18/06/2025

LYFE WEDNESDAY | JUNE 18, 2025

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F OR 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 The Swedish DJ has collaborated with EDM titans Aoki and Guetta. Ű BY VERONICA ELANKOVAN

Kaaze is set to perform in Pitt Club KL.

Return of Hot Tekno pioneer o Swedish DJ Kaaze talks origins of music, experimentation, collaborations

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.”

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

Kaaze is a methodical

artiste with a penchant for solid storylines.

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.

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