Song Premiere: "This Feeling" by Dylan Cassin

Hey guys!

Well, this is exciting!

Today we're not only premiering a brilliant tune for you, we're premiering a tune by an artist who has been trapped in the HITS gang for six years.

Jokes aside, I am really happy to be surrounded by people who create. Some are videographers, some photographers and others constantly deliver brilliant music.
I believe that having a creative friend group is super important for being creative and staying inspired.

Needless to say, (but I'll say it anyways), I'm excited that we get to collab with those friends all the time and get to be a part of their creative journeys - just like they are a part of ours.

So ladies and gentlemen, here's your exclusive premiere!
You're gonna love it!


- Song Premiere -
"This Feeling" by Dylan Cassin


Dylan Cassin is singer/songwriter from Liverpool, UK.
His sound is walking on the fine line between Acoustic and Pop-Rock before settling down for Alternative.

Dylan used to play lead guitar and sing backing vocals in The Arkanes.
After the band split up, Dylan just couldn't stop making music and soon headed out into the industry on his own.
He has been gigging in and around Liverpool, appeared on a radio show and is constantly writing new material. 

In April 2018, Dylan made his solo-debut in Germany - at our house in the sand birthday show.
He had the difficult task of being the first act to go on stage that night and he killed it.
If you would like to see for yourself, here's the video proof.


"This Feeling" is electrifying.
It's one of those tracks that just makes you wanna get up and move.

The song greets you with a catchy guitar riff which you'll keep hearing throughout the song. Bassline and rhythm guitar bring a funky and lively feeling to the song, while the drums showcase Dylan's ability to craft a song from start to finish, all while also playing with different dynamics in the second chorus.

Every element of the track has its own job to do and they all work together so well, letting the song come to life.

The song also reveals Dylan's talent as a lyricist, allowing his listeners to find relatable words and vivid storytelling.

It's only the start of many more releases to come - but we're already ready for more!


And now it's time for all of you to listen to Dylan's new single before the official release tomorrow.
That's right, Team HITS gets the exclusive listen! Whoop!


Listen to "This Feeling" right here:




Dylan Cassin online: Twitter | Facebook | Soundcloud | YouTube | Instagram






Thank you for your visit!

Credits // Words: Vanessa Jetwash | Image: John Latham

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Video: HITS x Berlin

Hey guys!

 Well, this is an interesting one to type up.

Our first ever house in the sand gig happened and it probably couldn't have been any better.
Not only did we have a brilliant lineup, we also got to celebrate this debut in a city that has been so important to house in the sand - Berlin.

I honestly don't know how to structure this post and how to stop myself from repeating what I have been saying ever since I got back from the show.

Hosting a house in the sand gig has been on my bucket list for many years now and I always thought I had to be in the business longer and learn more before I could even think about doing it.
But sometimes you'll meet people and you'll chat to people who ask you about your goals, and when you name them, they might actually help you to make them happen.

And that was exactly the case with this gig. I e-met the brilliant Christian Müller through the blog and when I told him about the visions I had for HITS, he helped me make it happen.
So, he told me about this brilliant venue in Berlin, that also serves vegan food (which was enough to convince me!) and after briefly checking it out online, I knew it was the one for this first show.

And then the artists came on board and I had my lineup together faster than I could've imagined.
I want to say though, that if it would've been possible, I would've wanted every one of my music friends to play.
But three acts were a decent amount for a gig and so we found a date and confirmed the gig.

I'm not gonna lie, the day before I flew to Berlin, I was just waiting for someone to cancel or for something to go horribly wrong - but that wasn't the case and this show happened.

And of course - this would've been a very lonely gig without everyone who came down.
It seriously made me so happy to see so many wonderful people at the show. You were all so attentive and just open to new music and that was the best visualisation of the house in the sand community.

But also - thank you to everyone who sent me a message on the day of the show. My phone was going nuts with all the notifications and messages from you wonderful people and with each message coming in, I felt even more empowered.


Now, enough blabbering - please enjoy our video from the gig:




I'm probably the queen of cheesy posts, so this is just my way of proving that I've still got it.

I want to thank the brilliant and super talented lineup;
that's Dylan Cassin, whom I've known for almost six years now and who has become one of the people I annoy the most. Thank you for flying in not only to play a brilliant set, but also to show your support. You're alright, I guess.

Thank you to Josh Savage who hasn't been trapped in the house in the sand gang for that long but has already been a part of some special HITS moments. Thank you for celebrating this milestone with us and for dealing with all the Golden Girls gifs I send your way.

And then there's Martin Kelly, who is part of the band that inspired me to start this blog.
The band let me steal a line from their song to make it the blog name and luckily they still haven't sued me.
For over six years both Martin and James have said yes to everything I threw their way and they've done that without hesitation.
So thank you playing the title track of the blog and for all the support.
Talk about things coming full circle!

Another huge thank you goes to Ryan McNeil who is the coolest member of Martin and James.
(Yes, I said it.)
Thank you for always helping out, always being supportive, teaching me how to babysit artists and for treating me like a pro when I was just 16 and trying to figure all of this out.

THANK YOU to Ardalan Aram at RAWCREATION for gifting us his time and talent - without Adi this video wouldn't even exist. You've been so generous and so brilliant, so thank you so so so much! I really hope I didn't butcher your work with my edit.

Also, thank you to Jack Grewe who was the sound engineer at the gig and provided us with perfect sound - which of course made the gig so enjoyable. The sound is such an important part of a gig and I'm so glad that you've nailed it. Thanks so much!

Thank you to Christian Müller - this gig wouldn't have happened without your help! Thank you for donating your wisdom and for helping me to make this happen - you've literally made the biggest HITS thing ever happen and for that I'm so thankful.

Of course - thank you to everyone at Barkett! What an iconic venue you are and you might not even know it! My vegan heart was so happy about the food and also the atmosphere. I cannot wait to be back and eat my weight in food. I hope you're ready for that.

And finally - thank you to everyone who has ever supported house in the sand - you're all brilliant and I'm so thankful.


Now that was a long post, wasn't it...
Sorry about that, but I had to get it all out.



Thank you for your visit and support!

Credits // Words, Image & Video Edit: Vanessa Jetwash | Camera: RAWCREATION

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Gig: HITS x Berlin

Hey guys!

This post is mega special.

We have already talked about this gig we're hosting on all of our Social Media channels,
but this gig wouldn't even be happening if house in the sand . com didn't exist.

So we're bringing it home by sharing the news here as well.


So yeah, we're hosting a gig.

Even typing it feels insane.

If you remember, this year we didn't host our annual Birthday Countdown.
And the reason for that was during the time we were supposed to organise all of it,
I (Vanessa) was already knee-deep in researching this matter.

So I was pretty much committed to this before I even knew if we could pull it off,
because that's just how we do things over here.

And I mean... we pulled it off.

Well, we're about to.

But, we've got the venue, we've got the date, the artists, we've got the crew and so now all we need is the audience.
And we were kinda hoping you could help us out with that.


So - to make it official:


We would like to invite YOU to our first ever house in the sand gig. We're using this as a late birthday party since we didn't celebrate properly in February.


Date: Thursday, April 5th 2018
Venue: Barkett
Address: Czeminskistraße 10 // 10829 Berlin

Tickets: You don't need a ticket. This show is a "pay what you can" show, 
which means that we will be asking for donations.

Schedule: We advice you to be there before 8pm (20:00 Uhr) to get comfortable.
We'll be starting between 8pm and 8:30pm with the first act.

If you are a Facebook user and want to help us out,
please let us know if you're coming to the show by selecting "going" in our Facebook event.


Now, let's chat about the artists:


Dylan Cassin

He's been a part of HITS ever since his days in The Arkanes.
Remember the band? I'm sure you do. We didn't stop talking about them.

Over the years, Dylan has always been involved in our activities and to have him fly in from Liverpool just to play the show means a lot to us. It also shows that we found the coolest friends in the world.

Dylan will be playing his solo music which is going to be an absolute treat.
This will be his first solo show in Germany and we're damn sure it's going to be a blast! 

Josh Savage

Josh made his house in the sand debut in 2015 and has not been able to escape ever since.
He introduced us to living room shows and safely navigated us through London and onto boats.

Jokes aside, we're thrilled that Josh moved to Berlin and also decided to join our show.

You can expect thoughtful songs that vary from soothing, to hopeful, to heartbreaking.
We'll definitely be singing along to his tracks and can't wait for you to hear his songs.





Martin Kelly

house in the sand wouldn't exist without Martin and James' track "Wrong Directions".
Isn't that insane?

We think it is. And to have Martin come down and play his music for us just sums up what kind of crazy rollercoaster of opportunities this is.
Most of you probably already know and love his music.

In case you don't, come down and be blown away.
We'll be in there corner, crying happy tears.





To sum this up for you, we've got some of the finest musicians on board and we cannot wait to celebrate the evening in Berlin. 


If you can make it, we would LOVE to see you there and have chats with you.

In case you might not be able to make it, but know somebody who would enjoy this evening, 
please tell them about this.

We need your support with this and hope we can count on you.


Alright, that's it for now.

I'll hopefully see you on April 5th.



Until then, thank you for letting us do this.
It's the coolest.




Love,

Credits // Words & Image: Vanessa Jetwash

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Day 18: Dylan Cassin | #HITSBC17

Hey guys!

Thanks to house in the sand, I have found myself in some of the coolest situations;
interviewing my favourite bands and artists, working in a recording studio,
running into Ed Sheeran backstage.
And I'm very aware of all those amazing memories I get to create.

I got to befriend a bunch of people I met through running this website and the memories I have with those people are hilarious and bizarre.
For example, today's artist once made me fall off a seesaw and then almost knocked me out with said seesaw. (Accidentally of course... at least that's what he said.)
I feel like it's stories like this one, which make house in the sand the most random thing we could've created.

Alright, let's not go down memory lane any further and actually listen to some music, yeah?


What is #HITSBC17?
HITSBC17 stands for house in the sand's Birthday Countdown 2017.
Throughout the entire month of February, we are going to celebrate house in the sand's fifth birthday.
(Because why celebrate on one day, if you can celebrate for an entire month, right?)
With the support from some of the finest artists and bands around, each day in February will be filled with an exclusive performance just for us.

Who is performing today?
Dylan Cassin.
He is singer/songwriter from Liverpool, UK.
His sound is walking on the fine line between Acoustic and Pop-Rock before settling down for Alternative.

Dylan played lead guitar and sang backing vocals in house in the sand's favourite band - The Arkanes.
After the band split up, Dylan just couldn't stop making music and soon headed out into the industry on his own.
He has been gigging in and around Liverpool, appeared on our favourite radio show (The Liam McClair show on Reform Radio) and is constantly writing new material. 

What needs to be said about this performance?
We get to hear another one of Dylan's solo songs.
This performance highlights his singer and songwriter qualities and why we're glad he is still making music. To say it like the hip people say - it's a tuuuuuuuune.

Alright, ladies and gentlemen - check out Dylan's fabulous performance of his song "Falling".





Where can we find Dylan Cassin online?
Twitter | Facebook | Soundcloud | YouTube | Instagram

Who deserves a thank you?
Dylan himself for recording the video (even though it was last minute and drove me insane) and for showing support whenever it's needed. I appreciate it.

What can we do now?
If you enjoyed this video and post, please help us reach more people.
Share it online along with the hashtag #HITSBC17.
We would love to hear what you think, so please feel free to comment.


And that's that! Thank you all for checking out today's video!
As always, we would love to hear what you think, so let us know.





Day 17:                                                                                             Day 19:
                                                                    

Thank you for your visit!

Credits // Text: Vanessa Jertschewske | Image: Dylan Cassin | Video: Dylan Cassin for house in the sand

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Song Of The Day: "Free" by Dylan Cassin

Hey guys!

My favourite thing about running my own website, is being able to upload something whenever I feel like it.
Nobody tells me what to do or who to feature- it's my decision and that freedom is probably the coolest thing to have if you work in a creative industry.

Being able to work with well known artists such as Jack Garratt, Kodaline or The Vaccines, is also pretty damn great. It means I get to build an even bigger audience and it means that I get to work with musicians whose music I enjoy.

Yet, the thing I enjoy doing the most, is featuring my friends, knowing that they'll end up with a few more listeners.

I'm pretty happy that I'm in this group of people who are all so annoyingly talented. It's just fabulous to watch everyone doing all these fantastic things.

Today I want to share a little live recording by one of my annoyingly talented friends!

Dylan Cassin is singer/songwriter from Liverpool, UK.
His sound is walking on the fine line between Acoustic and Pop-Rock before settling down for Alternative.

Dylan played lead guitar and sang backing vocals in house in the sand's favourite band - The Arkanes. Unfortunately the band broke up last year.

However, Dylan hasn't stopped making music.
In fact he sang a song for our fourth birthday earlier this year, he's been gigging in the Liverpool area and is currently working on new material.

Just yesterday he released a live recording of his newest song "Free".

The song greets you with the sounds of a warm and delicate acoustic guitar. The soft finger picking in the verses and the light strumming in the chorus compliment Dylan's voice.
His vocals lead you through the song and grace you, the listener, with intensity and honesty. 

A melancholic harmonica ties all elements together and gives the song even more grip.
The lyrics are storytelling and relatable and showcase Dylan's songwriting skills.

"Free" is a beautiful song which you all need to have on your playlist!

But have a listen yourself!




Dylan Cassin online: Facebook | Soundcloud | YouTube | Instagram





Thank you for your visit!

Credits // Text: Vanessa Jertschewske | Photography: John Latham

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Day 23: Dylan Cassin | #HITSBC16

Hey guys!

With this countdown I want to create a unique, intimate and exclusive platform for music.
house in the sand isn't just your average music site, it's one that brings you closer to your (new) favourite artists.

Managing to doing this for 4 years now, probably speaks for itself.
But it's safe to say that it wouldn't work without all these fantastic artists who join us all the time.
HITS became a community and that's just the coolest thing we could've done.

What is #HITSBC16?
HITSBC16 stands for house in the sand's Birthday Countdown 2016.
Throughout the entire month of February, we will be celebrating this website's fourth birthday.
One artist/band a day is going to wish us a happy birthday and then perform a song exclusively for this sweet occasion.

Who is performing today?
Dylan Cassin.
He is a musician from Liverpool, UK.

The singer/songwriter is just starting a solo career after The Arkanes, the band he played guitar in, split up.
Dylan blends Indie with sprinkles of Pop, Rock and Acoustic.
Writing all of his arragements himself, the young musician creates relatable songs with powerful riffs, clever lyrics and expressive rhythm sections.
Do yourself a favour and follow this artist on his journey.

What is special about this video?
It's a premiere!
This performance is the first one of Dylan's solo music. He's already gigging the UK, but this one is the first you'll find on any music platform.
house in the sand is pretty stoked to host this premiere of a fantastic song.


Ladies and lads, here is Dylan Cassin performing his brand new song "Tides".




Where can we find Dylan Cassin online?
Facebook | Instagram

Who do we need to thank?
Dylaaaaaaan! Not only for recording this video, but also for supporting this website for years now.
I'd like to think we've always had a blast working together and I really enjoy being involved in what you put out there.
Cheers, lid!

What can we do now?
If you've enjoyed this article, please help us reach more people by sharing it along with the hashtag #HITSBC16.
Everybody who uses the hashtag on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram has the chance to win something lovely once the countdown is over.



I hope you enjoyed day 23!

Day 22:                       Day 24:



Thank you for your visit!

Credits // Text: Vanessa Jertschewske | Image: John Latham | Video (performance&camera): Dylan Cassin | Video intro (audio): Martin Kelly | Video intro (visual): Vanessa Jertschewske

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