Cazzette Talk the EDM Movement, Finding Artistic Freedom and their Upcoming EP [TMN Exclusive Interview + BTS Video Premiere]

Cazzette
Together (Till The Morning) Feat. Newtimers

I can still remember vividly hearing my first Skrillex song in a hazy dorm room about five years ago–it was around the same time that “EDM,” to some people’s chagrin, became an unstoppable force in mainstream music. For the college kids of that generation, like myself, it was an exciting moment hearing a completely new genre of mind-altering compositions. While frantically looking for all the EDM I could find, I stumbled across a Swedish duo by the name of Cazzette, who created an enormous dubstep remix of one of my favorite songs at the time, “Monster” by Kanye West.

As Cazzette rose to popularity, they signed with legendary manager Ash Pournouri, who’s best known for helping launch Avicii‘s career, and ended up supporting Avicii on his world tour when “Levels” was making him a household name. Just as with every new wave of music, though, EDM eventually hit a pinnacle of commercialization that began taking away from the artistry and originality that once made it so enticing. In the last five years or so, the term has become tied to a negative stigma–some detracting rationales more valid than others. Meanwhile, a number of the popular artists at the time’s music started sounding the same, with only few emerging from the EDM bubble with a distinguishable style.

Cazzette have seen EDM from its inception to its current, somewhat stagnant, state working to push their music forward exploring various soundscapes along the way. EDM’s legacy resonates, at least to some degree, in almost all genres today and electronic music, in general, is in an absolutely fantastic place thanks to the path it paved. In recent years, Cazzette have shown a determination to break free from classification and their upcoming EP, Desserts, sees the two escaping the constraints of EDM, instead focusing on pure grooves across sub-genres of electronic music. Artists are often at their best when they abandon genre restrictions and that’s exactly the crossroads where Cazzette stand now.

We were lucky enough to chat with Alex and Seb of Cazzette and it’s a fascinating, candid retrospective on the EDM movement as well as a powerful story about the artistic freedom displayed on their EP. Enjoy the interview below as well as the premiere of a behind the scenes video about the making of the track “State of Bliss” from the forthcoming project, which drops on August 14th on Spotify and August 28th on iTunes.

TMN: Can you tell us a bit about your first experiences with music—whether it be your parents playing you a record or the first time you tried an instrument.

Alex:  So for me, I’ve always been around music. I never played anything–like I never went to school for piano or anything like that but I think one of my earliest memories of music was being in the car with my dad and I remember we arrived to where we were going and I had to stay in the car because I had to keep listening to that Michael Jackson song “They Don’t Really Care About Us.” I think that’s like, well that wasn’t necessarily electronic music but that’s like one of my first memories of feeling like, music is so amazing, you know?

And then for electronic music I think, I must have been in high school and I went to this super lame disco and some techno song was playing and there were lasers and stuff. I was just really, like, hypnotized by that and after that I started DJ’ing and producing.

Seb: Yeah I think Michael Jackson was for everybody–for many kids in our generation, that was the shit. So that’s my first memory, but then how I got into electronic music was through my dad who always played me house music, trance music, like psych-trance, all this kind of weird stuff. And I think that’s how I got my interest in electronic music. it’s pretty much the same story for me as Alex, my dad introduced me to everything when it came to electronic music. And my mom also had really good taste–she listened more to like Prince and stuff like that.

TMN: When you guys first linked up, it was online, right? What drew you to each other’s styles?

Alex: Yeah, I think we found interest in each other’s music pretty early. We just started talking and sending demos back and forth. We’re a lot alike in the way that we didn’t really think about “Oh I do this genre, you do this genre”–you know like 2 separate genres. And then we started being influenced by each other. But this was more casual, you know, we were both like let’s just make music.

TMN: Can you talk a bit bout the landscape of electronic music back then? Because it was so different with EDM not quite being a full-blown movement yet.

Alex:  Yeah, it was very different. I mean now it feels like you know, every third person you meet is a DJ, right. And it’s a little bit different–I mean I remember watching videos of Axwell and Ingrosso and those guys, they were playing these shows and there were maybe 600 people there or something. Everyone was just going nuts and it was a completely different atmosphere. I’m not saying that it’s worse now, not at all. I think it’s great that it’s available for all these people because I think music should be available for everyone. So it’s awesome. But it’s just different, it was just more underground in a way.

Seb: For me it was very different at that time. I think electronic music was really more interesting back then. Everything was very new, changing all the time, always evolving. Now I don’t think it is as interesting any more, but it’s still good.

Alex: You know what differs the most? I think the arrangement of the songs, actually. Continue reading

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[Melodic House] Chaka Khan – Never Miss The Water (CAZZETTE BOOTLEG)

Chaka Khan
Miss My Love (CAZZETTE BOOTLEG)

After a year of dominating Beatport and Hype Machine, Cazette is muscling up and pushing things to the next level. This time they’re back with a sexy Chaka Khan bootleg to prepare for their upcoming tour, and headlining set at Ultra Music Festival. If you’re looking to add a lil groove to your week, this is the perfect addition to your playlist.

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[Post-Trap] Cazzette – Blind Heart (Prince Fox Remix)

CAZZETTE
Blind Heart (Prince Fox Remix)

Following the success of his last hit remix “Stay With Me”, Prince Fox has been on a roll with producing dope tunes. Coming out with yet another Cazzette remix, the NY-based producer is gaining popularity in an unbelievable pace. “Blind Heart”, similar to his “Sleepless” remix, exemplifies Prince Fox’s signature post-trap rendition to a rework and it gets your adrenaline going like no other. Featuring vocal samples from UK singer The High, he replaces the original house drop with an epic synthwave melody that is extremely catchy and addicting. The heavy hitting drums just further accentuates the post-trap approach of the tune.

With an eargasmic sound resembling Flume, Prince Fox is set to take over the genre with these eye-opening jams. You don’t want to miss out on any new features by the talented artist, so stay tuned!

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[Tropical House] Cazzette – Sleepless (Hotel Garuda & Thero Remix)

Cazzette
Sleepless (Hotel Garuda & Thero Remix)

What happens when indie dance meets tropical house? The answer lies in this Cazzette remix by house specialists Hotel Garuda, which consists of Manila Killa & Candle Weather, and Thero. The electronic trio’s ever-changing sound is what catches our attention, and their true talent shines through on this track. The original vocal sample is used to drive the tune, accompanied by bold drum beats and tropical synth. The killer sax melody that comes in after definitely stole the spotlight for this track, which also marks Thero’s signature sound. The tropical approach to this tune seems so organic without being overdone. Kudos to Hotel Garuda and Thero for being able to collaborate on this feel-good track.

Stay tuned for more from these talented musicians! We are definitely expecting big moves from them in 2015.

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[Electronic] Cazzette – Sleepless (Jonathan Kane Remix)

Cazzette
Sleepless (Jonathan Kane Remix)

The artist formerly known as Shreddie Mercury has struck gold again. Now known as Jonathan Kane, the soundscaper hailing from Missouri has been seeking to reinvent his brand of music, but he has not forsaken his godlike skills in creating gorgeous melodies, as we can see here on his Cazzette remix. “Sleepless” has been remixed to death in recent weeks, however none can create quite the emotional landscape the lyrics portray like Kane. In what seems like a lost track of Porter Robinson’s “Worlds”, Kane takes the track into his own hands and creates absolute magic with it.

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[Acoustic] Cazzette – Sleepless ft. The High (Prinston Acoustic Edit)

CAZZETTE
Sleepless ft. The High (Prinston Acoustic Edit)

Last month, Cazzette released a stunning original track, “Sleepless ft. The High”, and took over the internet entirely. Since then, artists from all over the spectrum have put their unique spin on this track and have showed us a high level of differentiation within the realm of dance music.

After hearing such eclecticism in these productions, we have been searching for that one remix of “Sleepless” to give us an entirely different feel; something that would make us stop dead in our tracks and re-think everything we know about the purpose of music and its value. Well ninjas, today we have found that special something for all of you and we think it’s pretty damn neat.

While casually perusing the lovely world of Soundcloud, we stumbled across one of the most infectious  acoustic renditions of “Sleepless” to date. There is something truly magical when people take a dance track and bring us all on a more intimate level with merely just the strum of a guitar – and that is exactly what Prinston did. Honing down on the natural elements found in the original chord progressions, Prinston decided to place much emphasis on the vocal and lyrical value  in this track and has given us all something to truly appreciate on a much more emotive scale.

It is always refreshing to hear something new in dance music and we feel that Prinston has earned our respect with this unforgettable rendition of “Sleepless”. Make sure to check out the other songs in the Cazzette remix pack and see what other artists are turning this timeless song into.

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[Holy Sh*t!] CAZZETTE vs Kanye West – I’m A Motherf**king Monster (Mash-Up)

CAZZETTE strikes gold with this thunderous approach to Kanye’s hit, “Monster”. This epic mash-up IS an absolute monster! The Swedes kick our brains in with throbbing Electro-House and vicious Dub-Step-ish breakdowns to create an absolute sonic frenzy.

This mash-up is a great representation of what this duo will dish out during a live set. It’s definitely one of my favorite bootlegs out right now, and it should also be your favorite. Just saying…

CAZZETTE vs Kanye West – I’m A Motherf**king Monster (Mash-Up)

CAZZETTE is all over your internet at:

C A Z Z E T T EFacebookTwitterMySpaceYouTube

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