Freaks, Beats and Treats headliner Kaskade was once hailed by the New York Times as the “new face of electronic dance music.” With over a decade of experience and a devoted following like no other, Kaskade is no longer a new face, but rather a staple to the genre as a whole.
Growing up in the Chicago suburbs, Ryan Raddon crafted his DJ skills in his dorm room while being heavily influenced by bands like The Cure, Echo and The Bunnymen, and The Smiths. Still in his 20s, Raddon started working as an A&R assistant at OM Records while continuing to develop his own sound as a artist. And as fate would have it, one day, while looking through a nature book, Raddon saw a picture of a waterfall cascading into a body of water, thus adapting the stage name we’ve come to know him as. The path to international success was a slow one. “I’ve had a very steady climb and I never did mobiles. I played a few weddings and I still get quite a few wedding requests. I probably get 20 [requests] a year because I write a lot of love songs. I also wonder how many people have procreated while listening to my music.”
Though Kaskade released his first single in 2001 with the track “What I Say,” it would be his second album that would garner more worldwide recognition. Long player In the Moment hosted his first top 10 single “Steppin’ Out,” reaching #5 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Play chart and #6 on Dance Radio Airplay. His fourth single “Everything” reached #11 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Play helping to define his signature sound of airy and dewy female vocals with memorable melodies.
Undeniably one of dance music’s favorite anthems, “Move For Me” is a collaboration Kaskade did with deadmau5. The single became Kaskade’s fifth top 10 hit on Billboard’s Hot Dance Airplay Chart and reached #1 by Fall 2008. “I had deadmau5 on instant messenger a year ago. I’d bought ‘Not Exactly’ and a couple of other [deadmau5] songs and I was really into what he was doing. I hit him up a couple of times on MySpace because I didn’t have a contact for him–like, ‘Hey, this is Kaskade and I’m really into what you’re doing. I got one of his tracks and I had an idea for the verse, lyrics and melody.’ I went ahead and wrote vocals, got it recorded and I was playing it out in clubs, testing it out. I mashed up an idea I had over one of his tracks and it totally worked.”
Kaskade’s contribution to dance music has helped to lay the groundwork for a resurgence of progressive that continues to capture the ears of a new generation of music lovers around the globe. DJ Times and Pioneer DJ agree as both have named him the #1 DJ in America on their respective lists.
Having just recently release his seventh LP Fire & Ice, Kaskade is currently spearheading his headlining Atmosphere Tour nationwide. We can’t wait to see waves in our atmosphere when Kaskade makes his way to Hidalgo, Texas for Freaks Beats N Treats on Saturday, October 26th. Tickets are still available, so buy your tickets today!
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