After nearly a decade in Salt Lake City, Ryan Raddon, aka Kaskade, moved to San Francisco where he became entrenched in its emerging deep house scene. While working as an A&R rep for the locally-based label Om Records, he created the Kaskade alias and refined his production skills. Beginning with his 2003 debut It’s You, It’s Me, Kaskade released three albums in three years on Om, and in 2006, he levelled up by signing to the famed dance label Ultra Records. His fourth LP, Love Mysterious, marked a transition away from his traditional house grooves to a more melodic, bolder sound. Kaskade went all in on that sound for his fifth studio album, 2008’s Strobelite Seduction, a late-night odyssey pulsing with hypnotic, progressive-house melodies and ethereal vocals (courtesy of Haley Gibby, SunSun, Becky Jean Williams and Tamra Keenan) which highlight heartfelt songwriting. The smoky “Angel On My Shoulder” fights the deceptive nature of addiction, creating a sense of urgency through brisk percussion and blaring background synths. “Step One Two” surges with electric energy in its ode to the dance floor as escapism, followed by the hauntingly nostalgic “Pose”, a tale of lost love illustrated by bass swells and windswept accents. In forging a new creative direction, Strobelite Seduction produced two singles considered Kaskade classics and some of modern dance music’s foundational songs. “Move for Me” and “I Remember”, both collaborations with a then-rising deadmau5, earned him his first No. 1s on the Billboard dance charts. They also introduced Kaskade to a larger audience even beyond the dance floor, thanks to “I Remember” appearances in video games, film and television. Though the EDM craze was yet to fully take hold by the album’s release, Kaskade’s well-timed breakthrough put him in position to capitalise on its looming ascent.