Cassia

2927 fans
Cassia's bright, blissful melodies are total escapism. But behind that breezy exterior, the Macclesfield band turn their fears into fuel. Together Rob Ellis (lead vocals/guitar), Lou Cotterill (bass), and Jake Leff (drums) craft songs that empower them to take full control of their emotions. "We know each other best through writing music together," Lou says. "Because everything's there in the lyrics."

Vivid second album Why You Lacking Energy? digs into this tension: these are songs that feel like living in the moment, but are caught up in thoughts of the past and anxieties for the future. From lush, spacious piano ballads to crisp, synth-driven anthems, the entirely self-produced record captures a moment of realisation for the group. “We’ve stopped worrying about what a Cassia song is supposed to sound like,” Jake explains with a grin. “Now it’s a whole new world.”

From start to finish Cassia made Why You Lacking Energy? without anyone else in the room. Rob puts it simply, “It feels entirely ours, and that’s something we’ve always wanted.” The self-sufficiency suits them: the three have an easy chemistry, an obvious mutual understanding. Lou nods in agreement, “We’re just aligned.”

Cassia have always shared writing duties, taking each other’s demos and working together to pin the song down to how the writer hears it in their imagination. But now they’re pushing each other, gently, to make even more confident choices. Rob laughs, “Sometimes I was like: Can I do this? Really?”, referring to the surprisingly weighty, confrontational track Similar. Jake jumps in to reassure him, “But it’s not about risk! It’s just exciting!”

Shedding the weight of expectations runs throughout Why You Lacking Energy?. Soaring lead single Motions is an energetic answer to that little voice inside your head that tells you time is running out. “I wanted it to feel like sand slipping through your fingers. It’s about that spiralling thought that I have every so often: time is slipping away and I’m not spending it how I should,” says Jake. The lyrics pin those abstract worries into a concrete form – ‘you go so far, but never yet far enough to really get you there’ sings Rob – but the song’s ticking momentum builds into a deeply cathartic release. “Motions is a wave of relief,” Jake continues, “it’s the moment I realised I’m not alone in this pseudo life crisis!”

Second single 16-18 (Why You Lacking Energy?) is bathed in nostalgia, a kind of retrospective coming-of-age tune that’s more concerned with the gloss of memory than actual reality. “I was obsessed with how shiny the past looks,” Rob explains, “and I wished I could just go back. In my head it all seemed easier.” But those teenage daydreams collide with real life as he sings of the ‘fear of losing what I ain’t still, my illusion is the present that came before’.

The track also gives Why You Lacking Energy? its title, as Rob remembers “an argument in the car – it’s what someone was saying to me back then”. But since they wrote the song, the phrase has grown in resonance for the whole band.
It feeds into the album’s trio of music videos, which are set in a strangely familiar parallel universe. Information overload has led to a state of total burnout, and the whole world’s hit peak exhaustion. The story begins with Rob, Lou and Jake face down on a sun-bleached beach, waking up to discover a mysterious energy drink has washed up next to them. At first it seems that this neon-coloured can might hold all the answers, but something’s not quite right…

Dreamy and uneasy, with just a hint of dystopia, this tongue-in-cheek fictional world is a metaphor for the self-inquiry at the heart of the record. “The title asks you a pretty blunt, introspective question,” Rob explains. “It’s basically saying, why do I feel the way that I do?”
And as for that mysteriously tempting drink, they refuse to give too many spoilers: “It’s something that’s supplied but doesn’t end up helping... Like a plaster.”
Cassia’s first album Replica (2019) was inspired by a mutual love of afrobeat and highlife. Rob’s dad grew up in Zambia, and it was by combing through his extensive record collection that the band first found their feet. An ambition to sound "as huge as possible" fed into Cassia’s intricate, uplifting early singles and quickly made the band main-stage festival favourites.

In 2021 they released two EPs, Powerlines and Magnifier, that were written while the band lived together in Berlin – holed up in a home studio session that stretched longer and longer as the pandemic continued. But this accidental, radical shift in perspective led the band to their current conclusion, that Cassia can be whatever they need it to be.

Those EPs fed into Cassia's explosive return to the stage, post-pandemic, and the sheer joy of those gigs is captured in the video for Similar, an early single from Why You Lacking Energy? This summer Cassia will bring their epic live show to a host of festival fields, including Truck, Y Not and Boardmasters, and head out on a full UK & Ireland headline tour in the autumn, finishing at London's KOKO.
Now back at home in the North West of England, where they’re building a new studio, it's clear that Cassia have a new-found confidence. It’s evident in tracks like Boundless, a transcendent ballad made of lush harmonies and the wash of the sea, and in the woozy charm of Not Enough Time to Think, a long-distance love song that’s driven by Lou’s intense, impatient bass line. Dreams of My Past is another stand-out; a sparkling, sleepwalking track haunted by the past (‘You cannot lose what you’ve never had, 2020 don’t seem so sad that way’) that makes a vow to live in the moment. Its expansive synth instrumental makes space for that promise to take hold, before asserting ‘you and I write tomorrow, everything else can wait’.

Why You Lacking Energy? closes with the emotional affirmation of See Myself, a song about the search for self-assurance. Over the track’s ear-worm guitar hook, Rob’s vocals feel like a mantra: ‘I thought if I’m fine in my own skin, I wouldn’t be seen through again.’ Initially written by Jake, the track speaks to a game-changing moment of self-confidence. “I realised I can be a bit of a people pleaser,” he admits. “You know, maybe you don’t stand up for yourself. But then you start to think, I don’t want to live in a way that’s not being true to myself.”
Deeply vulnerable and powerfully uplifting, it’s classic Cassia – a band that’s determined to make you feel less alone.
  • Facebook page
  • Twitter account

Top tracks

01
Motions
Cassia
Motions
03:27
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis / Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis
01
Slow (feat. Henjila)
Cassia
Slow (feat. Henjila)
03:13
Writer: Dan Edinberg - Henjila Limbu - Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill - Robert Ellis / Composers: Dan Edinberg - Henjila Limbu - Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill - Robert Ellis
02
Confidence (feat. Tayo Sound)
Cassia
Why You Lacking Energy?
02:53
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Tayo Gillies Oyekan / Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Tayo Gillies Oyekan
01
everyone, outside
Cassia
everyone, outside
02:58
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill / Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill
01
miles out
Cassia
miles out
03:08
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill / Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill
01
Right There
Cassia
Right There
03:02
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis / Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis
01
friends
Cassia
friends
02:40
Writer: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill / Composers: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill
01
Powerlines
Cassia
Powerlines
03:24
Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis
03
heat
Cassia
miles out
03:04
Writer: Robert Ellis - Glen Roberts / Composers: Robert Ellis - Glen Roberts
01
100 Times Over
Cassia
100 Times Over
02:42
Writer: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill / Composers: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill
02
Sink
Cassia
Replica
03:00
Writer: Jacob Leff - Rob Ellis - Lou Cotterill / Composers: Jacob Leff - Rob Ellis - Lou Cotterill
13
reframe
Cassia
everyone, outside
04:10
Writer: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill / Composers: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill
01
forever
Cassia
forever
03:29
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill / Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill
01
Small Spaces
Cassia
Replica
03:55
Writer: Jacob Leff - Rob Ellis - Lou Cotterill / Composers: Jacob Leff - Rob Ellis - Lou Cotterill
01
Don't Make a Scene
Cassia
Don't Make a Scene
03:08
Writer: Robert Ellis / Composers: Robert Ellis
07
here & now
Cassia
everyone, outside
03:51
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill / Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill
04
Gotta Get Through Til Monday
Cassia
Magnifier
03:41
Writer: Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill - Robert Ellis / Composers: Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill - Robert Ellis
01
16-18 (Why You Lacking Energy?) (Myd Remix)
Cassia
16-18 (Why You Lacking Energy?) (Myd Remix)
03:35
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis / Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis
03
Vitamins
Cassia
Magnifier
03:34
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis / Composers: Jacob Leff
06
western front
Cassia
everyone, outside
04:13
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill / Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill
01
Similar
Cassia
Similar
03:14
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis / Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis
09
Drifting
Cassia
Why You Lacking Energy?
03:43
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis / Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis
01
Find My Way Around
Cassia
Find My Way Around
03:15
Writer: Robert Ellis - Joshua Keogh - Jacob Leff / Composers: Robert Ellis - Joshua Keogh - Jacob Leff
08
awake
Cassia
everyone, outside
03:18
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill / Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill
10
obvious
Cassia
everyone, outside
03:03
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill / Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill
09
antidote
Cassia
everyone, outside
03:12
Writer: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill / Composers: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill
12
new dimension
Cassia
everyone, outside
03:43
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill / Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill
11
fractured
Cassia
everyone, outside
04:08
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill / Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill
01
Hurt
Cassia
Hurt
03:35
Writer: Anais Estelle Oluwatoyin Marinho - Gianluca Buccellati
10
Not Enough Time to Think
Cassia
Why You Lacking Energy?
04:07
Writer: Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill - Robert Ellis / Composers: Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill - Robert Ellis

Playlists

Similar artists

Jadu Heart
Jadu Heart
Oscar Scheller
Oscar Scheller
Alfie Templeman
Alfie Templeman
DOPE LEMON
DOPE LEMON
Yumi Zouma
Yumi Zouma
Palace
Palace
  • Discography
Albums
℗ 2025 love sundays
11-04-2025
everyone, outside
01
everyone, outside
Cassia
everyone, outside
02:58
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill / Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill
02
friends
Cassia
everyone, outside
02:40
Writer: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill / Composers: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill
03
heat
Cassia
everyone, outside
03:04
Writer: Robert Ellis - Glen Roberts / Composers: Robert Ellis - Glen Roberts
04
miles out
Cassia
everyone, outside
03:08
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill / Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill
05
forever
Cassia
everyone, outside
03:29
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill / Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill
06
western front
Cassia
everyone, outside
04:13
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill / Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill
07
here & now
Cassia
everyone, outside
03:51
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill / Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill
Access the complete album info (13 songs)
℗ 2022 BMG Rights Management (UK) Limited
18-11-2022
Why You Lacking Energy?
01
Morning's Coming
Cassia
Why You Lacking Energy?
00:48
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis / Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis
02
Similar
Cassia
Why You Lacking Energy?
03:14
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis / Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis
03
16-18 (Why You Lacking Energy?)
Cassia
Why You Lacking Energy?
03:18
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis / Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis
04
Motions
Cassia
Why You Lacking Energy?
03:27
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis / Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis
05
Colossal Happiness
Cassia
Why You Lacking Energy?
03:25
Writer: Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill - Robert Ellis / Composers: Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill - Robert Ellis
06
Seasons
Cassia
Why You Lacking Energy?
03:23
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis / Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis
07
Boundless
Cassia
Why You Lacking Energy?
02:43
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis / Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis
Access the complete album info (14 songs)
℗ 2019 Distiller Records LLP
05-04-2019
Replica
01
Small Spaces
Cassia
Replica
03:55
Writer: Jacob Leff - Rob Ellis - Lou Cotterill / Composers: Jacob Leff - Rob Ellis - Lou Cotterill
02
Sink
Cassia
Replica
03:00
Writer: Jacob Leff - Rob Ellis - Lou Cotterill / Composers: Jacob Leff - Rob Ellis - Lou Cotterill
03
Movers and Shapers
Cassia
Replica
03:42
Writer: Jacob Leff - Rob Ellis - Lou Cotterill / Composers: Jacob Leff - Rob Ellis - Lou Cotterill
04
Loosen Up
Cassia
Replica
02:46
Writer: Jacob Leff - Rob Ellis - Lou Cotterill / Composers: Jacob Leff - Rob Ellis - Lou Cotterill
05
Replica
Cassia
Replica
03:05
Writer: Jacob Leff - Rob Ellis - Lou Cotterill / Composers: Jacob Leff - Rob Ellis - Lou Cotterill
06
Under the Sun
Cassia
Replica
03:29
Writer: Jacob Leff - Rob Ellis - Lou Cotterill / Composers: Jacob Leff - Rob Ellis - Lou Cotterill
07
100 Times Over
Cassia
Replica
02:52
Writer: Jacob Leff - Rob Ellis - Lou Cotterill / Composers: Jacob Leff - Rob Ellis - Lou Cotterill
Access the complete album info (11 songs)
EPs
℗ 2025 love sundays
20-03-2025
forever
01
forever
Cassia
forever
03:29
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill / Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill
02
miles out
Cassia
forever
03:08
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill / Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill
03
friends
Cassia
forever
02:40
Writer: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill / Composers: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill
04
heat
Cassia
forever
03:04
Writer: Robert Ellis - Glen Roberts / Composers: Robert Ellis - Glen Roberts
05
antidote
Cassia
forever
03:12
Writer: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill / Composers: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill
℗ 2025 love sundays
21-02-2025
miles out
01
miles out
Cassia
miles out
03:08
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill / Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis - Louis Cotterill
02
friends
Cassia
miles out
02:40
Writer: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill / Composers: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill
03
heat
Cassia
miles out
03:04
Writer: Robert Ellis - Glen Roberts / Composers: Robert Ellis - Glen Roberts
04
antidote
Cassia
miles out
03:12
Writer: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill / Composers: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill
℗ 2024 love sundays
09-02-2024
Home Soon...
01
Find My Way Around
Cassia
Home Soon...
03:15
Writer: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Joshua Keogh / Composers: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Joshua Keogh
02
Circular Motion
Cassia
Home Soon...
03:42
Writer: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Daniel McCarthy - James Higson / Composers: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Daniel McCarthy - James Higson
03
Gamma Rays
Cassia
Home Soon...
02:58
Writer: Robert Ellis / Composers: Robert Ellis
04
whatstheuse
Cassia
Home Soon...
03:09
Writer: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Rory Fairweather / Composers: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Rory Fairweather
05
High Tones
Cassia
Home Soon...
02:42
Writer: Johannes Romer / Composers: Johannes Romer
℗ 2023 love sundays
07-11-2023
Circular Motion
01
Circular Motion
Cassia
Circular Motion
03:42
Writer: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Daniel McCarthy - James Higson / Composers: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Daniel McCarthy - James Higson
02
Find My Way Around
Cassia
Circular Motion
03:15
Writer: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Joshua Keogh / Composers: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Joshua Keogh
03
whatstheuse
Cassia
Circular Motion
03:09
Writer: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Rory Fairweather / Composers: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Rory Fairweather
04
High Tones
Cassia
Circular Motion
02:42
Writer: Johannes Romer / Composers: Johannes Romer
℗ 2021 BMG Rights Management (UK) Limited
05-07-2021
Magnifier
01
Slow
Cassia
Magnifier
03:14
Writer: Dan Edinberg - Robert Ellis / Composers: Dan Edinberg - Robert Ellis
02
Right There
Cassia
Magnifier
03:02
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis / Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis
03
Vitamins
Cassia
Magnifier
03:34
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis / Composers: Jacob Leff
04
Gotta Get Through Til Monday
Cassia
Magnifier
03:41
Writer: Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill - Robert Ellis / Composers: Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill - Robert Ellis
℗ 2021 BMG Rights Management (UK) Limited
27-01-2021
Powerlines
01
Powerlines
Cassia
Powerlines
03:24
Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis
02
Do Right
Cassia
Powerlines
03:00
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis / Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis
03
Drifting
Cassia
Powerlines
03:44
Writer: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis / Composers: Jacob Leff - Robert Ellis
04
Don't Make a Scene
Cassia
Powerlines
03:08
Writer: Robert Ellis / Composers: Robert Ellis
(P) 2018 Cassia
04-05-2018
Movers & Shapers
01
Sink
Cassia
Movers & Shapers
02:57
Composers: Rob Ellis - Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill
02
Out of Her Mind
Cassia
Movers & Shapers
03:37
Composers: Rob Ellis - Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill
03
Come & Talk
Cassia
Movers & Shapers
03:32
Composers: Rob Ellis - Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill
04
Weekender
Cassia
Movers & Shapers
04:04
Composers: Rob Ellis - Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill
05
Come & Talk (Acoustic Version)
Cassia
Movers & Shapers
03:13
Composers: Rob Ellis - Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill
Singles
℗ 2024 love sundays
24-01-2025
friends
01
friends
Cassia
friends
02:40
Writer: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill / Composers: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill
02
heat
Cassia
friends
03:04
Writer: Robert Ellis - Glen Roberts / Composers: Robert Ellis - Glen Roberts
03
antidote
Cassia
friends
03:12
Writer: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill / Composers: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill
℗ 2024 love sundays
08-11-2024
antidote
01
antidote
Cassia
antidote
03:12
Writer: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill / Composers: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Louis Cotterill
02
heat
Cassia
antidote
03:04
Writer: Robert Ellis - Glen Roberts / Composers: Robert Ellis - Glen Roberts
℗ 2024 love sundays
06-09-2024
heat
01
heat
Cassia
heat
03:04
Writer: Robert Ellis - Glen Roberts / Composers: Robert Ellis - Glen Roberts
℗ 2023 love sundays
12-09-2023
Find My Way Around
01
Find My Way Around
Cassia
Find My Way Around
03:15
Writer: Robert Ellis - Joshua Keogh - Jacob Leff / Composers: Robert Ellis - Joshua Keogh - Jacob Leff
02
High Tones
Cassia
Find My Way Around
02:42
Writer: Johannes Romer / Composers: Johannes Romer
03
whatstheuse
Cassia
Find My Way Around
03:09
Writer: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Rory Fairweather / Composers: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Rory Fairweather
℗ 2023 love sundays
28-07-2023
whatstheuse
01
whatstheuse
Cassia
whatstheuse
03:09
Writer: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Rory Fairweather / Composers: Robert Ellis - Jacob Leff - Rory Fairweather