Pacific Palisades wildfires inspired Kaskade's most personal work yet

Change whitethorn beryllium the lone constant, but blazing infernos tearing done Pacific Palisades, Kaskade’s location for the past 15 years, was a caller benignant of alteration for him.

After 24 days of burning, his full beingness looked different. Between tours, the famed DJ and creation euphony producer, calved Ryan Raddon, spent the bulk of his clip astatine Palisades blistery spots similar the Village. Now helium frequents Santa Monica and Brentwood by force. Of the 30 families successful his church, lone 4 of their houses stay standing, including his. Unfortunately, his brother’s location was mislaid to the fires.

“The assemblage is destroyed. It doesn’t beryllium anymore. It’s hard not to beryllium angry,” Raddon says, remarking that he’s been wondering if helium should enactment successful the Palisades. His 3 daughters grew up there. Does helium instrumentality distant their puerility home?

When asked however this abrupt and unprecedented displacement affected the euphony helium made for “undux,” his archetypal medium since 2015’s “Automatic,” Raddon takes respective moments to cod his thoughts.

“I’ve done rather a spot of property for this record, and you’re the archetypal idiosyncratic to bring that up,” helium admits. He made 2 attempts to constitute a caller medium successful the past 3 years, but helium was already going done idiosyncratic struggles earlier the fires. Divorcing his woman of astir 3 decades and watching 2 of his daughters permission location led to melancholy songs that didn’t consciousness close to release. Eventually, helium decided to decorativeness the assemblage of work, nary substance what.

“I request to conscionable marque this, spot what it is and get done it,” Raddon says. He was capable to implicit it with the assistance of songwriters he’s known for years, specified arsenic Cayson Renshaw, Finn Bjarnson and Nate Pyfer. “It is therapeutic to beryllium down and enactment with different songwriter. [Telling them] I person a batch going connected I privation to constitute about.”

The rubric of the medium is “undux,” pronounced “undo,” due to the fact that everything going connected near him feeling undone. The effect is simply a postulation of tracks that skews deeper and little euphoric than erstwhile Kaskade albums.

Raddon ventures distant from his modular four-on-the-floor location euphony and into breached beats connected “Started Over.” Warm orchestral strings and Renshaw’s ghostly vocals service arsenic vehicles for large affectional builds implicit the scattered drums, coating a sonic representation of however messy the dense moments tin feel.

“If Only” is simply a clean, guitar-driven indie creation tune that straight recounts Raddon’s acquisition successful the aftermath of the blaze: “It’s each ashes / What the hellhole conscionable happened? / Somehow I’m inactive lasting / But I’m asking what for?”

The rubric of Raddon’s medium is “undux,” pronounced “undo,” due to the fact that everything going connected near him feeling undone.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

There is inactive euphony connected the medium befitting of Raddon’s dozens of main-stage sets helium plays each year. The pb single, “DNCR,” coasts connected banging soft chords and an energetic kick. But helium wrote the upbeat songs aft moving done the taxing emotions helium brought into the process.

“Any clip you’re being honest, and you’re going into the studio, you can’t debar that stuff,” Raddon says. “This was a hard grounds for maine to make.”

When Raddon’s manager heard “undux,” helium was gladsome Raddon was feeling better, but helium besides delivered a stern warning: Only die-hards would admit the softer approach. Labels echoed this content earlier the Vancouver-based physics powerhouse, Monstercat, signed the album.

“When I sent the grounds out, radical mostly weren’t having it,” Raddon says. “Labels that I had worked with successful the past, and immoderate different radical that are making sound successful the abstraction close now, said, ‘Call america backmost erstwhile you’re doing creation music.’”

“Undux” includes creation music. But it’s not each peak-time bangers similar his biggest hits, specified arsenic “I Remember” and “Atmosphere.” In the years pursuing “Automatic,” astir of Raddon’s output was that benignant of music. Streaming shifted listening habits distant from agelong players and toward playlists and algorithms, some of which favour singles. Singles successful the creation realm historically bash the champion numbers-wise erstwhile they’re primed for live.

Raddon’s astir extended releases successful this play were his 5 “Redux” EPs. The Redux task channels his earliest years of DJing, erstwhile helium was focused connected keeping the creation level moving. Kaskade releases get radical moving, too, but songwriting defines that music. Using lyrics and melodies to archer the benignant of stories helium needed to stock aft the fires.

“Making a single’s neat, but erstwhile you beryllium down successful the studio, there’s truthful overmuch pressure. I request to beryllium capable to play this astatine 2 a.m. successful my set. That’s a weird container to enactment in,” Raddon shares. “When I’m making an album, there’s nary thought of that. Let maine conscionable constitute and create.”

“The coolest happening for maine is seeing creation euphony get a small spot of respect. [There’s been] truthful overmuch occurrence successful bringing the euphony to a wider audience. It’s been a agelong road,” Raddon says.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

It makes consciousness that Raddon spent truthful galore years producing for the unrecorded space. Right astir the merchandise of “Automatic,” helium started a historical tally connected stage. In 2015, helium brought the largest assemblage to an EDM enactment successful the past of Coachella. In 2021, helium was the archetypal creator to play for a nationalist assemblage astatine SoFi Stadium. In 2022, helium broke the grounds for the biggest physics euphony headlining performance successful North America astatine the L.A. Coliseum with Kx5, his collaborative task with deadmau5.

Raddon has besides been called upon to bring his creation signifier to nonrecreational sports. In 2024, helium became the archetypal Super Bowl in-game DJ, and that May, helium was the first-ever starting grid DJ astatine a Formula 1 contention during Miami’s expansive prix.

Despite truthful galore idiosyncratic wins, Raddon is astir thrilled astir the affirmative alteration this “decade of triumph” represents for the full scene. He became 1 of the archetypal figures of creation euphony legitimacy erstwhile helium broke done with his 2004 deed “Steppin’ Out.” Now creation euphony has 3 Grammy categories.

“The coolest happening for maine is seeing creation euphony get a small spot of respect. [There’s been] truthful overmuch occurrence successful bringing the euphony to a wider audience. It’s been a agelong road,” Raddon says.

Raddon has been connected apical of the genre passim that agelong road, making him 1 of creation music’s lone accordant superstars.

Raddon particularly emphasizes the quality to adapt. He started DJing erstwhile vinyl was the lone option, and helium recalls erstwhile definite DJs refused to play CDs erstwhile that exertion developed. Now everyone uses integer files. The aforesaid rule applies to making music. He is alternatively calm successful the aftermath of AI tools (though helium admits helium feels astatine easiness astir it due to the fact that he’s already recovered established occurrence with his music).

“This bid is moving. You’re getting on, oregon you’re not. There’s nary warring it,” Raddon says.

The nonaccomplishment of his assemblage successful the Palisades and the shifts successful his household beingness whitethorn beryllium the astir hard changes helium has ever faced. But he’s inactive connected the bid moving guardant with the assistance of the music.