“How can I remain complacent when creating music? My music should reflect the evolution of my being alive.” — Kassandra Dasent
To Kassandra Dasent, music is life, and vice-versa. Born in San Juan, Trinidad, with Chutney, Soca, and Calypso in her blood, the singer-songwriter grew up in Montreal, Qc, Canada, a multicultural melting pot of rhythms and rhymes.
Kassandra was barely six years old when her mother discovered that she could harmonize flawlessly with religious Hindi records. The young girl’s thirst for music only grew with time. By age seven, she began classical training as a clarinettist, and she went on to graduate from high school with honours in music. Her teenage years were also characterized by her involvement in her church choir; her introduction to soulful Gospel and Blues.
Enamoured of sounds from many genres and eras, Kassandra uses her remarkable musical abilities and her unique perspective on life to write potent lyrics about love, life, pain and healing. When putting words to music, her rich melodies and harmonies typically serve as the foundation upon which instrumentals are laid and woven together.
In collaboration with producer Doug St. Louis, in 2011 Kassandra released ROAD TO REBELLION, her debut album, which combines Kassandra’s penchant for vocal substance and her drive to find unconventional sounds that shape and shift people’s expectations of music.
Seeing Kassandra live is an experience in itself. Her striking physical presence is matched only by her vocal prowess. She has performed as a solo artist and as a vocalist in festivals from Mali to Montreux, as well as in galas, television shows and concerts, including with the world-renowned Cirque du Soleil. She has also co-written and collaborated on numerous tracks for other artists. Kassandra appeared as a singer in several feature films, the most recent being “I’m Not There”, a musical biopic of Bob Dylan.
After a taking an extended sabbatical from music to focus on her family, in 2020, during a year of monumental change for the world, Kassandra collaborated with her long-time pianist and Canadian platinum selling album producer David Mobio. Their partnership bore fruit with the release of Kassandra’s most recent single “Be Still” in June 2021; a song that reflects the kaleidoscope of the human experience and the truth of our times.
