Masked artist, Casey Sana, released their latest project The Human Experience on July 1st. The latest project features a plethora of crossover-pop.
Of the album’s theme, Casey says:
“The human experience is something we all go through and no one is one emotion all of the time. I generally regard myself as a happy, positive person, but I’d be lying if I said there weren’t days where I felt sad, or anxious, or depressed: that’s what it is to be human. So I created the project to let people know they’re not the only ones having those feelings – good or bad – as well as opening up to people with some of my human experiences.”
The Human Experience features over ten tracks, and covers themes referencing the essence of human life, and focuses on the little details and nuances in-between. Sana states that:
“This project is all about unity for me. There are plenty of things that divide us in this world, so I wanted to tell modern stories which represent the feelings that we all experience at some point in our lives. Some of us will only touch these emotions, whilst others are engulfed by them, but we all feel them nonetheless.”
While Sana hides their face with a mask in public appearances, music videos, including social media. They state that the reason for doing so is “to take away all preconceived judgments and let the music speak for itself. We live in such an identity-driven culture with a label for just about anyone, so I wanted to leave a blank canvas and show that anyone can reach their goals, no matter how big the dream or what obstacles you may be in your way.”
We had the pleasure of speaking with Sana about The Human Experience, what it means to them, elaboration on why a mask is used to cover their face in videos and performances, and their fun music and entertainment favorites.
What is ‘The Human Experience’ to you?
The world can seem like a pretty divisive place at times, but I wanted to make this album to show that we all go through a lot of the same emotions & experiences at some point in our lives; they may not be the same exact situations but the sentiment and the feeling is the same; loneliness, euphoria, childlike wonder, experimenting with identity, new life & new beginnings; these are all parts of the human experience.
There’s quite an eclectic range of genres and styles on this record, how do you tie them all in so that they fit together as one, cohesive message?
I think the idea of The Human Experience really gives a sense of freedom to explore because, like humans, no one is 1 thing all of the time: we’re dynamic beings who feel so many different emotions on a daily basis.
When you’re sad it doesn’t feel the same as euphoria, so when I’m creating music my focus is on whether or not it captures the emotion I’m going for, not whether it fits in ‘my genre’ or not.
Why do you wear a mask in videos and performances?
I like the idea that with my face covered, it could be anyone up there. Black, white, man, woman, all of the above or none of them. I’m really looking forward to playing with that concept more and more as we release new videos and new music to show that it doesn’t matter who’s up on stage, the message of the music still remains!
Who has influenced your sound?
I think The 1975 being able to show that you can have songs from a bunch of different genres has been really awesome to see – sometimes I remind myself how crazy it is that “Somebody Else” and “People” were made by the same band, and that really helps me not get boxed in when I’m making music.
What’s in heavy rotation on your playlist right now?
My playlist is a mess! I really love exploring new music so there’s everything in there, from The Beatles to Buju Banton, Nina Simone to the Arctic Monkeys, and A LOT of Harry Styles…
For me, I’m not one of those people who has a different playlist for every mood or genre, I’ve always just separated music into 2 categories when I listen to it: music I like and music I don’t.
I know artists say songs are like babies, but if you HAD to choose a favourite from The Human Experience, what would it be?
I love all my songs equally… but I love Baby Boy a little more equally than the rest just because of what it means to me and my family. To be honest, I’m actually really excited about a couple of songs that aren’t even out yet, so that answer will change in the near future I’m sure…
Fun Questions
Who was your first concert, and do you have a favorite so far?
My first concert was actually supposed to be last year (seeing Harry Styles) but unfortunately, the world had other ideas about that one…
What was your first album on CD and/or vinyl?
I’m not sure if it was my first but I’ll always remember going to buy Eminem’s ‘Relapse’ CD and getting turned away because I wasn’t old enough. In the end, I went back with my mom and she got it for me!
Which five albums and/or artists would you not want to live without?
I think I’d have to take something from everything I listen to, so it would be:
1. The Weeknd
2. The Beatles
3. James Brown’s “Live From Augusta” album
4. Harry Styles
5. Frank Ocean
Do you have a guilty music and/or entertainment pleasure?
I mean I don’t know if it’s a guilty pleasure, but i REALLY enjoy taking my favourite songs and then rewriting them as if I were in the writing camp for it. Some of the lyrics stay the same as the original but more often than not I’ll change the concept or put my own little twist on the song
What have you been currently reading, watching, and/or listening to?
On the reading side, I’m going back through “7 Spiritual Laws Of Success” and have just started Eckhart Tollè’s “A New Earth” – I really enjoyed 7 Laws and although it can get a bit ‘far out’ at times, I think there are some real gems in ‘A New Earth’ too!
I love watching artist documentaries and at the moment there’s a whole bunch to choose from, so I’m going to see how many I can get through in the next few months!
As far as music goes, I’m always listening to and exploring new stuff. Right now I’m going back through the songs and artists I would hear on the radio in the car with my parents when I was a kid – all those songs that I remember hearing but had no idea who the artists were or the other amazing material they had released!
Find Casey on Instagram, and listen to their music on Spotify
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