INTERVIEW: VASSY On Worldwide Success With EDM, New Single “Nothing To Lose” With Tiesto & Her Thoughts On Other Australian Acts Making It Big! [Exclusive]
All hail VASSY.
There’s not really much need to do a long introduction here, as I’m convinced everybody out there knows who she is; the best friend of every top DJ these days, and the singer of two of your favorite party tunes that most likely get played every night at all clubs around the world.
This talented Australian girl has collaborated with DJ royalty in the latest years, including a hit song with David Guetta, “Bad”, and another monster hit with Tiesto, “Secrets”. And ever since releasing those singles to the world, VASSY has kept herself busy performing at festivals and at clubs all over the planet. Additionally, VASSY's also found time to develop her solo career. Only a few months ago she released a 16-song album on iTunes, and in it she demonstrated that she’s capable to adapt to other genres, and not just EDM (the album definitely deserves to be checked out!).
Direct Lyrics recently did an exclusive interview with VASSY while she was in America a few days ago. In our talk, the Australian export talked about her astonishing success in the EDM world, what it meant to work with David Guetta and Tiesto, she revealed to us details about her upcoming new collaboration with Tiesto that’s coming out soon, her thoughts on independent vs. major labels and other Australia acts that are making it big in America, or what her next dream DJ collaboration is. Do not miss this below!
The Interview
1. Where in the world are you right now and how’s your day been like so far?
I'm actually on the East Coast in America right now. I was doing a little bit of gardening; believe it or not - I just grew my very first strawberry which I'm excited about. And I'm getting ready to hit the gym, and I'm seeing a Broadway play in New York tonight called “The Jersey Boys”.
2. For those who don’t know the origins of VASSY, and just know you for your massive hits with Guetta and Tiesto, what would it be a short summary of your journey to becoming every DJ’s best friend and cracking the US? It all started with the remix of “We Are Young” in Australia, right?
My career started in Australia several years ago, and actually one of my first songs that I wrote got honored by Triple J and then it ended up becoming "Song of the Year" and getting played on radio a lot across the nation and then I ended up getting a record deal and from there I wrote the song with Timothy Myers called “We Are Young”. The song ended up doing extremely well in the TV/film world - we got a lot of placements with it, several TV campaigns for Chevy, Target, Sketchers, Google, it got the trailer for Disney's film that won an Oscar, “Frozen”, Tina Fey's film, and so on. And then I had this idea, I thought "why don’t I get it remixed and do a couple of dance versions?", so I ended up doing that and then the song went to number one on the Billboard dance charts in the US and then it just kind of took off from there. I then ended up having a seven-time double-platinum record with David Guetta, “Bad”, and that did extremely well, and then a year later I had a number one record with Tiesto with “Secrets”, and “Secrets” has since, a year later, gone double platinum. So it's going really well I’d say - I mean the thing is I do have a new record coming out with Tiesto this year, which I’m really excited about, I hope that one goes number one too. I don’t know, I think I’m just enjoying the journey, it’s all been organic evolution, and you know becoming friends with these top DJs around the world has been awesome, and collaborating with all these different people has been a really interesting journey, learning a lot from everyone, and then learning from me as a writer and as an artist and a singer… so I don't know…I’ll just keep going with the journey and see what's around the corner.
3. Indeed your first major collaboration with an international DJ was “Bad” with David Guetta. How exactly did this collaboration come to being, and what did you feel when you realized your hard work had paid off that you were now recording a song with someone as huge as David?
It was a pretty surreal experience to be honest, I didn't expect it to take off like that. I had written “Bad” a while ago, and it was cool getting that phone call when Guetta was really excited about it - and when it came out I saw straight away it went to number one on Beatport, it was getting a lot of love from the DJs. But then later to see the song take off and go 7-time double-platinum was phenomenal. We had no official radio push or anything like that, and for it to have done so well with over a billion streams it was amazing. So yeah my first hit in the EDM dance world was with one of the biggest DJs in the world!
4. Your next big collaboration was “Secrets” with DJ Tiesto. Again, how did this collaboration happen, and what was the experience of recording with one of the hottest DJs ever in a studio like?
After the success of “Bad”, a year later, I had another number one with "Secrets", which I had written a while ago, and it was really cool. I didn’t expect it at all. “Secrets” took off, it went double-platinum, it’s a song that’s played everywhere I go, every time I’m out, and to hear DJs playing both “Secrets” and “Bad” is mind-blowing. They’re both really cool, they have different vibes about them, and it feels great to see them back to back getting played all over the place, and to feel all the love from the fans.
Working with Tiesto has been a lot of fun, I’ve actually gotten to perform a lot with him, we performed at the Ultra Music Festival, we’ve done a lot of shows, and he’s just awesome, a super-friendly guy, down to earth, everyone loves him, he’s such a great DJ, and literally I said to him; he has just to show up, and just touch something with his hands, and the whole crowd loses it. He has that effect on people. It’s been fun, and we actually have a new song coming in the summer, which I’m very excited about. Can’t wait for you to hear it!
5. You have performed both “Bad” and “Secrets” in many concerts and festivals across the world in the latest times. If you had to choose one favorite performance for each song, what shows would those be and what made those shows super memorable?
Well, I would say performing "Bad" and "Secrets" at big arenas and festivals is probably my favorite thing. Because there's almost like 100,000 people in the crowd. I remember when I did "Bad" at Stereosonic in Australia with Showtek, the crowd as soon as I came out and I started acapella, the crowd just, you know, lost it. Everyone knows the song inside out, and on the very second word, everyone just started singing along, and it just took off. And it's so cool to hear it with no music in the background, and just hearing all these people singing every lyric of the song, as if they owned it. it was honestly the most magical experience, you know having written the song, and just seeing how much it's resonated with people.
As for "Secrets", my favorite performance would be when we did it at the Ultra Music Festival. The crowd, oh my god, it was so magical. I opened up the show with Tiesto, doing "Secrets" acapella, and the crowd just went off, and it was so much fun. They all sang along, it was so cool. And it set the tone for the rest of the show. But really I enjoy signing these two hit songs everywhere, whether it is in a small club with 500 people, or in a huge arena with 10,000 people. I always love seeing the crowd's reaction to them.
6. So you said you and Tiesto are planning to drop a new single this summer. What can you tell us about the song? The anticipation is big!
Yes, we do have a big song coming out. It's called "Nothing To Lose", and it's going to be massive, I'm super excited about it. Tiesto and I are going back and forth on emails, and we can't wait for you to hear it. It's super different to "Secrets", but everyone's going to be like, from the minute the song is on, you're going to want to sing along. It's super catchy, the chorus is something that I think a lot of people can resonate with, and you can connect and relate to the lyrics. "Secrets" had sort of a darker mystical feel about it, while "Nothing to Lose" has a real grass roots, blue color, like everyone can relate to it. So i can't wait for you guys to hear it. It's going to be so much fun to perform this song with Tiesto for you guys.
7. Your solo music is currently being released independently via your own record label. After Guetta, and Tiesto, have there been contacts with the major labels? Is that something that you would like or are you in no hurry? The independent world seems to be doing fine these days, huh?
I recently signed with Red Light. We will be talking to majors, and big companies, but I’m really enjoying the freedom of being independent right now, and just doing the things that I like, having the freedom and the flexibility to put out things independently. A lot of my music does really well in the TV, film world too, so there’s a lot of outlets these days for independent artists. I definitely have a solo project that will be coming out and won’t be an independent thing, so. It’s going to happen, I think it’s just all about the right timing. So for right now, my new solo project is in the works, and you will be hearing a little bit more about it soon. But I definitely encourage indie all the way, for people out there trying to put your stuff out. There’s nothing better than being able to control your music, owning your songs. There’s nothing wrong with that, you have full freedom, which is awesome.
8. Your latest studio album, available now on iTunes, is a mix of genres. So it’s not all electronic music when it comes to your solo work. Do you think you would like to keep it eclectic for your next solo releases, or do you plan on fully embracing EDM?
I love indie and I come from that world. But I don’t want to isolate my EDM fans, because they've all been so loyal, loving and wonderful, and it just seems like a natural place to be, with everything that I have, but at the end of the day, I’m not a DJ, I’m an artist. And so it is going to be a mix of everything, and I think there’s a way to interlace all these elements that make me… you know… like I said I love a good dance hook, I love house, I love hip-hop, I love indie, I love this, I love that. And you’re going to hear that through the music. But the one thing that’s going to be consistent will be obviously my voice and my lyrics - the soul in all the records. It’s difficult to explain it, but you won’t be able to put it in a box, but if it helps, it will appeal to the EDM community, and it will also appeal to a pop crowd, and to an indie crowd. So a little bit of a fusion of all worlds, put into something that can be played on radio, can be dropped at a club or a festival.
9. What’s a city/country where you haven’t partied yet that you would like to visit? Why that place, and what have you heard from it?
There are some many countries I want go to. I still haven’t been to Brazil, which hopefully I will be doing this summer. Spain, Italy, oh my god, there’s so many. South Africa!
I don’t know if it’s about the partying, though. For me it’s more about the landscapes, the visuals, and just experiencing new stuff. I’m a real outdoors girl, and I like places that have great nature and forests, and I do appreciate a good architecture. So that’s why I like a lot of the European cities. But then I also love the ocean, so anything that’s near the coast I like too. I’ve kind of embraced most places when I’m new there really.
10. There’s other 3 Australian acts making it big in the US in the latest years. Sia, Iggy Azalea and 5 Seconds of Summer, what are your thoughts on all of them briefly?
I’m really proud of these Australian acts that have done really well. Sia, Iggy Azalea and 5 Seconds of Summer are all very different; they all have their own flavor. They all own their own artistry, you know, I think they’re fantastic. I really love to see other Australian doing it. It’s really hard for us to, you know, do what we do from over there, because it’s so far away and isolated. So for us to pick up and move to America and start from scratch all over again and having to build things, it takes a lot of hard work and perseverance and patient and being humble. You know, trying to get acclimated in the American market, not having grown up here and all of that. So I can imagine their journeys just as difficult as it has been for me.
11. If you could pick your next collaboration with a massive DJ you haven’t worked with yet, who would it be and why him?
Calvin Harris. I love his work, I think he has a fantastic sound, and I’d really love to do something with him. I also love Zedd’s stuff, though. Well, his older stuff actually. I’m a big fan of him. I think we could make a really dope record together. But if I had to really choose, I’d say Calvin as my next dream collaboration. I’ve always had soft spot for his productions. I feel like a lot of his songs are constantly tapping into all the sensorial and experiences. So I tend to be drawn to that as a writer and an artist. So that'd be a great collaboration!
12. Thank you for your time, VASSY! Any last thing you'd like to share?
Thank guys for your support, I really appreciate! And if you want to find out any more info I'm on @Vassy everywhere on social media.
When you wake up and a new melody comes to mind, you know it's a good day ????????
— VASSY (@VASSY) 14 de junio de 2016