KASKADE
Given his golden touch for song writing, producing, and DJing, Kaskade´s hit songs "It´s You, It´s Me," "Gonna Make It," "What I Say", the Billboard charting smashes "Steppin´ Out" and "Everything" have catapulted him to one of the hottest names in music today. Releasing two critically acclaimed artist albums "It´ You, It´s Me" and "In the Moment" along with two highly sought after DJ mixed cd compilations "Sounds of Om" and "San Francisco Sessions" (all on indie Om Records) the future has never been brighter. Kaskade, better known to the rest of the world as Ryan Raddon, reflects on the crazy couple of years since "It´s You , It´s Me" was released. "I´ve been touring non stop, probably playing close to 120 shows a year. I´ve played Japan, Australia, South Africa, Spain, UK and more, and the shows have been amazing!"
Fans of Kaskade´s production and DJ skills can expect to find "up front club music with strong melodies and interesting textures" he says. The foundation of Kaskade´s music goes back to his childhood growing up in Chicago. The journey begins in the 80´s as a 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. 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 regularly attended Gramaphone and built his vinyl collection, eventually taking to the decks late in the decade. In 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. It was here that he began building a studio, releasing several records on the Mechanized imprint and selling a track as his Skylight moniker to Om Records for their "Environments" compilation.
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 Om Records founder and friend Chris Smith. 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 Kaskade 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. This was followed by more singles including "Gonna Make It," before Om invited him to mix the 3rd Volume of the seminal classic series "Sounds of Om" following DJ Fluid (aka Chris Smith) and Soulstice´s Andy Caldwell in the mixing duties.
The quickly growing Kaskade catalogue and building interest from around the globe resulted in Om Records signing the then A&R Assistant to a 3–album deal. The rest is a whirlwind of success. After leaving the office job at Om to tour and finish his debut artist album "It´s You, It´s Me," Kaskade hit the big time! Nominated for The Dance Star Award for "Best New Artist Album," BPM´S "Top DJ Poll", charted on Billboard´s "Break Out" Dance Chart and championed by such worldwide radio taste makers as KCRW, Radio One and BBC. Acclaim came from publications including Billboard, DJ, FLAUNT, REMIX, XLR8R and URB (Best Up & Coming Talent) and top DJ´s including Roger Sanchez, Mark Farina, Ben Watt, King Britt, and even Grand Master Flash, Ryan took a break from producing to mix the 4th Volume of Om´s "San Francisco Sessions" series.
The hits keep coming on his second album, "In the Moment". This time, the breakout track "Steppin´ Out" went all the way to the Top 5 in Billboard´s commercial dance radio chart, single sales and club play! The legacy of Kaskade´s golden touch kept going strong. Licenses came from Budweiser for their international advertising campaign airing Kaskade´s music during the World Series and the Superbowl. iTUNES and Entertainment Weekly voted it in their top 10 Singles of the Year. For the second single, "Everything" Kaskade gave it his BIG ROOM remix treatment and went all the way to #1 in Billboard Club Play. This hugely sought after mix is featured on his Om Records compilation, "House of Om."
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." Kaskade is presently on tour and plans to release more albums in the future.
RELEASES
