern at Rhythm and Vines, she’ll be gracing their stage with her tunes too.

As talk turned to the industry, I ask Cassie about the top three things she’s learned. “You’re never going to be able to please everyone,” she says. Admitting it was a hard lesson to learn at fourteen, she says that at that age you just wanted everybody to like you. Number two is getting stuck in the bubble. She tells me how at fourteen she was waking up in a hotel each morning, throwing herself into practice for a performance that night. Lesson learned? It’s easy to get sucked into the bubble of the industry. “It’s its own little world,” she says. “Life exists consistently around it.”

Number three? “Just respect everyone. There’s no person that matters more than anyone else. Every person is just as important [in the industry].” When it comes to her music, the most important thing is the relationship between her songs and those who listen to them. “[It’s] the relationship between you and the other person, and how the song carries that,” she says.  

What’s next in the summer ahead? Playing a slot at Rhythm and Vines, she’s excited for the festival once again. “[It’s] so cool how it’s all New Zealand – basically all local – talent,” she says.

 “There’s so many people out there just doing their thing.”

An intern on their marketing team since her second year of uni, she describes it as her first introduction into the marketing world for music and events. It’s raised the question for herself, of ‘how do I fit into that?’. She’s grateful, too, on the opportunity it’s given her to get on the stage. “This year is a great opportunity to see how great our music scene is, of how sick of a show we can hold,” she says.