FOR the untrained ears, EDM (electronic dance music) feels like taking 10 espresso shots before your nervous system completely shuts down. The euphoria hits like a brick, but the high dips just as fast, like the plunge of a roller coaster.
But not for this Swedish DJ, whose modus operandi is finding that sweet spot between psychedelic high and infectious groove, ensuring each beat resonates through our veins, leaving us yearning for more even after the final crescendo has hit.
From an underground DJ to playing on colossal stages such as EDC Mainstage and Ultra Europe, Kaaze has risen to stand among EDM’s elite.
An experimental artiste in his own right, his distinct and meticulously crafted sound has earned him a loyal fanbase that deeply connects with his music and artistic vision. His music has also found a home in Malaysia, as our EDM scene grows exponentially.
Returning to Malaysia for the second time, the pioneer of “Hot Tekno”, an EDM subgenre that blends techno and electro with groovy, distorted and seductive elements, is all set to perform an electrifying set for his fans in Kuala Lumpur. Ahead of his show, the 36-year-old DJ sat down with theSun for a chat about music, production and his upcoming show.
Mick Kastenholt to Kaaze
“Between 2013 and 2014, I was working a lot with Tiesto. My DJ name was my real name – it was Mick Kastenholt. But Tiesto had a hard time pronouncing my last name,” Kaaze recalled.
That sparked a creative detour. He began sketching out potential monikers, playing with different alphabets.
“I knew I wanted to have something with K and A, like my last name. And, at the time, there were not many DJs with names starting with the letter K,” he shared.
Tinkering with many variations, Kaaze landed on Mick Case but spelt C-A-S-E – like a suitcase.
“Then, I changed it to K, added another A, and then the Z,” Kaaze said, admitting that the name does not have a meaning, but it is phonetically similar to his last name.
“For the longest time, people had a hard time pronouncing it,” he shared.
Now? They are finally catching on.
Rooted in Swedish sound
Hailing from the land that gave us artistes such as Abba and Avicii, Kaaze traced his journey back to when he first started spinning as an underground DJ.
“When I started producing 20 years ago, way before Kaaze, I was producing underground techno, we call it Scandinavian techno. It was very industrial.”
When EDM in Sweden went through a house music renaissance, it was not long before Kaaze found himself under the same trance.
“I took huge inspiration from (house music), I started making melodic music.”
Sweden, he pointed out, has always had a strong music pulse. From juggernauts such as Max Martin, who was the biggest producer-songwriter in the 90s, to EDM artiste Swedish House Mafia, it is a land where music is in its DNA.
“We have a lot of music in our culture, so it comes a little bit naturally to us, Swedish people,” Kaaze mused.
Blending worlds
Swedish music has a synth soul that sounds clean and sometimes melancholic. This subtle difference sets it apart from the more in-your-face American music.
Kaaze echoes this sentiment, but he also takes a relaxed approach to making music while drawing inspiration from all over, keeping his sound global.
“I do not think too much (about) what I am making. I take inspiration from all over the world – from American to Swedish music. So, I cannot pinpoint what my sound (is) and why it comes out the way it does.”
Staying authentically Kaaze, he confessed to needing a sound to get his creative juices going.
“I need just one specific sound in a song (that) can give me an entire vision to create something completely different, just based on one sound in a random song.”
Rock meets rave
Having cited 80s rock and cinematic music to be his major influences, Kaaze shared that music has always been a part of his life. Heavily influenced by his father, who played the piano, drums and guitar, the DJ also revealed he went to piano school.
Beyond just spinning CDs or creating hype music, Kaaze’s insights into music production reveal a different facade of EDM – one that is beyond club or “noise” music.
Talking about a song’s emotional skeleton, he said: “What I take inspiration from rock is chord progressions – there are many ways you can do it.”
Injecting a rock chord progression into a techno song, he remarked, can change the vibe of the song, “making it something new”.
“A lot of chords and melodies always come from rock and those types of genres,” he said.
Electro-opera experiments
A true experimental artiste, Kaaze has evolved with time – from house to rock, the DJ has done it all. Quite literally – as his song Opera will attest.
Walking us through the time he recorded Opera, he shared: “I think that song is 10 years old now. I got the vocal, which is the opera part, from a great singer in America.”
Impressed by the vocals, his creative neurons sparked, and he wanted to create “an electro-opera thing”.
“It was completely new to me as well. I just threw my ideas in there and it came out the way it did.”
Kaaze emphasised the melodies were his priorities, which gave Opera its dramatic, serious sound.
“It was a pretty cool project,” he quipped.
The demo process
While some musicians prefer to have either the melody or vocals, or vice versa. Kaaze shared a refreshing, intriguing preference, highlighting the importance of sonic harmony when creating a song.
“To make a great song is to have a powerful vocal and a powerful melody at the same time. The trickiest part is not having them fight with each other.”
However, he admitted lately with his new sound, which leans heavily towards techno music, it really boils down to whether starting with a demo or vocal.
“Sometimes I have a demo, like a beat. Sometimes, I get a vocal that I think is good.”
But, he insisted he was the kind of producer who prefers to start with vocals.
“I prefer to get a vocal (written) first. Then produce something based on the vocal, because then you give the vocal justice.
“Sometimes when you have a track finished and you try to squeeze a vocal on top of it, it can come out messy. Most of the time, I try to write the vocals first.”
Big names, big vibes
Kaaze has made his mark in EDM, so you would think working with other EDM titans might spark a few clashes. But for the Swedish DJ, working with artistes such as Steve Aoki, David Guetta and Calvin Harris was a wholesome experience.
“Everyone collaborates differently. Luckily for me, the people I work with are very eager to work on the sound that I am making at
the time.
“Aoki is a great example of how he appreciated my sound. When they do that, they give you a lot of freedom to deliver something cool. Then they put their touch on it, but they still want to embrace what I am doing.”
A blessing, as Kaaze called it. He added that most of his collaborations sprouted from an idea that he had made. And it builds from that note.
“Mostly, I have been in my studio working on it and sending it over.”
Childhood inspirations
Instead of a sporadic approach to his music, Kaaze, while still sonically evolving, has been very intentional with his storyline as a musician.
“Dreamchild was mainly inspired by my childhood, growing up with rock music.”
Professing his love for concepts, he explained Dreamchild is an artwork of him
as a child and the sound he was making
then. But Mick is a personal album dedicated to himself.
“When I made that album, I took away everything that Kaaze likes to play and (use) just what Mick likes to listen to. I wanted to make an album that I could press play and just enjoy, like Mick’s music – that is why I named it Mick,” he added.
Mood boards to turntables
A methodical artiste, who crafts his sound with intention, Kaaze revealed he starts with a mood board and a storyline.
“I make a mood board for myself. I get a vision. It is like a book in my head – how I want it to come out, what is going to be the red line in the album.”
For instance, with Dreamchild, the artiste commented he already had the title and artwork done before even making the first song. After creating a vision, he then explores different genres for the album such as
rock for Dreamchild.
Reconnecting with musical roots
After Mick, Kaaze found himself in new territory. Diversifying his sound (yet again) with a heavy-leaning techno music, he admitted it was something people were not used to hearing from him.
He shared: “Before I was Kaaze, I was making very underground industrial techno. So, I just wanted to find myself again and (went) a little bit back to my roots in a new modern way.”
Over the past years, Kaaze stepped into a music time machine to connect to his musical roots.
“The music I have done for the past one and a half years is a reflection on my past, going back to the roots. I am deep, deep down in the whole techno scene and the techno world. I am trying to see how much I can develop that sound into something new.”
New era, new bangers
Two years after his last album and following several collaborations last year, Kaaze invited fans back to his world via Reach Out, I’ll Be There.
On his new music, Kaaze said: “It is originally a very old song from the 70s by (a group named) Four Tops.”
It was new music on paper, but Kaaze mentioned the idea for the song was penned about six years ago. But he just could not get around it until last year.
“It is a very heavy techno-based song with a very catchy sample. But it is probably the hardest song I have released so far.”
A song composed for festivals, Kaaze shared the hype around it is phenomenal.
“It is going to be fun!”
Festival formula
As it has been made clear, Kaaze is an intentional artiste with a storyline – nothing about him is random. So, obviously, his music festival sets all have a structure.
“I have a structure, not in terms of what order I should play the songs, because I always try to wing it. But the ideal structure for my sets is to start with a high impact.”
He begins with a high-strung track to bring the energy, then mellows it out a little to “find the sexiness and groove”. After people have had the chance to catch their breath, he then picks it up again towards an exhilarating climax. Sometimes, playing for different shows means changing the structure. For Kaaze? Adapting to different sets is his superpower.
“I adapt to the type of show or festival. For some big festivals where you have 60 minutes and you need to squeeze in all your biggest songs, you might need to organise your tracks a little bit more.”
However, when it comes down to it, it is important for Kaaze to end his set with the same type of hype.
Mastering the crowd
DJs not only have the pressure of showcasing an amazing set, but it is crucial that they possess good crowd control techniques. And for Kaaze, it is all in the persona and charisma. He said: “When you get up on stage, the crowd will instantly know how focused you are on them.”
“I try to be out there. Making sure you look people in the eyes, look at their reactions and talk to the microphone from time to time.”
He then said the crowning moment is really just his music and how he plays it. It is about figuring out the type of energy the crowd has and the direction the set needs to go in.
“There are different ways to control, but the key is to be present with them. That they see you are with them.”
On his favourite fan interaction, Kaaze simply said he loves it when the fans wear or bring along his merchandise, such as his flags.
Return to Malaysia
Kaaze is all geared up to bring the house down in Pitt Club KL on June 20.
As Malaysian fans longingly wait for him to turn up the heat, Kaaze confided that the first time he performed here was “absolutely mental”.
Grateful for the opportunity to perform in Malaysia again, he said: “I am happy they wanted me to come back so soon. I have a great relationship with Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia.
“The fans are very loyal to me. I think it is probably one of my better shows in the whole of Asia, to be honest.”
Teasing new music, Kaaze quipped his fans always know to expect fresh beats every time he plays a live show.
“My fans know that every time I come back, there is always new music. Because I make a lot of new music. So, there is probably going to be new music that I am going to try.”
On collaborations with local EDM artistes and incorporating ethnic influences in his music, Kaaze was open to the idea.
“That is something interesting. That (ethnic influences) would be crazy good – that together with my new sound. I can already hear it.”
Message to Malaysia
To his loyal fans and fans-to-be, Kaaze warmly declared: “I love you guys and I love Malaysia. I love the people of Malaysia. I cannot wait to meet my Malaysian family at the show. And I hope I will be back every year in Malaysia.”
With new music and a show in Pitt Club KL, the Hot Tekno pioneer is ready to take Malaysian fans on yet another pulse-pounding, hypnotic musical journey.
