Cabrea Casey, Downtown Music Publishing
💭 Reclaiming girlhood, Bad Sisters, and the importance of embracing guilty pleasures.
Thought Enthusiast is an AdHoc Project where we chat with fascinating thought leaders across various facets of music, tech, and culture whose work we admire, simply asking “what’s on your mind?” and “why do you care?” 💭
Cabrea Casey is an established music creative based in Brooklyn, with almost a decade of experience working in music publishing. Currently, Cabrea works across both the Sync and A&R teams at Downtown Music Publishing. In Sync, she has pitched and licensed music for brands & shows including Apple, Google, Royal Caribbean, High Maintenance (HBO), and The Hardy Boys (Hulu). In parallel to her career in Publishing, Cabrea regularly DJs around NYC at places like Soho House, Baby's All Right, House of Yes, and more.
🎀 Reclaiming girlhood
I love this general trend or moment of reclaiming girlhood & the things we loved as young people. Wearing head to toe pink and seeing the Barbie movie is the most obvious example that comes to mind. Growing up I was often plagued with the notion that the things young girls loved communally were often seen as trivial or embarrassing. I wanted my music taste to be taken seriously by my alternative male peers so I separated my tastes by "cool/alternative" vs. "guilty pleasures". As an adult it has been so fun to re-embrace ALL the things I loved as an adolescent and I think it's really cool that now people are encouraged to like a variety of things.
"Guilty Pleasure" as a concept feels obsolete now. Recently I DJ'ed an event "sad girl hours" and it was truly so healing to be with a group of girls, theys, and gays singing and dancing along to everything from Lana Del Rey to the Spice Girls.
👯♀️ Bad Sisters
[It’s] an incredible Apple series and I will forever recommend it to anyone who will listen to me. It's a dark comedy, set in Ireland, a bit of whodunnit, while portraying the complicated treasure it is to have sisters and be a sister.
🎧 DJing as a creative outlet
The past couple years as a publishing A&R I've signed an incredible roster of writer/artists like Pom Pom Squad, Annie DiRusso, Momma, Gustaf, Coco, Suzi Wu, Dreamer Isioma, and James Tillman. Between scouting new bands, setting up co-writing sessions, & pitching the Downtown catalog for sync opportunities, I also DJ a few times a month at various venues/events around the city which is a fun creative outlet!
🇦🇺 BIGSOUND
In September I am going to BIGSOUND in Brisbane, Australia for the first time. I am so excited to explore a new country, meet new artists, re-connect with old industry friends & meet new ones! Hoping to come back inspired with lots of new music to listen to too.
🤌 Labrisse La Viva Vulva campaign
This is a bit older but the Labrisse La Viva Vulva campaign from 2018 is amazing. The ad features vagina-like objects singing "Take Yo Praise" by Camille Yarbrough. The art direction, the music choice, and the overall message are *chefs kiss*
Currently obsessed with the music she has put out so far & the video concepts along with it. It's vibrant, inspired, catchy and at times irreverent. Listening to "girlfriend" or "sever the blight" brings me back to my first time hearing Santigold or even Kate Bush - though Hemlocke Springs is very much her own unique artist bringing a fresh perspective to her music.
💤 Listening to your body
Rest is vital for us to function and we should not feel guilty for doing so. Listen to your body... is my Taurus moon & rising showing?
I loved Bad Sisters! Or anything with Sharon Horgan really ☘️