Minutes before Swedish DJ and music producer KAAZE hit the stage at The H Club SCBD, Jakarta, Indonesia, for the first time, the celebrated King of Hot Techno had a chat with Indonesia Expat to discuss his most recent gig, the future, and many more.
The atmosphere inside The H Club SCBD was pulsating with energy that Friday night, the 21st of November. The hippest and hottest Jakartans in the area were all waiting for KAAZE to grace their presence with his already world-renowned charisma and hypnotic setlist. Even the ones who might not necessarily be in tune with the electronic music scene could tell that the Swedish DJ, ranked among the Top 100 DJs of 2025 by DJMag.com, is poised to reach a bigger, electrifying stardom.
Little did they know that before KAAZE—real name Mick Kastenholt—hit the stage, he was joining me for a quick, yet profound conversation about Jakarta, a look back on his 2023 album MICK, his recent remix of Ricky Martin’s iconic salsa hit “Maria”, and his wish for being a “really good party friend” for the Jakarta revellers.
Hi Mick! So, how are you doing tonight?
I’m good, actually. I’m well rested. I haven’t toured since the beginning of September, so I’m a little bit extra energised to be back on the road again.
The last time you visited Jakarta was back in 2024. What has been your impression of Jakarta so far?
I love Indonesia in general. I’ve played Jakarta, I’ve played Bali, and I love them both. The people here are so friendly and nice, and for me, hospitality has always been the most important thing whenever I go on tour. And when everything is smooth and the people are nice, the show becomes better because of it.
This would be your first time performing at The H Club SCBD, Jakarta. How would you describe a DJ set by KAAZE?
The key to my sets is always going to be—and always has been—energy. I always try to keep a very high energy—with a little bit of sexiness and a little bit of groove—and try to create a wave. I like to go up, I like to go down, but for as long as I keep the energy up throughout the whole set. It’s kind of my motto.
As the renowned King of Hot Techno, many fans may have noticed that you are going on this more feral sound recently. It’s a bit wilder, a bit unpredictable, not so anthemic, and not so conventional. How would you describe your sound right now?
I think the easiest way to describe it—which a lot of fans don’t know—is that my path that I’m taking right now is a path I once took 20 years ago. When I started making music 19 or 20 years ago, I was creating and making very industrial techno music, more underground, and then I turned more melodic over the years. A couple of years ago, however, I wanted to find a little bit of that joy again. I felt a little bit repetitive in what I was doing, and it just felt very nice and fun to explore this current sound.
And then, I tried to implement, of course, new sounds and what I’ve done over the years into this so-called ‘hot techno’. Right now, I feel like the hot techno sound can be expanded. For example, I have a radio-type song coming up, which is more melodic, with one of the biggest DJs in the world and whose name I can’t disclose right now. This song is still uptempo and such, but on a completely different path. So I’m just trying to expand hot techno into something wider.
I would like to revisit a little bit of your album MICK, which was released back in 2023. Would you say that particular record is your ‘return to form’?
Not exactly. The reason why I named the album MICK was that it’s basically the music that I like to listen to as a private person. It has nothing to do with KAAZE. The album is not even dedicated to KAAZE. With MICK, I just wanted to make an album with proper songs that you can play in the car and just jam with it. So it was almost like a side project, a little bit.
And also recently, your remix projects have been very exhilarating, yet unpredictable. For instance, last year, you did a remix with Steve Aoki for Britney Spears’ “Toxic”. In October this year, you released a remix of Ricky Martin’s song “Maria”, which has celebrated its 30th anniversary. What was the process like? What made you decide to choose that particular song?
I chose Ricky Martin’s “Maria” because of an idea I once had lying around for the summer. Ibiza inspired it; I was going to play Ushuaïa Ibiza at that time. I was sitting in my hotel room, then my agent—who is also my best friend—came in and he was like, “You should finish that remix.” I was like, “I don’t know, I don’t know.” He was like, “We’re playing Ushuaïa tonight; it would fit perfectly!” I was like, “Okay.” So I tried it, then it went pretty viral on social media, then Ricky Martin himself DM’ed me. My manager linked up with Ricky Martin and his team, and the remix officially happened.
Sometimes that’s how the process goes. It was the same with Britney Spears’ “Toxic”. It was just a fun thing to put a spin on at first, and then all of a sudden, Britney Spears and her team got involved. Sometimes it’s good to just do things, throw them out there, and see what sticks.
You’re about to launch your very own record label, Se7en Records. At least for now, what can you tease about this particular record label?
Se7en Records is a project I’ve been working on for over one and a half years now. I’m still working really hard on it, finalising it. It’s going to be a label together with Warner and Spinnin’ Records. Se7en Records is a label where I want to take a new path in terms of a music label in the industry. I want to give artists and myself a spotlight that is not just from week to week. You see a lot of labels today, and how they would release six songs a week. My vision for Se7en Records, however, is a label that creates a concept for every music release, regardless of whether it’s mine or someone else’s.
It’s a little bit inspired, I would say, from [Swedish DJ and music producer] Axwell’s label Axtone Records. They would do this very customised artwork with a big promotion plan, as well as a long period of promoting one particular song with different remixes. Then, the side concept to my label is obviously Seven, my daughter. In the end, this label is dedicated to her.
I believe many of your fans are looking forward to more collaborations between you and Steve Aoki. Is there something that you can tease about the two of you for next year?
No. However, I can say that in exactly 28 days [on the 19th of December], there is going to be a new EP by Steve Aoki and KAAZE. We have three really cool, very hot techno-based songs on the EP. Very fresh and new-sounding. I’m very excited for that EP.
This is my last question: Considering that The H Club SCBD is one of the hottest clubs in Jakarta, by the end of the night, what do you hope these Jakartans remember you as?
A really, really good party friend. A friend whom they know that when they see me, they’re going to have the best time of their life.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length. All images are courtesy of The H Club SCBD.