Music Review: Kaskade - Love Mysterious
Published October 11, 2006
Kaskade, known to the I.R.S. and Domino's Pizza as Ryan Raddon, is a man who knows how to get around. He is a native of Chicago who honed his chops as a DJ in Salt Lake City before blowing up on the San Francisco house music scene, all before settling back down in Chicago.
His records have been getting around even more than he has, thanks to his consistently catchy production that finally bubbled up to the surface of pop culture with his hit “Steppin' Out.”
He puts out house music. Really good house music, in fact. It’s bubbling, pounding, jumping, jubilant house music that ropes in the vocal talents of a revolving cast of angels and playas alike, but he never seems concerned with limiting himself to just that.
He's just as likely to slow down the pace to an elegiac lull or speed it back up through the use of (gasp) guitars. He'll summon up whatever additional genre influences he needs in order to keep things moving. With the release of his third solo album, Love Mysterious, he seems to have found a comfortable balance between all of the above.
Fans of his previous album, In The Moment, will find a lot to love with the new record, as it extends the style championed with his past singles “Steppin' Out” and “Sweet Love.” Love Mysterious is all-vocal and almost exclusively mid- to up-beat.
The opener, “Stars Align,” picks up where his previous album's opener left off, with some darker and more organic riffs supporting a track clearly aimed at some mass crossover appeal. “Be Still” follows with what will pass as the title track and features an anthemic female lead over a tight disco-rock track.
Some really tight production supports “All You,” a trademark of all his albums. From the processed vocal lead to the layered and augmented retro synth squelches and swirls, it's a track that demands a few listens to fully appreciate and is well worth the investment of your time.
“The X” is one of the slower cuts on the album, as well as one of only four featuring male vocals. In fact, it's almost the male counterpart, in terms of style, to “All You.” All of this comes before easing into “Fake,” an altogether darker and sexier track with a breathy siren counteracting the warbling synth hammering against the bass.
- Music Review: Kaskade - Love Mysterious
- Published: October 11, 2006
- Type: Review
- Section: Music
- Filed Under: Music: Electronica, Music: Dance, Music: DJ, Review
- Writer: David R Perry
- David R Perry's BC Writer page
- David R Perry's personal site
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Kaskade is the real deal!!! Proof positive that the San Francisco Bay Area has some of the tightest House DJ's on the f****g planet!!! If Mark Farina, Kaskade and my fav Soulful House DJ, Miguel Migs, where ever to do an trio set at any venue in the US or hell, ANYWHERE...I'm there!!!!
These guys embody what real house is all about...sexy, soulful, uptempo, downtempo all w/out failing to please!!!