Cascada - Studio 24 (2024)

Twenty years on from the release of debut single Miracle, expectations were high for Cascada to mark the milestone in one way or another…
But after a 13-year gap, this month instead sees them return with a brand new studio album that looks even further to the past with a celebration of New York’s legendary Studio 24 nightclub.

Historically a collaboration between vocalist Natalie Horler and writer/producers Manuel Reuter and Yann Peifer, this time around she joins forces with Christian Geller in something of a slate-cleaning exercise that, while honouring the past, reestablishes Cascada as a contemporary pop act outside of the Y2K dance floor.

Opening with lead single Ain’t No Mountain High Enough – written by Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, and best known as a solo hit for Diana Ross – it’s a strong indication of the record, which sees Horler ease into the role of disco diva. Across 15 songs, she takes on another Ross staple in the shape of The Supremes’ You Keep Me Hangin’ On, along with hits by Chaka Khan (I’m Every Woman), Thelma Houston (Don’t Leave Me This Way) and Cheryl Lynn (Got To Be Real), all of which sound strikingly fresh.

A discoed-up remake of Blondie’s Call Me works surprisingly well, as does a Stars On 54-leaning version of Gordon Lightfoot’s If You Could Read My Mind, and although the album takes few risks and remains faithful to the original recordings, it spotlights Horler as one of modern dance music’s strongest vocalists.

For many years, remakes of songs like Truly Madly Deeply, What Hurts The Most and How Do You Do resulted in the misconception of Cascada as strictly a covers act, but while the No. 1 smash Evacuate The Dancefloor put paid to that, this time around the singer plays an active role in writing on the album’s three originals, including the brooding Murder and Playing For Keeps, which kicks off with a not-so-subtle Donna Summer/Giorgio Moroder I Feel Love-influenced riff.

As covers collections go, the concept is neat, and although certain cuts (Earth, Wind & Fire with the Emotions’ Boogie Wonderland, the Jackson 5’s Blame It On The Boogie) come over as sounding slightly more dated than the other material, their inclusion is warranted as a cohesive overview of the golden era

It’s a hefty set that could be condensed to 12 songs without losing its sparkle, but when it comes to glitter ‘Studio 24’ delivers in abundance, not least of all on the closing number and title song, with its rallying call ‘Quit your crying, get yourself on the floor / No need for hiding, I wanna give you more’ perfectly capturing the ethos of the album.