Lee AdcockWhen I ask Casey Shea if she has any other hobbies beyond making music, she has to pause. We’re sitting on the second floor of the trendy downtown café Ebrik; a few minutes earlier, I perched on a thin metal bench below by the wall and watched chummy students mill about in the sunlight. This hardly seemed appropriate for a chat about the Atlanta native’s debut EP 13, a six-song spelunk into sullen R&B paired with subzero electronics. But beggars can’t be choosers, and anyway Shea lived within walking distance, so I couldn’t argue.
I’d been keen to talk to Shea, who records and performs as Casey, for a few months. The singer-songwriter and producer had ensnared me firmly back in December with “Another Day,” a sultry number with big fat synths that zoomed in on the bewildering space left behind by an ex-lover. But for the songs on 13, which dropped just before Valentine’s Day, Shea gently tweaked the knobs on her already tightly clipped sound, refining the yawning abysses within. Her work animated the agony of desire, in the same ways that ABRA obfuscated the nightlife and FKA Twigs lamented over sexual politics; and while “Another Day” resonated with me on a purely theoretical level, 13 locked me in completely. I had to learn more.
In hindsight, though, Shea and I didn’t delve too deeply on that agony. Maybe she hadn’t quite worked out how to discuss her material. Maybe the sunlight and the chatter in Ebrik dissipated our mutual traumas. Or maybe—and this is Jenny Hval’s theory, not mine—we still lack the language of desire in our ordinary lives, which is why Shea communicates with song instead. “I think a lot of girls relate to that confusion, of falling in love with someone, and having that be difficult,” she tells me, and I nod my head off. They sure do, Casey. They sure do.
So first, tell me—were you born and raised in Atlanta?
I was born in Atlanta in the city, then I was raised in the suburbs, in Cobb County. Then I moved downtown, so I’ve been here all my life, basically.
Are you going to school here, at Georgia State?
I used to go to Georgia State last year, but I recently switched to the SAE Institute, which is basically a school for audio engineering and entertainment business, so I just started there. It’s also downtown.
When did you start singing and producing songs?
I’ve been singing all my life—basically, I’ve always wanted to be a singer. And then I started playing instruments when I was a young teen, and then I started producing in January 2017, about a year ago.
I’m really keen to talk about your set-up, because you’ve already got a unique style. Listening to it, I think more about underground stuff in the UK than anything else going on here.
Thank you so much! I like that vibe, honestly. OK, so usually I just start with making a track in Logic. I only use library instruments, I don’t have any extra plug-ins or synth pads, mostly because I really don’t know to. I just taught myself Logic, so it’s easier to just use what’s in there. But I just find sounds that I like, and sounds that go together with whatever energy I’m trying to make. And then usually I’ll write and record [lyrics] after.
Ah, OK. I was wondering, because that always seems like the songwriter dilemma—what comes first, the lyrics or the music?
Yeah, I find it easier to write after I produce, because the sounds in the production can move you to think about certain topics. And some words don’t go with some sounds.
Now, I notice that a lot of your lyrics focus on desire, romance, the female body. What inspired you to start writing in that track?
The past year, I went through a lot emotionally with someone else. I use music to heal, basically. That’s also why this whole thing was leaning towards heartbreak, desire, and longing, because that’s just what I’ve been feeling, overall, as a teen. And that’s what’s inspired me most recently.
In regards to the female body—I feel like I’ve come to a point in my life where I’m becoming more expressive with it. I think a lot of girls relate to that confusion, of falling in love with someone, and having that be difficult. And I hope people can feel that in the music.
Yes, definitely. I believe it was in “Hemlock,” where you were expressing disbelief about your own body, and erasing yourself from reality. That’s certainly a thing I can relate to: you get so caught up in someone else, that suddenly it’s almost like you become less important. And it’s a very strange feeling.
Yeah. The body is important, but it’s not the most important part of your personality. So [when] I said, “My body isn’t real,” [I mean] it’s just a vessel. And it seems to have so much weight in our lives, but really it’s just a means of carrying ourselves through this whole thing.
Why the number 13 for your EP?
I was born on Friday the 13th, in November. And people always say it’s an unlucky number, but it’s been a lucky number for me since I was a kid, and I always thought it was cool—it always shows up in my life. I think it’s a charm.
You released it without much fanfare on SoundCloud. Are you thinking about putting it out on a physical release?
I might consider it. I haven’t thought about it that much, just because I’ve kept it digital so far. But that might be cool. I’m not sure how though, honestly.
Have you considered looking towards labels here in Atlanta?
No, I haven’t reached out to anyone. I’m keeping it independent until something better comes up, honestly, because I like to be in control of what I’m doing. I kept this entire project exclusive, because I don’t like being told what to do that much. But I would like to be signed, if that would benefit me more than just being alone.
Do you have anything else in the pipeline?
I was thinking about doing another project in the summer, just a smaller one, maybe about different topics. But I think I’ll have more features on that, rather than just one. But yeah—summer sounds, less dark sounds.
I mean, there’s nothing wrong with dark!
Yeah. It’s my favorite, actually.
I tried to come up with signifiers for your sound, but what inspired you toward your particular style?
The darkness. The beauty of feeling something take over your entire world, just because you can’t escape it. Romance, and lack thereof. Lust, and how it can rip you apart.
Was I off the mark, when I wrote my TRIPLE THREAT piece, to suggest ABRA and FKA Twigs?
No! I love them, actually. They’re my favorites, actually. Definitely a huge inspiration for me. That made me so happy! But definitely—I like the synth-y sounds, I like the electronic sounds. I might get more acoustic in the future. But I was definitely inspired by the magnitude that some electronic sounds have, the universes they can create. I just want to bring people into my world.
Do you plan on taking that to a live setting, or do you think it’ll be exclusively recording?
I’ve actually done a few live sets, recently in the past couple of weeks. I performed at a night club for this event called “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”—it was all females performing. And then I also performed at a friend’s house party. But I’m definitely trying to do as many live shows as I possibly can. I love performing.
Awesome! I would love to see you perform.
Yeah, I’ll definitely post about it and let people know next time. It’s been pretty low-key, like not my shows that I’ve been doing. So a lot of people may not even see me if they come through.
Any other upcoming plans in your life?
I want to tour. I want to go international, honestly, just so I can see all these different countries. And then I’m just trying to increase my release rate, honestly, so that I’ll have as much music out there as possible before someone has control over what I’m doing, just to get an idea of what my vibe is.
More Info
Instagram: @13casey
SoundCloud: @casenasty