Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with Cassettolove
S stands for Sandra and R for Raphaël.
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
S: I would say the piano lessons I took when I was 7 years old. That’s when I realized that the emotions I felt while playing were different depending on the songs. Notes had a direct effect on me and my emotions.
R : I got first little electronic keyboard when I was about 10 and I remember that this gave me a first very personal connection to music. I remember listening to all the sounds trying out the different effects and drum beats and spotting out all the features from the automatic music styles the keyboard would provide… Already focusing my eyes on arrangements.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
S : Even though I was playing in a band as a teenager, the real need to create music appeared when I became a mother. I was overflowing with inspiration.
R : Creating little melodies and basic songs was like learning how to draw: I just did it with a total lack of aesthetic consciousness. It was so naive at first! But it got better with time and practice.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
S : It’s a mix of friendship and nostalgia for our teenage years. Having a musical project with my friend Raphaël was the main reason, but I think we both share the feeling that the songs we listened to as children and teenagers made us who we are today.
R: Indeed! Music is an amazing time machine, I strong as what a perfume can do to your brain. Clearly wanted to experiment that power on an audience with the same age as ours.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
S : Cassettolove is a duo performing covers from the ’90s and 2000s. But we take the songs we choose to play somewhere completely different. That was the whole point: giving new colors and emotions to songs we used to love and listen to.
R : Such a good description! Therefore, the name of our band is an intersection between an old cassette player and a sentimental look at our lives and memories.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
S : I’ve learned that music becomes much more interesting when you dare to take songs somewhere unexpected.
R : Less is more: It just took me too much time to realize it.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
S : Personally, my guitar. Sometimes I come up with an idea for a cover and a direction for how we could reinterpret the song, and sometimes it’s Raphaël who brings the idea. Then we take our instruments, play together, try different things, and experiment until we feel happy with the result.
R : I cannot live with my Mellotron since I got it ten years ago. It has got some sort of a magic that is just totally adapted to this time travel we try to create with that duet. The rest is all about nostalgia through 90’s sparkle guitars and sounds.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
S : The song I am loving right now is “Elegantly wasted» by hermanos gutiérrez feat.leon bridges.
R: Listening to Neal Francis so regularly myself…
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
S : I’m not sure. What I can say is that the songs we choose are often connected to memories, periods of life, or emotions, and when we revisit them, we somehow reconnect with those moments again.
R : Every singer or band I played with during the last 30 years influenced me to some extent. Music is a team sport to me, and you cannot avoid changing your perception on things through all these connections.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
S : I love being touched and moved by music when I listen to songs, so I hope the same happens to our listeners.
R: I hope they can ghost back straight to some very precise memories from their past and unveil all these things that were covered in dust for too long.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
S : For me, music is a way of connecting with others, and that is very powerful.
R: Can’t say better.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
S : Mühle Hunziken in Switzerland, this place is awesomely decorated and has a very unique atmosphere.
R : That would be a great venue for our band, for sure!
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
S : Sting. I love everything about him.
R : Robert Smith from The Cure, he’s still such an inspiration.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website,Spotify, IG, links)
S : We are on Instagram and MX3, the Swiss music platform. Following and supporting us there is a great way to help our project grow.
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
S : Continue to perform gigs throughout Switzerland. There’s something very special about bringing these songs — and the memories connected to them — back to life with the audience. We would also love the opportunity to release music on platforms like Spotify, although getting the rights to do so isn’t easy.
R : Sandra said it all. I would also be so happy if we could create some sort of a community that would follow us regularly just for the pleasure of singing all these nostalgic songs with us.
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
S : I don’t know.
That we share the same kind of dreams, fears, angers, and sadness since or teenage.
