Jasmine Cassell sings to uplift everyday forms of interpersonal bravery. ENIM is Cassell’s most mature offering to date, a collection of six songs attesting to the full range of highs and lows experienced in and out of love.
Cassell’s timeless vocals are immediately recognizable, delivering hauntingly beautiful, guiding lyrics with sensual eloquence. Executive produced by Lee Clarke with additional production by Kingsley Ibeneche, Bennett Kuhn, and Cassell herself, ENIM offers wildly diverse genric settings. From the bossa nova of ‘Speechless’ to the braggadocio of soul single ‘Lie,’ Cassell moves fluidly through zones of contemplative longing and undulating, slow built passion. She sprawls vocally across all terrain, painting delicate feelings with a balance of gravity and weightlessness, touch and negative space.
Cassell has always played games with her name, mixing different combinations of letters to imagine new aspects of herself. ENIM is named after one such combination, a rearrangement of the last syllable of ‘Jas-mine’). Over time, ENIM became for Cassell a mythic alter ego of sorts, the highest version of herself. Cassell’s music as a whole is like this character: utterly aspirational, inspiring audiences to reach forward through any obstacle to personal growth.
Love and lust interplay throughout ENIM. Themes of infatuation and captivation tumble against primal needs for balance in pleasure, intimacy, and security. From the opening voice memo of Cassell’s old friend Ashley Ongwenyi to the flaring supernova breakdown of ‘Steal My Heart,’ ENIM is rooted in the commingling of despair with the absolute heights of human experience. Devoted to hope, Cassell has created songs that are prayers: requiems for the wildest and fullest embrace of change through love.
Written by: Bennett Kuhn
credits
released October 29, 2022
(1) "Show Me Your Love"
Featuring: Ashley Ongwenyi
Producer: Lee Clarke
Background Vocals: Jasmine Cassell
Songwriter: Jasmine Cassell
The Finnish producer's aptly titled second LP delivers an extended serotonin boost by way of dazzling synth grooves and crisp drum loops. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 7, 2024