Customer Reviews

The Grand

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Kaskade has show his growth as an artist on this project....I just pray it does not go to his head. This CD is light years better than his last mix project "Bring the Night",which was a solid album.However, This album is simply heavenly. It manages to be chilled but at the same time so funky. You don't know if you know you want to get up and dance to it or enjoy a glass of wine with it, or maybe do both. A better title for this album would have been "100 grand" because it sounds like a million !

I've been into trance and house music for about two years now (ATB, Tiesto and Kaskade are my favorite trifecta) and Kaskade's "The Grand" is phenomenal. Has every type of track (heavy beats, trancy tunes and some really unique tracks I'd never heard before), and an amazing energy and emotion throughout the entire 1 hr 13 min set. And in all honesty, the last song of the set is worth every penny... almost made me want to cry when it finished off the CD. I recommended it to all my friends who are into electronic music and they all adored it as well. Great Album, and a 10/10 with 8/10 being the next best thing that I've heard.

I love house and what I really love about this mix is that it has a lot of great vocal tracks that all have a unique sound but each song can stand on its own. The best tracks are "Imagination" by Jess and Need me to Stay" by Tommy Trash feat. Mr. Wilson with my favorite being the later. Good music for a well rounded house collection.

I own all of Kaskade's albums and they just keep getting better and better. For all Kaskade fans this is a must buy!!!

I believe this album is the best one Kaskade has released yet. "This is how it goes", Imagination, & "Step One Two" are solid tracks. Highly recommend if you are a Kaskade fan!!

I bought this when it was first released almost 2 years ago, I play it often and I'm still not tired of it. That's testament to how awesome these mixes are. This CD is great for road trips or even just everyday driving. It's hard not to dance to all the songs. Everyone I know who's heard the album is a fan. Even my husband who is more into jazz and rock music loves it! Don't think twice - buy it!!!

One of my favorite albums to drive to on any given night. First had a digital download copy, but decided to purchase the original for its great sounds.

Introduction
The Grand is a compilation of the work of Kaskade and many of his collaborators. Interestingly, it still follows the standard vibe of Kaskade the artist, but the album exudes a slightly more modern tone with a greater musical variety. Kaskade has been part of the technosonic music scene for many years, and his experience in the genre is apparent with every mix on The Grand album. The use of female vocals mixed with progressive dance and fusion makes this discography musically rich and offers something new to electronic music.

Background
The Grand, has been a relatively successful album since its release, however, it has not been one of Kaskade's best selling. The album is so diverse because of the amount of collaborators that are present, that Kaskade fans are almost forced into listening to alternative artists they may not like as much. I believe that this is the main cause of the lack of sales, even though I believe that the album is still a great musical work. All of the tracks together form a coherent whole and provide the listener with a large amount of musical variety in dance music. However, the album still follows Kaskade's approach to modern electronic music and although many collaborators are present, the music is still easily identifiable by those who have listened to Kaskade in the past.
On the other hand however, The Grand is anything but another collection of random music by an artist just put out in order to sell more albums. It features tracks that made Top 100 lists in various countries around the world, including both the United Kingdom and the United States of America. As previously mentioned, Kaskade collaborated with many artists, most notably Deadmau5, who is featured in a Top 10 single entitled Move For Me.
Also, musically speaking, The Grand has a variety of layered beats and rhythms throughout many of the tracks. These all create interesting harmonies, when juxtaposed against Kaskade's vocal tracks and the bass beats that are added by the remixing DJ's. These tracks are reminiscent of the work of David Guetta and Armin van Buuren, but at a much more subdued rate with a greater focus on vocal harmonies. As such, in my honest opinion, this album is the epitome of what style of music Kaskade embodies; mellow, yet musically diverse and audibly pleasing.

Evolution & Historical Influence
The Grand album clearly has a musical foundation in early electronic music, but it simultaneously explores new avenues within the genre of modern dance. Although the use of computers and synthetic beats is prominent due to the collaborating DJ's, natural elements within the piece are still present, including the vocal harmonies and various subtle background instruments. Kaskade has always been able to use a variety of pitches and vocal effects to help distinguish his music from the masses, and some of the sounds from a variety of tracks can be traced back to the first music concret samples and FM synthesis recordings. Furthermore, the album, in standard Kaskade fashion, utilizes heavy sample processing, which only proves the enormous amounts of time that the album has invested in it.

Conclusions
In conclusion, The Grand, is a very original soundtrack with clear elements from historic electronic music. The album embraces the modern dance genre, but Kaskade still manages to introduce his own personal flare to the album through his work with the collaborating DJ's. Furthermore, his new album is set apart from past work, because it incorporates collaborations from musical giants such as Deadmau5, and features some original tracks that helped Kaskade reach fame. All in all, this is a fine example of the music of Kaskade and I hope that future albums will be as good as this one.

I love this guy. I listen to this album on my long runs. Good beat to run to. The songs are mixed together well so you don't realize that the next song is playing. Before you know it the album is over and so is your work out. Like most of Kaskade's stuff the vocals are chill and not overpowering like some other dance/trance/techno/electro music.

POINT BLANK: If you're a fan of Kaskade, or just good dance/club music, you've got to get this album! I didn't think it was possible, but this album is right up there with Strobelite Seduction, if not hotter!

This album is filled with solid lyrics perfectly married with thick, rich beats and crispy smooth basslines, delivered with those hypnotizing tempos and mesmerizing melodies Kaskade is known for. I've been pumping this album non-stop every since I bought it!

Hands down, this is a solid "must-buy"!