Devon Cassels is an artist and producer from the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, or, as he calls it, “the middle of absolutely nowhere”. Being in isolation led him to learn how to produce music from the comfort of his bedroom. Despite having only 6 songs on streaming platforms, Devon has grown a fan base of nearly 60,000 listeners. It’s becoming a pattern in my posts for me to say that I found an artist through TikTok, and Devon is continuing that pattern. A video of his appeared on my For You page not long ago and in it his song “I DONT WANT 2 B UR FRIEND” was playing. After hearing that 15-second clip of it, I knew I had to check this guy’s music out.
Devon’s music is perfect for jamming out to; strong bass lines and electric guitar combine with fast-paced drums to achieve an alternative rock feel in “I DONT WANT 2 BE UR FRIEND”. The song sums up a common experience, falling for someone who sees you as “just a friend”. He sings that he doesn’t “wanna be your friend, I wanna be lovers”, which are some of the straightforward and brutally honest lyrics that are common in Devon’s songs.
In “BELONG 2 U”, Devon sings from someone else’s point of view about him. This song has a more pop feel to it, with guitar as the frontman of the instrumental. Phrases like “be more mindful” and “I always gotta give you space” build-up to the chorus, where the speaker admits that they “wanted to belong to” Devon. I find it incredibly interesting that all of these phrases are from someone else’s honest perspective about Devon; it shows a side of him that you otherwise wouldn’t see. Looking at yourself and your actions from an outside perspective can bring to light faults you didn’t even know you had, and Devon does this in “BELONG 2 U”.
A favorite of mine is his song “Weirdo”. This track has a different sound to it than the rest of his music; it’s less aggressive and more easygoing. In it, Devon explains how people look down on him for not following their idea of what is the right clothing, attitude, etc. He responds to their questions of “why do wear those clothes? why don’t you dress like us?” with “they can call me strange, that won’t kill my mood”. This song makes you feel good no matter who disapproves of you and what you do, and that’s why I like it so much.
Devon is only just starting to come into popularity and from what I can see, he hasn’t changed because 0f it. Almost every day I’ll see a TikTok or Instagram story of his where he’s just talking about things he enjoys or making jokes like anyone else would on those apps. I feel like we expect artists to become more reserved and selective about what they post when they start to gain popularity, and it’s refreshing to see Devon go against that. I’ve only been listening to his music for a few months now, but I definitely plan on continuing to support him and looking forward to new releases.