There’s no denying that the mid to late 2000’s had some of the best dance music. It was carefree, a little cheesy, fun and had people lining up on the dance floor and singing on top of their lungs. German production trio Cascada were one of those massive names that continuously put out banger after banger and had you pressing replay and dancing the night away. Their massive hits “Everytime We Touch” and “Evacuate The Dancefloor” are still staple dance favourites in clubs worldwide and are genuinely songs you will never forget the lyrics to. The songstress will be finally heading down under for the first time in June for a massive tour of Australia. She will be headlining The Wild Nights Tour which also boasts a massive line up of dance favourites including DJ Sash!, DJ Aligator, N-Trance, Love Inc and Nick Skitz. I recently chatted to Natalie Horler from Cascada about finally touring Australia, how pop-dance music has changed over the years and the controversy surrounding her Eurovision performance in 2013. Check it out;
TB: You’re touring Australia for the first time this June so what can your fans expect from your live show? Can we expect to hear some of the old fan favourites like “Fever”, “Ready Or Not” or “How Do You Do” in the setlist as well as the hits?
C: We are still deciding on the finished setlist! We will most definitely be playing the hits that most people know but also some old favourites as well.
TB: Being your first time in Australia what are you most excited about seeing and doing?
C: I am very excited to see Australia for the first time and to be able to perform there is a dream come true. I‘m nervous as well though as it‘s a very long journey and I‘ve never played to an Australian audience before. I‘ll definitely need to read up on which sights I need to visit!
TB: It has been 7 years since the release of your last studio album. And pop-dance music has changed quite a lot since then so what can we expect new Cascada music to sound like? What have you been inspired by recently?
C: One of the main challenges is to find a good balance between your own sound, one that made us popular, one which people know us for and the sound of the time you‘re in. It‘s not always easy to guess what everyone is listening to. Dance music is a very fast paced genre in every way.
TB: When you are in the studio creating new music are you constantly thinking about the evolution of your sound? And what is the usual creative process between the three of you?
C: Normally we don‘t all work together at the same time. I work with Yann mostly and record with him. Manuel does the producing on his own in his own time.
TB: “Evacuate The Dancefloor” was a massive hit in Australia and all over the world. Where is the weirdest place that you’ve heard one of your songs played?
C: The weirdest places our music have been played is usually somewhere I haven’t been myself at the time. I often get told by my friends who are travelling the world that they have heard my music being played. One time some of our friends were in Bangkok and they heard a song of ours in a bar and another time a mate went to a huge open air festival in India and told us the same thing. It‘s crazy!
TB: It isn’t often that we hear German artists crossing over into the mainstream US, UK and Australian charts. And you’ve had some massive success worldwide with your singles. So what new German pop-dance act are you loving at the moment that you think we should check out?
C: I’m afraid I‘m not up to date with new artists at the moment. I tend to listen to the same things I‘ve always listened to. Sorry about that!
TB: The 2018 Eurovision Song Contest is just around the corner and in 2013 you represented Germany. So looking back, what was your favourite memory from that experience?
C: There are many memories I‘ll always have from that time and they‘re hard to put down on paper. Genuinely it was a lovely experience meeting and watching all these artists from different countries and cultures around the world come together. The whole thing is very international and it is a fantastic and humbling experience.
TB: There was some negativity surrounding your Eurovision entry single “Glorious” with some people making false claims that it was plagiarized. How do you deal with negativity like that as a group?
C: Everyone needs to deal with things like that in their own way. I for one am the only person in our group who is in the public eye so much. Which means I had to deal with the negativity head on. It wasn‘t nice but one has to get through it. The yellow press have rarely made anyone feel good!
TB: You have toured extensively across Europe over the years so what is the funniest or strangest touring experience you’ve had?
C: Oh goodness, there are too many to list! I‘ll need a while for that one *laughs*.
10. Lets play a little game when you answer these questions with the first thing that comes to mind.
TB: Most people think I…
C: Am german.
TB: My guilty pleasure song is…
C: “It’s Like That” by Run DMC
TB: When I think of Australia I think of…
C: Christmas on the beach.
TB: Most mornings I…
C: Get up early!
You can catch Cascada on tour in Australia this June for the Wild Nights Tour with DJ Sash!, DJ Aligator, N-Trance, Love Inc and Nick Skitz.
WILD NIGHTS TOUR DATES;
Friday 15 June – Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane
Saturday 16 June – Big Top Luna Park, Sydney
Thursday 21 June – HQ Complex, Adelaide
Friday 22 June – Trak Lounge, Melbourne
Saturday 23 June – Metro City, Perth