KAAZE – on fatherhood and the long road to success

By Signe Hansen | Photos supplied by Urban Rebel PR

What does life look like for one of the world’s top 100 DJs? Scan Magazine talks to Swedish DJ KAAZE, aka Mick Kastenholt, about fatherhood, staying mentally and physically fit through a demanding tour schedule and how, almost without noticing it, he slowly made his way to the top. If you thought that DJ’ing was all about parties and living like there is no tomorrow, think again.

Currently in the midst of his global Invincible tour, named after his recent single dedicated to his three-year-old daughter, the DJ, producer and songwriter has reached a level that most in his industry can only dream of. 12 years after creating his stage alias KAAZE, he is playing some of the most iconic venues and festivals in electronic music, from Ministry of Sound to Tomorrowland and Ibiza clubbing meccas Amnesia and Ushuaïa.

Yet his ascent has not come through one explosive breakthrough, but through steady, incremental progress – in a way that seems to reflect a quintessentially Scandinavian sense of persistence and groundedness. “I had to take the long road,” he says. “It was a very slow process for me, but also a very blessed one. I’ve seen so many careers rise and fall quickly. When it goes up fast, it often comes down fast too. I’m grateful that it took time, because that makes you more solid. Your roots grow deep.”

That slow build also meant there was no single moment when everything changed. Progress came gradually until the scale of what he had built became clear almost retrospectively. “One day, I took a step back, looked at what was happening and realised, wow, I’ve come this far without even noticing,” he says.

Over the years, that persistence has earned him a solid place on DJ Mag’s list of leading DJs and collaborations with some of the biggest names in the industry, including Calvin Harris, Steve Aoki and David Guetta. Last year, he could add a sold-out debut tour of North America to the list. Yet his proudest achievement, he says, happened far from the DJ booth.

KAAZE – on fatherhood and the long road to success

A different perspective

“Even though we’re talking about music, my first thought is my daughter,” he says, without hesitation, when asked about his proudest moment. In 2023, the year his daughter, Seven, was born, something also shifted in his career. “I truly believe that my daughter has had a massive impact on my career,” he continues. “My mindset as a businessman changed after she was born. I started looking at things very differently.”

Having worked his way up through the ranks of the world’s DJs with his progressive house and big-room electronic dance music, the early 2020s and the COVID pandemic gave him time and reason to pause and reconsider his vision. The result was a shift towards a darker, techno-leaning sound, while also bringing him closer to the roots of his original style and audience. The response was enthusiastic. In 2024, DJ Mag ranked him at no. 48, with his new style being described as “hot techno.”

“In terms of my career, I would say that my biggest achievement was when I went back to my root sound,” he says. “I moved a little closer to where I started and saw an incredible reaction. That was a major moment for me, because I could finally see my music speak for itself.”

KAAZE – on fatherhood and the long road to success

Working smarter, not harder

The arrival of his daughter made Kastenholm reconsider the structure of his career. His aim now is to work smarter rather than harder, allowing fatherhood to shape the pace of his professional life. In the midst of a tour taking him all over the world, from New Zealand to Hong Kong and New York, that means planning around the time he spends with her. “My tour schedule is very packed, but it’s planned so I’m always available when I’m supposed to have her, even if that means a lot of extra flights,” he says.

Being the father he wants to be when he returns home also means staying disciplined while touring. A committed fitness enthusiast, Kastenholm sees routine as essential to staying mentally and physically fit in a job built around late nights, long flights and festival stages. “I’m trying to build a good structure around my job so that I can be the best father and be 100 per cent myself when I’m with my daughter,” he says. “For me, that means not drinking alcohol, going to the gym every day and keeping that routine on tour. When I fly home to my daughter, I want to be fully recharged. I would never want to be hungover because of a show the day before.”

KAAZE – on fatherhood and the long road to success

A 360-degree experience

While KAAZE is now one of the world’s leading DJs, he can still walk down the street largely unnoticed in his home country. In fact, despite having played venues and festivals across the world, he has yet to perform officially as KAAZE in Sweden. “I was very inspired by Swedish House Mafia,” he says, “but I have never officially played in Sweden as KAAZE.”

Elsewhere, the picture looks different. His last performance at Ministry of Sound in London sold out, and ticket holders for his upcoming show on 29 May can expect something even more ambitious. “The growth in London has been really cool to see,” he says. “We sold out last time, and now we wanted to do something special with a 360-degree production. The booth will be in the middle of the club, with everyone around it, so it becomes more intimate and everyone feels connected while I’m DJing.”

At the same time, Kastenholm is preparing the launch of Se7en Records, a label named after his daughter. “It will be a credible label, and genre will not matter,” he says. “It will be about uniqueness. I don’t want to release track after track; I want to handpick each release and give it the attention it needs.”

For Kastenholm, the label also reflects the shift that fatherhood has brought to his career. His own profits from Seven Records, he says, will go towards savings for his daughter’s future. “Before my daughter was born, everything was driven by milestones and achievements, and wanting to become the biggest DJ in the world,” he says. “I still have those goals, but I look at them differently now. I was too focused on the results and not enough on the journey. That has been the biggest shift. I’m much more grateful now, and I’m enjoying the journey.”

KAAZE – on fatherhood and the long road to success