If you’re not vibin’ with Kaskade, you’re not vibin’ at all. Having climbed the 5th pillar of deep, soulful house, Kaskade has etch-a-sketched his music into homes and clubs all over the world. His second album, In the Moment, is the most downloaded Dance album on iTunes. Kaskade was bred in Chicago, came into his own in Salt Lake City and shot for the moon in San Francisco, where he currently sets up shop. Originally intended to be named Ryan Raddon by his parents, his start began when his productions were mysteriously found in stacks of demos in his employer’s A&R department, Om Records. The rest isn’t history because Kaskade is still on the rise.
It would appear that something was triggered within Raddon the moment he got picked up by his current home-stay, Om Records. A flood of productions and remixes have been pouring out of his camp, reaching respectable quantities within a short period of time. “A lot of that is back-logging,” explained Raddon. “It’s You, It’s Me was written two years before I was able to release it. Besides, there’s no better motivation other than someone sitting up and taking notice. So, yeah, a lot of it was just hard work as well.”
Earlier this year saw the release of In the Moment, a meditation on everything soulful and deep. Raddon has stretched his wingspan to encompass downtempo and R’n’B tinged songs alongside the groovy house he has built with his own two hands. Returning to vocal duties are Joslyn and Rob Wannamaker and a slew of new vocalists are featured, including Collette. As would be a recurring answer throughout the interview, Raddon was very adamant about the fact that each song was written in and of itself, unhinged from the others. “I was just writing songs man. I just started piecing together songs for the album,” Raddon said.
It is clear, though, that various thematic, conceptual, or stylistic undertones are rampant throughout the album. In response to being questioned on an overall idea for the album, Raddon stated: “I named the album In the Moment because I wanted to capture that feeling with the songs. The songs were written independent from each other because I wanted that feeling of being in the moment with the songs and only doing what’s best for each song.” Perhaps this can be considered a concept, albeit a postmodern one, but a concept nonetheless.
Stylistically, Raddon has made a big push forward for house music, in that he is writing songs proper in the traditional format and in turn remixing those to make them dance-friendly. The final product takes on two formats for two separate occasions. The album for the home, the singles for the dance floor. “I’m trying to reach a wider audience here. What I really want is for other producers to sit up and take notice. I’ve been working with Collette on her next album and we’ve been writing shorter songs. David Morales has an album with chopped down songs. I miss having albums to listen to in the car that last 45-50 minutes. DJs have gone way too overboard.”
Helping Raddon achieve this goal was Finn Bjarnson, co-writer to almost every song on In the Moment. “I first met Finn when I set out to record ‘What I Say’ for Om in ‘00 or ‘01 and he was the engineer in the studio. He had some really good ideas and we get along really well, so I approached him to come help with this album.”
Their writing sessions take on various forms, but mostly it’s together, in the studio, ‘in the moment’. Most often they start with a melody and just start building from there. “With ‘Soundtrack to the Soul’, the song was really taking shape as an R’n’B song, but then I had the commission for the San Francisco Sessions mix album due and out of necessity we remixed the song into a housey tune, before the actual song was released. That is why the house mix precedes the R’n’B version, which is on the album.”
Lyrically, Raddon and Bjarnson have not set out to make any statements, but rather, the lyrics are there to complement the song. Try understanding “Tonight’s the soundtrack to my soul / I’ve left the drama of day behind / Let the rhythm break the mold / This is the soundtrack to my soul” and you will drown in a cesspool of illogic.
Beaten to death by the media is the topic of Raddon’s having come of age in Chicago and having been exposed to all the early house writhing out of that scene. Inquiring into whether he still feels connected to Chicago house or whether it even still influences him after having spent the better part of 12 years living in either Salt Lake City or San Francisco, Raddon responded laughingly. “Yeah, people love pinning niches on you and to be able to explain you away. Of course Chicago had a huge influence on me initially, but I’ve found a much deeper sound in San Fran. I definitely am still proud to represent Chicago and I love going back there to play or to host a Red Bull Academy weekend and I still feel very accepted there. That has more to do with Chicago’s history of open-mindedness, I think. Regardless of whether I’m in Chicago, San Fran, or Salt Lake, it’s life that influences you in end effect. For example meeting my wife changed my music dramatically.”
Being an in-demand DJ and producer has not been easy for Raddon, considering the fact that he’s simultaneously balancing a family as well. “I’m not gonna lie to you man, it’s not easy. In the last 8 weeks, I’ve only slept in my bed 8 times. It’s rough, especially when I don’t get to see my kid. My wife and I try to plan things out and when I’m going to be away extensively, she comes along. I’ll be in Australia for three weeks and I’m bringing her and my kid and we’ll spend the holidays together in OZ.”
Alongside recording as Kaskade, Raddon has various side-projects as well. “I’ve released some stuff as Members Only, which is more sample heavy, jackin’ house. It’s where my Chicago roots are definitely evident. I’ve also tacked my own name on some stuff as well. I try to be very specific with what I release as Kaskade and if it deviates at all, I’ll put one of the other names on it. You can’t vary too much with one name.”
For the Australian tour, Raddon plans on rocking up with a crate of vinyl and a stack of CD’s and just go with the party. “I never come in with a plan. I just check out how things are going and play to the crowd to get everyone dancing. Every time I play, without fail, some huge guy comes up and tells me he drove his girlfriend two hours to see me play ‘It’s You, It’s Me’ and if I don’t play it, there’ll be hell to pay. Of course I play it next!”
The upcoming year will see Raddon working on a new mix album for Om, although he didn’t divulge in any details. The last single to be released off In the Moment will be ‘Everything’, which is due out in February.
Be sure to catch Kaskade on his Australian tour over Christmas and New Years:
Thu 23rd Dec – My Bar, Brisbane
Fri 24th Dec – Ambar, Perth (BUY TICKETS)
Sun 26th Dec – Sugar, Adelaide
Fri 31st Dec – Cargo Bar, Sydney
Sat 1st Jan – Sounds on NYD, Sydney (BUY TICKETS)
Sat 1st Jan – Platform One, Melbourne
Fri 7th Jan – Minque, Canberra
Sat 8th Jan – Tassie Uni, Tasmania
