Rave Culture and Contemporary Art: Exploring the Polish Connection
The Evolution of Polish Rave Culture: A Musical Journey
Polish Rave Culture: A Catalyst for Musical Passion
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.
Balancing Musical Styles: The Catz ‘N Dogz Approach
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 hip-hop. I was starting with deep house. 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.
Cultural Showcase: Curating a Set for the Southbank Centre Event
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.
Techno’s Role in 1990s Poland: A Force for Cultural and Political Change
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.
Global Presence: Connecting to Polish Roots Through Music and Performance
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.
Next Chapter: Exciting Projects and Collaborations
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.