RS: Well, that could be said for a lot of these people. Which of
these remixes came together the easiest, where you just sat down and
it worked out of the box, and it was perfect?
Kaskade: Oh man, "Gimme More" by Britney Spears came together really
quickly. You know, I really like Justin Timberlake. "Lovestoned" was
really quick. Nelly Furtado "All Good Things." Most of these came
together quickly, but definitely Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake
were like, 'Oh OK, that's easy, it just works.' The Nelly Furtado one
was a lot of fun, but there's a lot of stuff, there's a lot of tracks.
RS: A remix you've done and think, 'Oh my god, this is amazing,
I'm really, really proud of this, this really represents where I'm
going' – is there a remix that you've done that you can say that
about?
Kaskade: You know, typically when I finish one I'm thinking that. In
the studio I bounce it down, and while I'm bouncing it down I'm
thinking, 'This is cool, this is great, I'm happy.' Almost all the
time I think that, when I'm done with a mix. But I mean as far as
where I'm going… "Womanizer." That actually came together really,
really quickly, like in an afternoon. It was like, 'Oh my gosh, this
is awesome.' I wouldn't say it's necessarily where I'm going. It's
very electro-sounding, but it was just a lot of fun because that's the
sound I do. I was happy with the way that turned out.
Faith issues
RS: Do you ever have a problem working with artists when they may
or not agree with where you are in a faith place?
Kaskade: No, not really. I'm thinking there's a lot of people… even
this remix reel of singers that I've worked with, I don't really sit
down and talk religion and politics with people. I mean, if I respect
and appreciate their music, that's more what I'm interested in, and
even them, as a person. People have differences of opinions, but
that's kind of what dance music is about, right? That's what drew me
towards it in high school, all these big jocko guys who were drinking
beer. I didn't relate to the house party mentality – sit down and
drink the beer, beating each other up. I went into the city and went
to dance clubs, and that's where I felt comfortable, because it was
like a free, open environment where people could believe and think
what they wanted, and people accepted each other for their
differences. That was kind of built into the dance scene in Chicago,
as it is many other places. I think it's kind of like this left-field
thing. I was definitely out of the ordinary in my high school, because
I didn't drink and party and stuff, but I loved going out, pumping my
fist and dancing till dawn.
Kaskade: As a person who has strong faith beliefs, do you ever have a
conflict when you play in nightclubs, and you see things that you
don't agree with?
Kaskade: Typically, no. There's been maybe a few times over the
years. I've played a lot of nightclubs over the last ten to fifteen
years. I've been DJing a long time, and I think there have only been a
few occasions where I've actually been offended, or thought, 'OK, this
is not my scene. Maybe I shouldn't be here.' But when we're playing a
hundred and fifty shows a year, over the last five/six/seven years;
and I still DJed a lot, every week before that, for maybe ten years….
I can actually only think of one time that's happened, and that was a
very after-hours event, and I'm sure most people wouldn't have been
offended.
What's next?
RS: What are you working on next?
Kaskade: I just finished up a couple of remixes, and have a few more
that are in the oven, not finished yet. I've got an Australian
artist, Natalie something or other, an amazing voice, very
poppy-sounding. And Laurent Wolf, I am remixing the song coming out
after "No Stress." So I've got those two, and then another Australian
band, so quite a bit of remix work. I'm eager to plough through that
stuff and start writing again. Actually, the girl who sings on "Move
For Me" and "I Remember," Hailey, I'm working on an album with her, in
my free time, when it's not too crazy. It's coming along really well.
I'm excited. A lot of people really responded to her voice, so that's
exciting news, working on that. I'm part of a band, Late Night Alumni.
There's actually a song in here. When the four of us can get together
– it's rare that we get together, most of it's over the Internet, so
we're shooting this stuff back and forth. But we've actually got four
or five of these songs, and are really eager to get those out there.
It's all very chilled, that whole project, but I'm really happy how
it's going.
RS: Very cool. Anything you want to say to all your fans out there?
Kaskade: I love you guys. I'll be at your neighborhood club soon.
Posted December 2, 2008
