Casper Sage: Music as a Testament to Life, Not Genre
Casper Sage’s recent release “Is This Real Life?” opens in the ambient outdoors: bird calls flutter off reverberating guitar and serene production evokes a sense of solitude. When the soft rasp of Sage’s voice slides in, the song gets an added kick. In a half-sung, half-spoken tone, he proclaims, “I seen your face with the rose tint cheeks got me feeling all nice,” the last word echoing through the lush landscape. “Hold my hand, let me take you to the sky.” With the addition of bass, percussion, and spacey effects, the song does just that, ascending to another planet. It is clear. Casper Sage is ready for takeoff.
Though only 21 years old, Sage has been making music for years. In 2016, he released his first Soundcloud track, “CAR CRASH,” a gritty rap cut. His second track on the platform was “Freshman,” which he tells me was written on a gum wrapper after finishing a sophomore year final—“I just recorded it on my Rock Band mic that I plugged into my computer.” His first official release would be the 2019 EP Winter; it would be followed in 2022 by the self-titled Casper Sage. Both projects were crucial to his sonic exploration, playing with varying themes and genres.
“Making Casper Sage was much, much more introspective, and darker, honestly. The EP was birthed in quarantine when it felt like every day was cloudy, even when it was beautiful out. I was trying to figure out how I truly felt because I had this best friend who I loved a lot. She loved me too but not in the same way I did. I wanted more but didn’t want that to ruin what I already had. That premise birthed a lot of the ideas on that EP,” he says. “Winter was just fun. I was young and had just gotten a handle on production to where I could execute what I was going for decently well. The song “Winter” still has one of my favorite beats I’ve made and “Holy Interlude” was a preview of where my sound was gonna go. I didn’t even know it at the time. I needed to release that project for me.”
For Sage, though, music has always been about unlimited exploration. His objective is evident as he combines R&B sensibilities with rap verses, alternative production, and poppy grooves. “I would describe my music as all over the place—just like I am as a person. I get hyper-fixated on little details of the music I’m listening to and then try to put those same details in a new context,” he says in our conversation. While “Alternative R&B” was the genre assigned to his 2022 self-titled EP, as well as the name of the Spotify playlist he has graced the cover of twice, he is committed to defying categorization. “Genre is just a form of expression for me, not a box to stay within.”
Born in Oklahoma City, Sage moved to Nashville for school; he stayed for the city’s energy. “Inspiration is everywhere from the people, to the shops and the weather. I love the hills and the shades of green here they’re everywhere. Nashville is the perfect mix between Oklahoma City and Los Angeles.” Still, Sage is grateful for his hometown. “OKC made me who I am. It’s…why I love the trees and days where it looks warm out but it’s kinda cold. It left me room to grow into myself and fixate on music and fashion via the internet. I’m glad I never really got caught up in the smaller-town/city things that were going on…I was always daydreaming of being somewhere bigger,” he says.
Like most artists, Sage has also developed his musical style from the inspiration of industry icons and peers. “I am falling in love with world-building producers and intimate songwriters.” One of his most popular singles is titled “Frank Ocean Playing in Heaven,” a nod to the elusive R&B luminary. Along with Ocean, he mentions D’Angelo, Mk.Gee, Steve Lacy, Tyler, the Creator, and Spookyghostboy as a few influences. “I’ve been obsessed with all of them. I also love writing to River Tiber instrumentals—[he’s] one of my favorite producers… I’d also love to produce for Beabadoobee,” he adds.
Towards the end of 2022, Sage released a cover of “Rodeo Clown,” a pleading love song from Baltimore-raised Dijon’s 2021 album Absolutely. “Absolutely was an obsession for me because of the production and writing on it. It’s a project that makes me cherish how lucky I am to be alive…when I’m experiencing it. ‘Rodeo Clown’ specifically is one of the coolest songs I’ve heard in a long time. Technically, it’s in its own world—to hear autotune in that context [probably] throws a lot of people off, but when you hear the vocal inflections and production around it, it’s hard to dismiss. It’s hard not to love and not to relate; [It] sounds like a drunk call from a lover but not in a messy teen way… more like in an ‘I want you to accept my love, but I’m getting tired of loving you’ way.”
His adoration of Absolutely is a testament to his artistic creed: music has always been central. Starting so young, he says “I wasn’t even thinking about it as ‘launching my music career’ whenever I was making music… I was just making stuff that me and my friends thought was cool.” And his key to staying affixed to such philosophies is committing to the craft of music. “Focus on keeping your tools sharp, and focus on developing a vision that goes deeper than just album to album…[Develop] a vision that is bigger than life, that will inspire kids in the same way that art probably inspired someone to put on an outfit, or their background on their iPhone a certain thing, or to go and try to make music themselves. That’s what art is supposed to be.”
Such a sentiment manifests so clearly throughout his music. On “Fallen,” a standout from his eponymous project, the buoyant guitar chords yearn with a sense of comfort, interjected with pitched-up vocal passages and astral keys. The song travels through terrains of serenity and loss: admissions of love and lamentations of the past. It’s a layered and complex track that speaks to the maturity of Sage’s musicianship. Even with such beautiful music in his repertoire, he is still keen on improving and developing his style—all while believing in the natural processes of the environments he frequently explores within his creations.
“I just want to grow as an artist and stay in a spot where I can treat music as the blessing and inspiration it is—it’s important that I stay genuine to myself and to the culture of art [and] innovation. Other than that, I trust I’ll end up where I’m supposed to be. I put my trust and faith in the love and light of the universe.”
Listen to Casper Sage here.