Kaskade - Fire & Ice

Calling electronic music "big" these days might be an understatement. Turn on the radio, and it seems that every new song has been infused with the big, dance-friendly beats of trance, house, and dubstep music. In a world where the DJ is king, it is not uncommon for the person responsible for the beat (Calvin Harris, Tiesto, David Guetta) to be listed before the famous singers lending their vocals to the track.

For those unfamiliar with the electronic music scene, a worthy place to start is the latest offering from ten year electronic veteran Kaskade. Titled Fire & Ice, this two disc collection showcases Kaskade's talents for stadium-sized dance hits and collaborations with the biggest names in the electronic scene. And since everyone's all sweaty already in the summer heat, there is no harm in having a dance party!

The first disc, Fire, is delicious, infectious electronic music in its purest form. My favorite track, the delightfully named Turn It Down, is best played at high volume and reads like a playbook for making electronic tracks. "Right before you make it beat loud, can you turn it down?" sing Swedish electronic princesses Rebecca and Fiona. After all, the best part of an electronic song are those quiet moments of reflection in the middle, where you feel the bassline and beats building like an earthquake below the surface; you just have a couple moments left to catch you breath before you have to jump up and dance!
The second CD, Ice, is a stripped-down version of the first ten dance tracks.  Big noise and heavy bass is replaced by thoughtful piano chords and whispered vocals. Beautiful in its simplicity, I was dissapointed that many of Ice's songs come under random assault by the chaotic (and now sterotypical) wub-wub-wub sound of heavy dubstep, sometimes tainting the reflective feeling that shrouds the rest of the CD.

After ten years, Kaskade is now one of the heaviest hitters in the electronic world. He shared the top billing at Coachella 2012 with bands like Radiohead, headlines festivals across the world on a regular basis, and will be playing a live set in Tucson later this week!  (Rialto Theatre, Thursday, July 26th).  Or you might want to practice your dance moves in your living room! Either way, I recommend that you check out Kaskade's Fire & Ice from the library today. And once you get a taste for these songs, you might find it hard to turn them down! (But please, try to do so for your neighbors' sake)!

-James