Christmas is getting closer and closer. Singer Cassandra Steen wants to spend the holidays with her grandparents, as she reveals in an interview.
Cassandra Steen (40, "Stadt") is back six years after her last album "Spiegelbild" with a new long player. On Friday (November 20th) the singer will release "Der Weihnachtsgedanke", a special Christmas album, on which both newly arranged classics and new compositions can be heard. In an interview with the news agency spot on news, the 40-year-old reveals why the album is important to her and how she will spend Christmas 2020.
The new album is titled "The Christmas Thought". What is your favorite Christmas thought?
Cassandra Steen: My best Christmas thought is to be able to enjoy a few days in a row with my loved ones. Letting go of the tension of the year and just being.
The year 2020 is particularly challenging in many ways. Why did you want to release a Christmas album just this year?
Steen: I personally need these songs in order not to let the hectic pace and fear take me over. The confidence, hope and desire for more humanity are palpable here and I hope that it gives some out there a sense of security at a time when that is what seems to be the most lacking.
What is your personal favorite Christmas carol?
Steen: All songs that make you feel the white wonderland as beautiful and remind you that this time of the year is the best time to forgive – including yourself.
It's been six years since you released your album "Spiegelbild". Why was the time now ripe for a new album?
Steen: The time for a new album is basically always. Nevertheless, the time was important not to break down with new experiences as a person and artist, but to grow with them. I think the changes are continuing and so difficult to pin down. I can only say that a lot of love is being revealed that I hadn't expected and that everything in my life is shining in a completely different light.
The song "Oh Family" is about the family chaos at Christmas. How does it usually work for you? Do you have certain Christmas habits that are always the same in your family?
Steen: On Christmas Eve you always notice that people are finally letting go and that we are focusing on each other without typical everyday life. Mahalia Jackson is always on and we sit comfortably together, snacking on cookies and maybe watching a Christmas movie or two.
What do you wish for Christmas 2020?
Steen: Humanity that continues beyond Christmas.
How will you spend this Christmas and how do you look back on the past year?
Steen: With my grandparents. The year 2020 taught a lot. Let's see how much I have understood about it in order to be able to meet more creatively in 2021.
What do you wish for in 2021?
Steen: More truly open hearts and creative minds in all areas.