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A
lot has been written, said, and felt about this young man and his
music. The worldwide media, DJ's, radio stations and music loving
public adore him. He's been praised as "The Best Up & Coming
Artist of 2003" from URB MAGAZINE and as crafting "A captivating
debut" by BILLBOARD, but still unchanged, humble, and low key
in flip-flops, Kaskade, better known as Ryan Raddon, has so much
more love to give.
As an 80's
teenager in the Suburbs of Chicago, Raddon was fascinated by the
sound of new wave, frequenting Club Medusas where Frankie Knuckles
held a Friday night residency. There, he was exposed to everything
from Tears For Fears to The Cult, Ministry and The Smiths. As house
music was incarnated in the basements and warehouses of Chicago,
Ryan increased his awareness by attending parties and exploring
these inspiring, innovative sonic genres. He listened religiously
to local radio shows like The Hot Mix Five and Northwestern University's
WNUR, which featured Derrick Carter and Mark Farina. He frequented
Gramaphone and built his vinyl collection, eventually taking to
the decks late in the decade.
Circa 1992,
he transferred his life and learning to Salt Lake City and the University
of Utah, an education he funded by DJing. He launched a weekly house
night that endured five successful years and owned and operated
(a local record shop,) Mechanized Records. Though there were others
promoting house in Salt Lake, Ryan was one of the city's pioneers,
igniting the spark that set the scene ablaze in the most unexpected
of towns. It was here that he began building a studio, releasing
several records on the Mechanized imprint and selling a breakthrough
track to his favorite label, Om Records. "DJing inspired me
to make music," he says. "It was definitely a simple evolution
for me."
Having explored
the Bay Area with his wife Naomi, Ryan was drawn to the strong scene
that it fostered; they moved in May 2000. Within months, he landed
a job as A&R assistant to Chris Smith at Om. "The label's
reach is far and wide," he notes. "It was good energy
to be around creative people who enjoy what they do." Continuing
with DJing and production, Ryan formulated his alter ego Kaskade
and began honing his studio skills. After selling a track to now
defunct Chicago based Afterhours, he began anonymously slipping
his tracks into the stacks of Om demos. "What I Say",
the first single picked up by Om under his Kaskade moniker, was
featured (as the first track) on Mark Grant's widely acclaimed "Sound
Design Volume 2" in 2001.
The past two
years have been a whirlwind of success; though Kaskade has appeared
on many of Om's coveted compilations, nothing prepared him for the
widespread praise that came in the wake of his debut album "It's
You, It's Me." The former Lazy Dog duo Jay Hannan and Ben Watt
sent their accolades after the then unreleased track blew the roof
off their Sunday night London gathering. Marques Wyatt extended
his appreciation as well, grabbing dibs on remixing duties for a
future single. As of late, Kaskade has spent many nights commanding
the decks on the international nightclubbing circuit. In addition,
Roger Sanchez befriended Kaskade licensing two tracks for his newest
mix "Release Yourself 2003", and if one needed more proof
of his talent, Jay Hannan has chosen Kaskade to debut his new label,
Society Heights, with the "Soundtrack to the Soul" standout
"In this Life".
Whether it's
the uplifting sounds, organic instrumentals, catchy vocals or the
diversity of his sound, Kaskade's music embodies life, love and
happiness. "I'm an optimistic guy," he says. "There's
a lot of love in house music and this is just what comes out."
He is equally as optimistic about the scene that has embraced him
with such open arms. "Dance music is so fast moving and so
forward thinking; it has morphed many times over. It will be interesting
to see what the future holds."
Kaskade
is playing:
Saturday 1 October 2004 - Yum Yum Melbourne
Sunday 2 October 2004 - Harbourlife Sydney
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