The playboy of high-fashion house music is back with his seventh full-length album, Dynasty, and it certainly does say something about his posterity. The Chicago-based producer, whose true name is Ryan Raddon, has pumped out 12 very infectious dance anthems, a few of which are quite good. Featuring the vocal talents of Martina Sobara from Dragonette, the song “Fire In Your New Shoes” adds an entirely retro, almost analog-inspired style of electronic music, not to mention a refreshing Canadian flavour to the mix. With the help of Haley, Kaskade’s go-to vocalist, the song “Don’t Stop Dancing” sounds a lot like “I Remember” from his last offering, but with a heightened appreciation of the female voice. It would be remiss not to mention “Only You,” a collaborative piece with Tiesto and Haley. It’s the heaviest, darkest, most atmospheric piece on the album, breaking out experimental glitches and electronic burps, which is something uncommon in Kaskade and Tiesto’s work. Despite the borderline-unpleasant aesthetic of the bright pink and gold CD packaging, the album is successful in all the ways that count, and particularly for an artist who’s been on the road constantly, Dynasty must have been an ambitious project.
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