KASKADE; I EXPRESS MYSELF IN WRITING AND CREATING MUSIC
Spinsmag: Congratulations on hitting your 10 years mark in the industry. Its been more than 10 years since your first album ‘It’s You, It’s Me’ came out. How have you developed as a human (Ryan) & a musician (Kaskade) in the last 10 years?
In my world there’s not much disparity between Ryan and Kaskade. Personally, I am the person who’s making the music and creating the art, so when I change or have different experiences in life, I express myself in writing and creating music – the kind that reflects to what’s happening in my life. For me in the last 10 years so much has changed. 10 years ago I was living in San Francisco, I was broke and I was struggling to be a musician and finding my way in the industry but now I live in LA, I have 3 children (laughs) and my life is very different from before. I travel constantly, I have a lot of tours and I play 150 shows per year. Time has truly change for me because now when I play in a club, people knows my music compared to 10 years ago when nobody knew my music. So it’s very different.
Spinsmag: How did growing up in Chicago help influence you in your music choice?
Chicago played a big role in my music career. It is a part of me, my childhood and who I am today. I was born and raised there in the first 20 years of my life. I was very influenced by the early Chicago sounds; Derrick Carter and Mark Farina were icons to me. They were untouchable with the music they were making and creating. Guys like Frankie Knuckles were blazing the trails and really bringing house music to the masses. So for me, I think hearing the music earlier on as a kid when I was just about 14 or 15 left a huge impact and impression on my life. So I think it influenced me a lot. You know, I kinda joke a lot, if I grew up in Nashville, will I be writing country music; I don’t know, it’s possible. But I think the fact that I grew up in Chicago and got influenced by house music very early in life, it really did let me down this path.
Spinsmag: We know that you are an avid snowboarder. Do you still have time to snowboard nowadays since you have a hectic schedule and always on tour?
Not much, let’s see – at the end of last year and also in January, for Christmas I took a week off, more like 5 days (laughs) and went snowboarding. But 5 days? (laughs) I use to go 85 days in a season. I don’t do it as much as I used to do but I still do it when I find the time!
Spinsmag: Do you think that the resurgence of American progressive house in the early 2009 has helped shape the EDM industry that we have now and uplift DJ/Producers image in the circa?
Yea, I think so many people are interested in electronic music right now, whether they call it EDM or progressive house. I really think that 2009 and 2010 were big breakout years and there were some really stellar tracks that came out at that time along with really recognizable characters within the genres for example guys like Deadmau5 and Skrillex. A lot of new DJs and producers came up really quickly and this helped get the music out to the public. It truly helped more people to discover the music that shaped up most part of the industry.
Spinsmag: Thank you for the interview, on a final note, what would your advice be to all the new & upcoming DJs
Yea, to those of you who are just getting started or trying to find where you fit in within the scene, I would say find what you love whether if it’s producing music, DJing, promoting a party or running a night club. Find what you really like to do and what comes naturally to you and just do it. Continue to do it and work really hard in achieving the goals you have set for yourself. For me, song writing and making music came naturally, so I continue to do it a lot. I wrote a lot of songs, made remixes and my music really got out to the people. So find what you do best, and exploit that niche as much as possible.
Interview Courtesy of Zouk Club, KL.
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