Interview with Legendary Progressive House Producer: KAAZE

We've partnered with Revealed Family once again to bring you this incredibly interview with one of the most incredible producers of this generation. Mick Kastenholt, better known by his stage name KAAZE, has been an unstoppable force on the scene ever since his remix of "Maximal Crazy" was uploaded by Tiesto in 2014. For the past five years, KAAZE has solidified himself as one of the most recognizable progressive and electro house artists with releases on Revealed Recordings, Musical Freedom, and Maxximize Records. His first release of 2019, "Better Than This" with Chad Kowal is available on all platforms now. 

In previous interviews, you've talked about being raised in a musical household and finding your inspiration in genres outside of EDM such as rock music or nature itself. How did you go about developing your own progressive house and electro groove sound when you first started out?
I truly believe that the best inspiration and references for a producer are hiding outside the EDM industry. It also comes very natural to me since I grew up in a musical family as my father is the lead singer of his rock band. He had already taught me how to play the Piano, Drums and Guitar by the time I was two years old. In the end, the most important thing is to work really hard and have a strong sense of discipline. I've been in the studio every day for fourteen years now and I even dropped out of school to fulfill my goals and dreams. Dropping out normally isn't the smartest decision, but luckily it worked out for me.

You've toured around so many countries and been to some of the biggest festivals in the industry. What have been some of the most stand-out moments from your time onstage? 
2018 was a really fun year since I got to travel all over the world. I've done so many great and unforgettable shows, but two of them really stood out to me: My debut show at Magnetic Festival in Prague was so incredible and my first headline performance going back-to-back with my good friend Maddix at Lakedance Festival in Holland for a crowd of over 20,000 people!

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A post shared by ᏦᎪᎪᏃᎬ (@iamkaaze) on Oct 29, 2018 at 8:00am PDT

Making a living from music is no easy task in this day and age. How do you strike a balance between doing shows and spending time in the studio to avoid burnout?
That's the benefit about having a strong wife by your side. I can easily fall into these workaholic periods where I take way far fewer breaks in between shows and the studio. Samantha helps me perfectly balance my health and work, and I love her so much for that! In the end, it's not easy being married to an artist, but she's my Wonder Woman!

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A post shared by ᏦᎪᎪᏃᎬ (@iamkaaze) on Jul 16, 2018 at 1:44pm PDT

Watching a few of your highlights, I couldn't help but notice the extensive tattoos along your arm. What are some of the stories behind them and do you have any plans to get more? 
I blame my father for falling in love with tattoos! When I was around five years old, he took me with him when he got his very first tattoo. Ever since that day, I told myself that I would get tattoos like my father one day. Today, both of us have our whole bodies almost entirely covered in ink. I have a little bit skin on my right arm to left to cover, but I'm getting there!

Where do you plan on going next with your sound and KAAZE brand in 2019?
I'm so excited for this year, more than ever actually! I've already started the year with my latest single, "Better Than This" featuring Chad Kowal. My main goal with that song was to create the perfect balance between a radio hit and an energetic festival track; we really tried to capture the best of both worlds with the track. Looking forward, we have so much music scheduled with the next one coming right around the corner from now. I will also be releasing some music that has a completely new sound from what people are used to hearing from me, so I'm super excited to share those tracks with everyone.

My long awaited "KAAZE Merch" is also in the process right now. It is taking a lot of time because I'm extremely picky and I want my Merch Collection to be unique and top quality. We have worked on it for almost a year now, but we're getting there finally! I'm also working on a couple of big collaborations for this year but that's all I can say about that for now.

Lastly, when you look back on what you've already accomplished and the tours you've completed, what brings you the most happiness when you think about your life so far?
There's a lot of things that I'm proud of but the things in my career that I'm most proud of is keeping Mick happy and not only focusing on KAAZE. When I'm happy as Mick, it pushes my KAAZE brand further to reach new goals and dreams. I have a very hard time turning off everything that has to do with music and sometimes it stresses me out when it all gets to be too much. So it's very important to take care of yourself and your family as much as you take care of your brand. 50/50 = Double Power.

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A post shared by ᏦᎪᎪᏃᎬ (@iamkaaze) on Aug 1, 2018 at 10:37am PDT

A massive thank you to KAAZE for taking the time to answer our questions! You can keep up with all of the latest tracks, shows, and updates using the links below. 

SPOTIFY INSTAGRAM FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD

Also go and check out Revealed Family on Facebook and Instagram for exclusive IDs and breaking news from Revealed Recordings. 

If you'd like to read a review of "Better Than This," you can do so on our partner site, EDM Reviewer!

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Chris W. Lao

Writer, DJ, and Student.