DJ ready to bring summer sounds

He says "dude" enough to damn near qualify as a character in "The Big Lebowski."

Kaskade is a laid back, well, dude, but the superstar house DJ/producer/artist gets a bit more animated when speaking on the evolution of the city in which he's about to begin a summerlong residency.

"It was like this Mecca for really bad entertainment clubbing," he says of Vegas nightlife a decade ago. "It was just terrible. But Vegas has changed a lot. It's so much more international. The club scene in America has really blossomed over the last decade, and Vegas has been at the forefront of that. What's going on in London and Barcelona is the same thing that's happening in Vegas."

This will all be underscored beginning this weekend, when Kaskade (aka Ryan Raddon) begins a regular Sunday night stint at Encore's Beach Club, where he aims to bring to Vegas the summer party vibe of Ibiza, Spain.

"Every summer I go back and forth between here and Ibiza, and I'm like, 'Man, we have such an amazing scene here, it would be great to see somebody step up and really try and do some summer themed party,' " he says, noting that he became interested in attempting as much here after he saw the plans for the Encore pool. "I was like, 'What are you guys doing? This is amazing. This is totally going to change everything. I want to be involved as much as I can.' "

Kaskade's Encore gigs coincide with the recent release of his sixth disc, "Dynasty," a big sounding, vocal-centric album that's equally sensual and energized and whose wide-screen feel reflects Kaskade's changing life experiences.

"Ten years ago a big room for me was playing in San Francisco in some lounge, where now a big night for me is playing at Carnival in Rio to 2-3 million people," he says. "My sense of a really big party has completely changed, and that's definitely changed my sound. But I still want to have those quieter moments. It's about creating that tension and release."

But while the shows have grown larger for Kaskade, his Encore residency is a chance for him to return to the vibe of the days when his crowds were as understated as his sultry, soulful productions once were.

"The last two-three years I've kind of moved into more of a rock show, arena-type of thing, where this is different," he says. "What's cool about the Wynn is that since I'm going to be there so much, I'm not going to be able to rely on the same show all the time. It's about taking it back to the DJ roots and creating the soundtrack to the summer."

Contact reporter Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476.