Kaskade

Growing up in Chicago, Kaskade was initially into British New Wave acts such as The Cure and The Smiths before discovering clubs, Frankie Knuckles and house music. You can hear it in the melancholy groove of his deep house tracks, echoing the Brits’ love of Northern Soul. Kaskade began spinning in college, and sold a couple tracks to a new dance label in San Francisco. Before long, he had moved there and joined the label’s A&R department, putting together several compilations and helping turn OM Records into one of the hottest underground dance labels in the country in the space of just a few years. When not shepherding the acclaimed Mushroom Jazz series, Kaskade drops bright, airy tracks with limber, lighthearted bounce that could as easily back a pop hit as a dance floor depth bomb.