No stranger to weaving beautiful, poignant and sometimes humorous storytelling throughout her music (check out a few of Cassy Judy's previous premieres with us here and here), 'I've Come So Far' is another example of the musician's passion for direct lyricism and laying it all on the table for her listeners.

The subject matter is all in the title – a reflection of Cassy's journey till now, and the road ahead.

“This song is definitely about my personal progress as a trans woman. I've progressed a medical and social transition to become comfortable in my own skin,” Cassy describes.

“This road hasn't been all smooth sailing. When someone called me 'mate' it used to make me worry that I wasn't passing as a woman. Nowadays, I live a busy and varied life. I'm not always happy nor do I think its possible to always be happy, but I am in constant motion. Working on different things. Shelving some creative projects and advancing others.”

Sonically, the track holds enough energy and power to blast through the speakers of a stadium – its anthemic nature makes it feel larger than life, triumphant – a statement in itself about Cassy's tumultuous journey through ups and downs.

“I've encountered transphobia and been subject to homophobic slurs, which was painful and makes me sad to think about,” Cassy reflects. “But its also been great to see the emergence of queer festivals in the regions and the growing ability of all LGBTQI+ people to be true to who they are.”

Cassy says she was inspired, particularly by Carlotta, for the track.

“In 2019, I performed at the Broken Heel Festival and also watched Carlotta's show. She triumphantly sang, 'I'm Still Here', a song of celebration and survival. Now, pre-transition I used to live and work in Broken Hill and I was really inspired by Carlotta's statement song. So, I decided to write my own statement song!”

A powerful guitar solo closes the track and drives the point home, and Cassy got to take advantage of this while filming the music video, which FROOTY is super excited to be premiering today. Enjoy.



“We shot the video near a Randwick electricity substation, Clovelly Beach and at the entrance to Gordon's Bay,” Cassy tells.

“It's always fun to perform beside the sea, especially when you are ripping out an epic guitar solo. Between takes, a guy approached asking for a photo. I thought to myself, yes, I'm an artist, of course people want to get a picture with me! But no! He just wanted a picture of him and the guitar!

“So, we let him have his rock star moment with my Mexican Telecaster.”

The song went through a fair bit to end up where it is today, as Cassy explains: “The first vocal was recorded with Sophie Botta of Komilkon Studios on the same day I completed a 5.5 kilometre ocean swim! I don't think I'll be recording on a long swim day anytime again soon!”

“On reflection, I decided I wanted a slightly different vocal so I took it to Derek Turner's Gymea Bay, Quarterpipe Studios where we went through 20 different iterations of the song to get to its final version! I really stretched the friendship on that one!”

When it comes to the message behind the track, it's pretty simple. As well as being a sonic signifier of Cassy's own progress, the artist says she also wants it to be heard and understood by others in the queer and trans community who might be feeling a certain kind of way about life, and about themselves.

“This song is really dedicated to all queer folk who strive to progress themselves, feel comfortable in their own skin and achieve things. The fact is, that as a society, we've all come so far, and while there's still awful moments in our public discourse relating to trans people and being queer, I am really hopeful and optimistic about the future, particularly as people are able to define their own identities, more than ever before.”

'I've Come So Far' is out 5 February. Cassy Judy plays a launch show at Moshpit Bar, Erskineville on 5 February.