Back to the future with electronic music duo Catz ‘N Dogz in London
ON Friday March 22, the Southbank Centre, London hosts a screening evening of unique films that explore the links between rave culture and contemporary art in Poland in the 1990s.
Following the screenings from 9pm, Concrete Lates x Rave: Recharge take over Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer, with DJ sets from Catz ‘N Dogz, GW Harrison and Blanka Barbara.
Grzegorz Demiañczuk and Wojciech Tarañczuk have had an illustrious and prolific career as the house outfit Catz ’N Dogz. With foundations in house and techno, and an origin story as best friends playing in a pizza restaurant turned nightclub in their hometown, they mix elements of bright disco and deep house, sexy vocals and bold, spoken phrases. This stylish aesthetic has landed them in line-ups in the best spots worldwide, from Miami to Ibiza to Berlin.
We caught up with the duo to find out more about Polish rave culture ahead of the event this Friday and they have recorded an exclusive mix for which you can listen to below as you read our interview with them.
How has the evolution of Polish rave culture influenced your musical journey?
The evolution of Polish rave culture has had a profound impact on our musical journey as DJs. Growing up in Poland, we witnessed the emergence of rave culture in the late 80s and 90s, and it ignited a passion for electronic music within me that has only grown stronger over the years.The communism was over, there was nothing and in one moment there was everything. In those early days, Polish rave culture was all about rebellion, freedom, and expression. It provided an escape from the constraints of everyday life and allowed young people like us to immerse ourselves in a vibrant and energetic subculture. The music, the atmosphere, the sense of community – it all left a lasting impression on us.
Your music incorporates a diverse range of styles. How do you balance these influences in your production?
We are a music duo, we were celebrating 20 years of our friendship and career. Both of us have different musical roots, Wojciech was producing hiphop. I was starting with deephouse. When we started in 2004 we were producing and playing minimal techno. That was also one of the reasons we changed our name after a few years from 3 Channels to Catz ’n Dogz. We didn’t want to be connected only with one style of music. Also it’s more challenging for us to produce different styles and connect them in our sets, surprise people and take them on a journey. Our motto is music not genres. Staying open to good music is really important for us. We usually skip between genres when we get bored with one.
The Southbank Centre event is a significant cultural showcase. How will you curate your set to complement the films and the festival’s theme?
We have been doing this for 20 years and we still love to DJ, look for new music, surprise people with music they didn’t expect to hear, play some unreleased or rare tracks. We have done some edits from the old Polish and UK rave tracks and will mix them together with new tracks that are important for us acapella.
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Reflecting on techno’s role in 1990s Poland, how do you see electronic music as a force for cultural and political change today?
It’s definitely something different now than back then. Social media is now the strongest transformative and influential force. But music is still a powerful example of the transformative potential, maybe nowadays it’s more hip hop than electronic music back then. We are working at the moment on a compilation connecting Polish LGBTQ+ artists. We and artists involved will donate 100% of the compilation income to support same-sex marriage in Poland. Electronic music was always about the pure essence of freedom.
With such a vast global presence, how do you stay connected to your Polish roots in your music and performances?
It’s a lot of fun for us to be honest as Polish music is not that popular and there are so many good tracks. Polish Jazz, Polish pop, indie… We often do some edits and play them all over the world. We also did 2 years ago an album, the first time 100% with Polish vocals, connecting electronic music and hip hop.
Looking ahead, can you give us a sneak peek into any upcoming projects or collaborations that excite you?
We are working right now on a compilation, in the meantime we are working in the studio on new original tracks, remixes and curating our record labels Pets and Step. This year looks also very busy with touring. We are really happy that things are getting back to normal after the covid break and people still love music and dancing.