Finally, a singer who stinks — and is totally cool with it.
British tabloid the Metro today introduced us to 22-year-old singer Cassie Graves, who suffers from a rare health condition that leaves her smelling like rotting fish. At the age of three, Graves was diagnosed with Trimethylaminuria, also known as fish odor syndrome, but takes the situation in stride and opened up to the newspaper to help raise awareness.
It’s also getting us to listen to her music.
The London-based Graves released the You’ve Got Time demo EP on June 17, a mix of post-r&b, soul, and electronic pop music. In May she released a self-titled collection of three singles. Listen to both releases after some more background from the Metro, which today showed her posing with a plate of fish.
Because of course they did.
The rare metabolic disorder is caused by the build-up of trimethylamine, a chemical produced when certain foods like fish are digested, according to the NHS.
Cassie is unable to break down the smelly chemical, instead it is released in her sweat, urine and breath.
‘You know when you go to the food market and there’s rotting fish? That’s what I smell like,’ she explained. ‘The whiff comes out from my skin and hair. I sweat it out and it doesn’t matter how many showers I take, I just can’t get rid of it.’
The singer, who is currently working on her first solo album, Unpunished, hopes to raise awareness about the disorder by speaking out about her experiences.
Rock on, Miss Graves, and best of luck with any collaborations…