- See all the Ratings
- Add my Rating now
(Om Records / Stomp)
The second instalment House Of Om series sees Kaskade explore a diverse range of deep, soulful, dubbed and funky house, always played with that San Fran feel and infectious Kaskade vibe.
Dj Sneak was first up, now it’s Kaskade. It was a good choice by Om Records. For dedicated followers the mix is pretty much as you would expect, but a little funkier than usual Kaskade.
The opening stages of the mix draw in listeners of all types of house. Not wasting any time Kaskade opens proceedings with his remix of David Morales “Here I Am”; it’s one of the stand out tracks on the compilation. Lush, fresh, summery and sexy, it sets a blissful tone. Weaving seamlessly through the opening three tracks; the drums are crisp, the percussion crowd friendly, the basslines are dead sexy and the melodies are very easy to digest.
Building the intensity slightly the listener is slammed into the Lawnchair Generals Mix of “Really Can’t Stop” by Martin Venetjoki. The mid-track breakdown, comprised of a suave concoction of looped hi-hat chattering, cut-and-paste vocal snippets and hypnotic chords, builds masterfully and is a dancefloor shaking masterpiece; a great highlight early in the mix. The hip-house vocal house flavour transitions perfectly into the middle stages of the mix which embody a very jazzy / soulful house feel. The middle stages of the mix are epitomized by the drawing of elements from all types of house. On the menu here are funky guitars, catchy sing-along-as-you-pant-on-the-dancefloor style vocals, chattering top-end action, splattering bassy build-ups and that smooth sexual flow of which Kaskade has become famous.
Approaching the closing stages of the mix, particularly track eight, nine and ten I found the mix a little too mainstream. Not completely intolerable, but not really ideal tracks for the compilation. But I wasn’t too concerned as in true Kaskade style the closing stages are magic! It begins with the deep masterpiece that is “Inside” by Parliament Of House. All the tracks elements are deep and dubbed. With the help of twisted percussion the track bounces along beautifully into a killer Kaskade double. We’re introduced to the double by jackin’ San Fran drums, aggressive top-end action and a deep droning bassline of “I Knew You When”. The vocal are lightly vocodered and heavily filtered. It’s total madness as we move into more the soulful vibe of “Give It Up”. The drums and hi-hats are increasingly dubbed and quirky pop and fizzle sounds are brought to the surface.
Building the percussion and the harmonic elements and mixing perfectly in key the master of San Fran house slams into “Once In A Lifetime” by Full Intention. The melody here is rich and uplifting and gives that ‘we’re close to the end’ feel. The melody is perfectly matched with the closing track which is a dubbed semi broken-beat masterpiece, a great ending.
