Kaeno's Stunning New Album: An Emotional Journey Through Trance Music That Redefines Classic
- Treavor Alvarado
- 7 minutes ago
- 14 min read
Kaeno’s latest album arrives as a rare gem in the trance music scene. It goes beyond typical electronic beats to offer a deeply emotional and immersive experience. This album is not just a collection of tracks; it is a carefully crafted journey that connects with listeners on a personal level. Drawing from his own life and passion for trance, Kaeno has created a work that feels raw, precise, and timeless.
Kaeno, emerging from Florida's underground music scene, has crafted an album that stands as one of the most epic and cohesive trance projects in recent memory. With a career spanning 25 years, Kaeno blends techno with emotional trance, maintaining a deep underground vibe that few trance artists achieve today. Nefarious Things, on The Vanishing Point Recordings, is more than just an album; it is a carefully constructed journey that captures the essence of trance’s golden age while pushing the genre forward.
Trance Golden Age
The 90s trance scene is often regarded as the genre’s golden age, known for its hypnotic rhythms and emotional depth. Kaeno channels this era’s spirit throughout Nefarious Things, creating tracks that pull listeners into a trance-like state. The album’s hypnotic quality is evident in songs like Liberity City, which uses minor chords to explore the balance between light and darkness. This track invites listeners to experience the emotional depth of trance, feeling the shadows while surrounded by light.
This approach reflects what trance music is truly about: connecting with the deepest emotions through sound. Kaeno’s ability to evoke such feelings sets this album apart from many recent releases that often lack emotional resonance.
Standout Tracks That Define the Album
Each track on Nefarious Things serves a purpose and contributes to the album’s overall narrative. The opening track, Nefarious Things, sets the tone with a cinematic opening and unfiltered trance energy. It prepares the listener for a journey through sound that is both underground and emotionally charged.
Another highlight is 30 Seconds, a collaboration with John Long. This track showcases progressive uplifting trance. It combines melodic progression with driving beats and angelic vocals, creating a soundscape that is both uplifting and immersive.
The album also features Overtown, which blends tech-trance elements with emotional depth. Staying true to the underground theme, this track balances intensity with feeling, making it perfect for both dance floors and personal listening.
Collaborations That Enhance the Experience
Kaeno’s collaborations with artists like Truby, Derek Ryan, John Long, Nite Market, and Christine Ekeberg add layers of richness to the album. These partnerships bring diverse influences while maintaining a cohesive sound. Each collaborator contributes to the emotional and technical complexity of the tracks, enhancing the album’s overall impact.
Drawing from Personal Experience
Kaeno’s lived experience shines through every note. Instead of relying on generic themes, he channels his own emotions and memories into the music. This authenticity gives the album a raw quality that many electronic records lack. Listeners can sense the honesty and vulnerability behind the sounds.
This personal touch makes the album relatable and powerful. It connects with the listener’s heart, evoking feelings that are both intimate and universal. The emotional journey Kaeno offers is one that many will find meaningful and memorable.
One of the most impressive aspects of Nefarious Things is its consistency. There are no filler tracks; every song is crafted to be dance floor-ready and emotionally engaging. This makes the album appealing to a wide range of trance lovers, from those who appreciate classic trance sounds to fans of more modern, tech-infused styles.
Setting a New Standard for Trance Producers
Kaeno’s dedication to trance music shines through every element of Nefarious Things. The album delivers a clear message, a distinct sound, and a focused mood that few producers achieve. It raises the bar for trance production by combining technical skill with emotional storytelling.
This project is a reminder that trance music can still captivate and move listeners deeply. Kaeno’s work encourages producers at all levels to focus on creating music that connects on an emotional level while maintaining underground authenticity. We caught up with the legend for an exclusive interview, and this is what he had to say.
Treavor:
We're thrilled you took the time to chat with us! Your album is incredible, a massive congratulations! This exciting interview is proudly brought to you by Loopmaster, the
ultimate platform for DJs and producers! Tell me all about the electronic scene where you live, in Florida?
Kaeno:
Hi Treavor and Loopmasters, thank you for having me. The electronic music scene in Florida was truly next level. In the late 90s and early 2000s, Simons in Gainesville was a powerhouse, with promoter and artist Jimmy Van M bringing in legends like Sasha and John Digweed, Tall Paul, Paul van Dyk, and so many others.
Orlando had its own identity with Firestone, where Breaks and Drum & Bass dominated the culture. Then there was Miami, which evolved into the Trance and House capital, shaped by artists like Oscar G and Ralph Falcon of Funky Green Dogs, David Padilla, George Acosta, David Alexander, Edgar V, Dr. Psychosis, DJ Concepts, Groove Eric, Denzo, and countless more.
Miami was all hustle. You had to build your own crew, and I was part of Tryp2Nite and HOS, promoting for Dreamteam and a handful of others before eventually collaborating with David Alexander. Together, we formed NXE and began throwing our own raves and establishing our club residencies. Miami was a true melting pot of sound and culture, and that energy shaped my career and my musical direction from 1998 to this very day.
Treavor:
Before we get to the album, let’s start from the beginning. Who are the people who inspired you musically? When did you realize music was your passion? How did you first get
into music? And specifically, Electronic music?
Kaeno:
My father was the first person who introduced me to music. We used to go record shopping together, and he had an incredible collection from his years in the U.S. Marines during Vietnam. He brought music home from all over the world, especially funk and soul. He showed me how to work his Kenwood belt-driven turntable, and every Friday, my mother, my little sister, and I would have dance parties while cleaning the house. Those are some of my earliest and happiest memories.
Music was always in my life, but electronic music took hold of me during my high school years. The Venga Boys, Thunderpussy, Johnny Vicious, George Alvarado, those sounds pulled me into a whole new world. David Alexander taught me the ropes, but it was George Alvarado and “The Late Night Laboratory” that opened the door to Trance and raw Detroit Techno. That changed everything.
Nefarious Things is the most personal body of work I’ve ever created. This album carries pieces of my life that I’ve never fully shared before. It holds the heartache of losing my father, the weight of the relationships that shaped me, the darker moments, the small victories, and the silence I’ve carried as someone who has been part of this industry for decades but has rarely been seen for who I truly am. This album is my story, finally told in my own voice.
Treavor:
I love the album, it’s fantastic. It’s really cohesive. Nefarious Things is one of the best pieces of art I have heard in years. You mention the album was deeply personal. Can you elaborate more on that?
Kaeno:
When my father passed, something shifted in me. As I went through his belongings and heard his voice in old recordings, I began uncovering the pain and strength he carried quietly his entire life. That grief became the emotional backbone of this album. Tracks like Semper Fi were born directly from those moments, where the lyrics, the atmosphere, and the soundscapes became a way for me to process everything I was feeling. It wasn’t just about writing a song; it was about telling his story and honoring the man who shaped mine.
The album also reflects the relationships that have defined my life, the good ones, the painful ones, the ones that made me question my place in the world, and the ones that pushed me to grow. Some of the lyrics come straight from real conversations, heartbreak, and breakthroughs. Every melody, every chord, and every drop carries a memory.
This album is personal because it is me, fully unmasked. It’s everything I’ve survived, everything I’ve created, and everything I’ve refused to compromise. It is the truth behind the shadows I’ve lived in for so long. With Nefarious Things, I’m not asking to be recognized.
I’m simply showing you who I’ve always been. I’m a product of the '90s Rave Era. Artists like The Crystal Method, 808 State, The Prodigy, Union Jack, Mike Push, Dumonde, Cosmic Gate, David Forbes, Mark Sherry, Scot Project, Mark Norman, Rank 1, Red Jerry, and the entire Gatecrasher and Ministry of Sound movement all helped shape the sound I carry today.
Back then, I lived at the record store, Grooveman Music on Miami Beach. Edgar V always had a stack of vinyl waiting for me. I didn’t even need to listen before buying them, because I knew every one of them would be a weapon in my sets. Labels like ID&T, Additive, Overdose, DMD, F8te, and so many others fueled my early years as a DJ and defined what I would later create as an artist. With Nefarious Things, I wanted to bring that era back, but with a vengeance and a modern twist, while staying true to the genres that raised me: Trance, Techno, and Tech Trance. My goal was to take the listener on a journey through my evolution, to show how all these influences weave together and immerse into one unified sound.
The way the album starts and ends reflects exactly how I perform. The kicks, hi-hats, percussion loops, and FX are carried through each track, always slightly different but connected, shifting with the energy and tempo of the story. It’s one Nefarious journey, one full story, from beginning to end.
Treavor:
Let’s dive into the production of the album! I’m a huge fan of trance. In fact, it’s the genre that got me started in this industry. I am really fond of the golden era of trance, the
90s, and I believe you have just started a new golden age of trance with Nefarious Things. How did you go about the production of the album? It’s really well thought out from beginning to end. What was the process in bringing every track together? And did you have the sound design in mind before you even created this album?
Kaeno:
Nefarious Things opens the album with an intro mix designed as a cinematic score. I wanted it to feel rooted in classical cadence but fused with haunting techno textures, progressive tension, and melodic movement. The track blooms into a hard-hitting groove and riff, the type of moment you would drop at the peak of the night, right after the opening DJ has set the foundation for the dancefloor.
Overtown, Liberty City, and Carol City form one continuous body of work, each track progressing into the next. They begin with the stripped-back grooves of techno, evolve into tech-trance energy, and finally open up fully in Carol City, where the melody and vocal samples become clear and intentional. These three tracks were heavily inspired by Goldie’s “Saturnz Return,” his 1998 25-minute masterpiece that evolves slowly in sound, mood, and energy. That album became the soundtrack of my bus rides to art school in Miami, and it shaped how I understood progression in music.
Traveling every day meant passing through some of Miami’s most historic yet underserved communities. Overtown was raw and unfiltered, the heart of Miami’s African American community. As gentrification pushed families outward, the culture, talent, and energy migrated into Liberty City, MLK Boulevard, the Pork & Bean Projects, and the home of the legendary Sugar Hill DJs. This area was known for hosting some of the biggest, most influential DJ battles Miami had ever seen.
That culture and electricity eventually made its way into Carol City, where I grew up. Back then, it was the suburbs, quiet enough that I had to be home before the streetlights came on, but still shaped by the pulse of the neighborhoods around it. You can hear that contrast in the track, subtle nature accents coming through in the breakdown, the calm after the storm, the sky opening up after passing through darker clouds. It mirrors how Goldie captured atmosphere and environment in “Saturnz Return.”
When all three tracks, Overtown, Liberty City, and Carol City, are mixed together, they become one unified story. Anyone who grew up in Miami knows the history and tension between these communities, yet they are connected by one main artery, 27th Avenue, which runs straight through them. Driving from north to south, you can feel the shift in environment, the shift in culture, and the stories embedded in each block. This trilogy is my homage to those cities, to their soul, their struggle, their beauty, and how they shaped
me as an artist and as a person.
Treavor:
You know your trance very well, and you have been supported by some of the biggest DJs in the trance world. You managed to blend driving techno and emotional trance throughout the album? It’s brilliant, not to mention that no song is the same, but they all intertwine together.
Treavor: What scale is your favorite? Or does that depend on the emotion you want to convey?
Kaeon:
I’ve always loved working in minor keys because they give the music an edge, a certain kind of emotional energy that pulls you in. I mix and perform the same way, by telling a story. The entire album was designed with that mindset: How would I play this live? What would a DJ do in this moment? That thought process guided the flow and the structure of every track.
I wanted to strip away all preconceived expectations and pull the listener directly into my world, shifting from dark to light, from tension to release, and then diving back into the shadows again. The album moves the same way my sets do, with intention, movement, contrast, and emotion. I’ve always wanted my music to tell a story, not just for the sake of storytelling, but because it reflects everything I’ve lived and everything I’m still working through.
In my sets, I don’t rely heavily on lyrics because so much vocal music today feels like it lacks genuine soul or emotion. But on this album, every vocal moment has purpose. I wrote each one with intention, and I chose the right voices to help express parts of my journey. Every track is tied to a moment in my life or a challenge I had to face, and you can feel that in the words, the atmosphere, and the emotion behind them.
Treavor:
You showcase a couple of deep and emotional vocal trance tracks, such as Lost In Echoes. Did you have the lyrics first, or did you have the instrumental laid down first? And how did you guys go about the production of the vocals?
Kaeno:
The first vocal track on the album, Lost In Echoes, was co-produced by Derek Ryan and me. I’m the creative director for Derek and Sach’s label, Ascent Recordings, and while I was designing Derek’s album artwork, he sent over all his tracks so I could understand the direction. One track immediately stood out to me: This Space, a song in which Derek himself was the vocalist. I had the honor of remixing it, and from that moment, I knew I wanted him on my album.
I wrote the lyrics for Lost In Echoes while I was in Amsterdam for ADE, sitting alone in my hotel room early one morning. I felt lost in the city's shadows. Being alone in another country during a music festival weekend can overwhelm you in ways you don’t expect. Yes, I have friends and close colleagues in the industry, but those late-night walks back to your hotel, when it’s just you and your shadow, force you to confront yourself. In that moment, I realized I had always been living in the shadows: becoming what the world expected me to be, what someone wanted me to be in a relationship, or what a job demanded of me.
For this entire album, I wrote all of the lyrics and intentionally sought out new vocalists with no past ties to the trance genre. I wanted fresh, raw, unfiltered voices, artists who, like me, weren’t molded by the expectations of this scene. I sent each vocalist the lyrics and the instrumental and let them express the song in their own style. I never placed restrictions on anyone. I wouldn’t want those restrictions placed on me. All I asked was that they stay true to the lyrics, because these songs are my story, and I wanted the world to feel every part of it.
Teavor:
You keep surprising us. Call My Name has a lot of circuit music undertones. How did that come to be?
Kaeno:
Call My Name was a collaboration with one of the most talented up-and-coming techno producers, HiWater (Dave Correa). Dave and I have been friends for over 11 years — raving together, playing sets across New York City, and inspiring each other creatively over the years. I’ve been supporting his new sound in all of my warm-up sets because his raw energy, heavy underground techno and trance influence, and melodic flow make him stand out in a powerful way. When we started working on this track, it was clear that our styles blended effortlessly. I sent the vocals to Olya Gram, and she delivered an incredible, heartfelt performance over the instrumental. The moment her voice hit the track, Call My Name came alive.
Treavor:
Flightpath with Truby is another outstanding track; it really showcases the best in harmonic trance, and I love that break with those emotional pads. It really feels sad and angelic at the same time. It really adds depth to the music. This is something you do very well. How long did it take you to really hone in the art?
Kaeno:
Sean Truby is an incredible producer. Working with him feels like talking to a version of myself, we just understand each other. We both come from the same lineage of sound, shaped by the raw trance and techno of the late 90s and early 2000s. It takes more than 30 years immersed in music to develop that kind of cadence, instinct, and unspoken communication.
I approach music theory the same way I approach designing artwork, cooking in #KaenosKitchen, or playing a club set. It always begins with a solid foundation. Nothing over-seasoned, nothing overcrowded, just the essentials, evolving and layering over time until everything blends perfectly. That philosophy is rooted in how I was taught to produce by Denzo (Andres Arango) and David Forbes, two artists who shaped the way I think about structure, rhythm, and sound design.
To me, a great track is built like a conversation. You start with a question, then respond with an answer. It’s the push-and-pull dynamic, tension and release, that creates emotional movement. That is the essence of how Sean and I work together, and why the music feels so natural when we collaborate.
Treavor:
What are your favorite plug-ins that you can't live without?
Kaeno:
My favorite plugins are u-he Diva, Massive, Sylenth, Spire, Massive and Codex Wavetable Synth.
Treavor:
What's the one piece of hardware you absolutely need in your studio?
Kaeno:
Virus Ti hands down
Treavor:
What advice would you give to an up-and-coming producer?
Kaeno:
Make music for yourself. Yes, there will be a learning curve, but stay true to your authentic self. Don’t try to fit into a mold, don’t bend your sound to appease an A&R, and don’t change who you are just to get signed or accepted into a particular circle. Today, there are countless platforms and outlets for releasing your music and connecting directly with your audience.
Build your own community.
Stay consistent, stay focused, and stay rooted in the sounds and passions that define you. Once you stop chasing praise and external validation, you begin to understand your music on a deeper level, and that’s when everything starts to flow naturally.
I’ve built my foundation in this industry completely on my own. Every success and every failure is mine to claim. There’s no blame, no excuses, no finger-pointing, only the person staring back at me in the mirror.
Treavor:
Thank you so much for your time, and a huge congratulations on your album. We're absolutely thrilled and can't wait to see you in 2026!
Final Thoughts on Nefarious Things
Calling this album the “album of the year” might not fully capture its impact. It is a body of work that will likely stand the test of time. Kaeno has redefined what it means to create a classic in the trance genre by combining emotional storytelling with expert production.
The album’s rawness and depth challenge the often polished and formulaic nature of electronic music. It proves that trance can be more than just energetic beats; it can be a profound artistic expression. This release sets a new standard for quality and emotional connection in the genre.
Nefarious Things is a rare album that successfully bridges the past and present of trance music. It honors the genre’s roots while offering fresh, innovative sounds that keep the listener engaged from start to finish. Kaeno’s mastery of emotional trance and techno fusion results in a project that is both impressive and inspiring.
