The New York native opened up to Happy about her latest album ‘My Light, My Destroyer’
New York songstress Cassandra Jenkins is back with her third full-length album, ‘My Light, My Destroyer’.
The album captures a playful vulnerability unique to Jenkin’s sound as she channels the feeling of electricity you can feel in a room full of people, or the silent conversations you have with strangers on the subway.
‘My Light, My Destroyer’ is an angelic blend of masterful lyricism and thoughtful instrumentation reminiscent of the works of Adrianne Lenker or David Berman, solidifying Cassandra Jenkins amongst the stars.
The first track on the album, ‘Devotion’, makes you feel as if you were swimming in the ocean. Playful instrumentation swirls around angelic vocals as her entrancing voice soothes your soul.
This weightless feeling carries on throughout the album, as Jenkin’s takes you on a journey through the depths of her mind.
Read the full interview with Cassandra Jenkins below, and wrap your eyes and ears around ‘My Light, My Destroyer’ today.
HAPPY: What are you up to today?
CASSANDRA: I’m designing a planetarium presentation to accompany my album. I’m learning about full dome format, and navigating the cosmos using the OpenSpace program (check it out).
HAPPY: Tell us a little bit about where you live? What do you love about it?
CASSANDRA: I live in New York City. It’s the greatest city on earth? I love the people here, and how they play off of one another. I think it’s tempting to try and blend in here, but the best moments are the silent conversations with strangers– a glance can say so much.
HAPPY: We’re obsessed with your new album! Can you describe how you are feeling right now?
CASSANDRA: Hah! How am I FEELING? I’m overflowing with the desire to create right now– it’s not always like this. I go through long periods of creative dormancy. But right now, there isn’t enough time in the day, especially when I’m learning so many new skills with OpenSpace, and Ableton, and After Effects simultaneously.
I’m feverishly alive. I wish I could sleep! I’m excited for the record to come out this week. After the release, I’m going to head upstate to be utterly silent and listen to the crickets.
HAPPY: Your sound’s been compared to legends like David Berman and Adrianne Lenker. Who are your musical heroes, and how do they inspire you?
CASSANDRA: Thanks– they’re both incredibly inspiring artists. So that’s a great start! Both as lyricists and as people in the world, they have a lot to teach me.
I have so many heroes and I call upon them when I feel lost. Anne Carson, Laurie Anderson, Jane Goodall, Miranda July, to name a FEW! I can’t make this list without a shout out to Hailey Gates :)
HAPPY: My Light, My Destroyer is a wild ride through genres. What sparked this sonic exploration?
CASSANDRA: A wild ride! Please Remain Seated and Keep Arms & Legs Inside At All Times. Welcome to my brain. It’s firing in so many different directions at once. And on this album, I just let myself be a bit more… myself.
I was hungry to explore and learn and play with my friends, after 3 years of isolated touring and lock downs.
HAPPY: The album explores everything from electricity in a crowd to lab-grown strawberries. What’s your secret for finding magic in the everyday?
CASSANDRA: I take time to look at things closely. The less I practice careful observation and listening, the more unhappy and distanced I feel. I’m going to sound like a broken record here, but nature is endlessly fascinating.
At some point in my adult life I became aware of the power of mundane repetitive tasks, and the hold they have on my subconscious mind and dreamscape. If I spend the day editing in Protools, I’ll be making crossfades in my sleep.
I’ve found that experiences, even tasks, most entwined with natural elements carry the most potent dream fodder, sodden with symbolism, and ripe with meaning left to be deciphered.
HAPPY: Tell us about “Clams Casino” – is it a tribute to the producer or something else entirely?
CASSANDRA: When I was shooting the video for this a couple weeks ago, I went to pick up camera equipment and they thought I was a PA for Clams Casino and I had to break it to them that it was actually my video, and the title of my song.
They looked disappointed but they haven’t heard the song yet!!
It’s a tribute to a lot of things, I must say. It’s in dialogue with my last record in subtle and not so subtle ways. It’s also a tribute to my grandmother, to aging, to hotels on tour.
I’m asking a lot of questions in that song about what I want to do with this one “wild and precious life.”
HAPPY: “Shatner’s Theme” – any Trekkie influences there? We need to know!
CASSANDRA: Pardon my Klingon, but I fucking love Star Trek. I’m a late in life Trekkie– of the Next Gen variety. I never appreciated the show when I was a kid, and was pleasantly surprised by how much it resonated with me. The Traveler might be my favorite episode.
There are aspects of the show that I find a relief from modern society- it’s addressing issues around politics, gender, and colonialism, all from the vantage point of having left earth behind in search of perspectives beyond our understanding.
It’s a part of cosmic art (I’m thinking about Afro Futurism, Queer Cosmic Country, and a lot of Sci Fi) that is both inspiring and a little sad– why do we have to travel to space in order to find relief from our problems on earth?
We are totally capable of ending war, racism, genocide, sexual violence, bigotry on this planet. Star Trek ultimately attests that the human race is capable of so much more than we’re demonstrating here on Earth these days.
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HAPPY: “Betelgeuse” is a massive star on its way out. Did that inform the song’s mood?
CASSANDRA: It’s on its way out yes, by astrological standards, but it’s got a lot of life left by human standards. I do love that it gets brighter as it gets closer to death.
Did you know there’s a type of female chameleon that flashes bright colors right before it takes its last breath? What a way to go.
It’s really more about realizing how little I know about the night sky, the stars, the nature of the universe, and that’s basically all I want to talk about.
HAPPY:Are you someone who goes with the flow in life or a planner?
CASSANDRA: I’m both. I’m plagued by planning, and my brain’s desire to plan everything, which comes in handy in situations like touring which is of course, a lot of complicated logistics. B
ut going with the flow is my goal. It’s a muscle. It takes practice. Touring helps with that too– there are wrenches thrown at me every day on tour, so I am forced to be more flexible.
The question is, how do I react when my plan isn’t going according to plan? Intuition plays a huge part in all of this, and helps to mediate the two impulses. Intuition takes practice too.
HAPPY: Field recordings are sprinkled throughout. What unique sounds did you capture?
CASSANDRA: I captured a lot of the concrete sounds, all except for the ones in Delphinium Blue which Isaac Eiger brought to the table.
He and I both share this love of field recordings– we really bonded on that right away. We have insatiable appetites for a good field recording.
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HAPPY: What’s coming up for you?
CASSANDRA: Emotionally speaking? :) I’m guessing you mean on the calendar. Rehearsals, Planetarium show on Tuesday. Release show Thursday. In store and record release Friday.
Maybe an Omakase dinner one of these days?!!?
After the record is out I plan to go upstate and listen to the crickets on my grandmother’s porch.
I can’t wait to be quiet again.
HAPPY: Lastly, what makes you happy?
CASSANDRA:
Bicycles
Being immersed in a project
The farmer’s market
Binoculars
Microscopes
Seeing an animal playing in the forest
Secret swimming holes
A perfect subway transfer
Omakase
Beeswax candles, candlelight
Snow
Cooking for my friends
Insects except for NYC cockroaches
Tubas
Mango Sticky Rice
Planetarium shows
Bergamot
Making music videos
