SOUL IMAGO:hello Dj Cat, the first thing we would like to know is what do you do for a living? Do you live from your music?
dj cat:HALLO ALDER FALDER.I WORK FOR A PRINTING COMPANY.NO, BUT FOR IT.
SOUL IMAGO:
where do you come from?
dj cat:COMING FROM WHERE I’M FROM…“QUOTE ANTHONY HAMILTON“
SOUL IMAGO:What is the significance of your name?Dj Cat?Is there any story behind?
dj cat:IT’S SHORT, THERE FOR CATCHY…BUT SEERIIIOUSLY, THERE ARE TWO STORIES.
1.A FRIEND OF MINE HAD NOT ONE BUT TWO OF THOSE RARE SIAM CATS. WHEN HIS FAMILY BUILD A NEW HOUSE,
THEY ALSO HAD THE DECADENCE TO BUILD AN EXTRA CAT- TOILETTE IN THEIR HOME.ONE DAY I WAS THERE,
MAKING MUSIC WITH MY BUDDY,THOSE ARROGANT HOMETIGERS BOTH TOOK A DUMB IN MY OPEN BAGPACK INSTEAD OF USING THAT
RICH-ASS-CAT TOILETTE…I HAD TO THROW THE BAGPACK IN THE TRASH.LET’S SAY I COULD HAVE KICKED THOSE SHITTERS ASS,
BUT AS HUMAN AS I AM, WICH LEADS TO THE OTHER STORY, I DID NOT HARM THEM.
2. STORY: ONE DAY, SOME OTHER GUY TOLD ME A STORY, WICH MADE ME THINK OF THE FIRST AGAIN…HE TOLD ME, THAT AS A YOUNG BOY,
HE ONCE DIGGED A HOLE IN THE BACKYARD, BURRIED A CAT IN IT, LEFT ITS HEAD OUT OF THE GROUND AND DROVE THE CATS HEAD OFF WITH A LAWNMOWER.
JUST BECAUSE THAT CAT PISSED HIM OFF DAYS BEFORE. I WAS BLOWN AWAY. HUMANS, CATS, WHATEVER, FORGIVENESS IS THE KEY, I GUESS…YOU FEEL ME?
SOUL IMAGO:according to our information, you have played records with Dj Dollar Bill as many Americans were stationed in Germany.
YEAH, DJ DOLLAR BILL WAS GOING BY THE NAME OF „DANNY FRESH-HIP HOP SOLDIER“ BACK IN THAT DAYS. IT WAS THE TIME OF MY YOUTH. BACK IN THE YEARS,
AROUND 87, 89, I GOT ASKED IF I WOULD PLAY IN A CLUB CALLED „SOUND“ IN SCHWAEBISCH GMUEND, BECAUSE BEFORE THAT TIME, I WAS DOING THE WARM UP FOR A TOURDISCO
ROLLING SOUNDSYSTEM) GROUP CALLED „POWER STATION“. THEY PLAYED MOSTLY ROCK, METAL AND CHARTS. THEY LET ME PLAY MY RECORDS I FELT FRESH ABOUT BEFORE THEY STARTED
THEIR SHOW WITH SOUNDS LIKE FINAL COUNTDOWN…SOME ROCKERS THERE, SOMEHOW DIDN’T FEEL THE MUSIC I WAS DROPPING AND GET MAD AT ME.
FOR INSTANCE I PLAYED „WALK THIS WAY BY AEROSMITH AND RUN DMC AND THEY WOULD COME UP TO ME SAYING, YOU BETTER SHOULD STOP PLAYING THAT NIGGERSHIT…
ANYWAY, THE PERSHING II MISSILES, STATIONED IN OUR CITY NEARBY, WHERE ABOUT TO BUILD DOWN FOR GOOD.
DJ MIKE G. WAS PLAYING AT THE „SOUND“ AS RESIDENT, A YOUNG BROTHER WHO PLAYED ALL THAT MIAMI BASS STUFF, LIKE KJ AND THE FELLAS…HE PLANNED TO LEAVE THE CITY,
SO THEY WHERE LOOKING FOR A NEW RESIDENT. I LEARNED THE ROUTINES FROM MIKE TO KEEP THAT PLACE PACKED ON WEEKENDS. THERE WASN’T ALMOST ROOM LEFT TO WALK…
MIRRORS WHERE ALL WET FROM THE PEOPLES SWEAT. MOSTLY AMERICANS, TURKS, ARABS, GERMANS….ALL TOGETHER, VIBING ONE ROOM. AS I CAN REMEMBER, DJ DOLLAR BILL WAS THERE A LITTLE LATER AND WE SHARED THE SHIFTS…
SOUL IMAGO:What kind of records did you played back then and would you like to tell us more about that time?
dj cat:R N‘ B LIKE MIDNIGHT STARR, TEEDY PENDERGRASS, ETC… AROUND THAT TIME, NEW JACK SWING CAME ALONG. PLAYED A LOT OF THIS STUFF LIKE WRECKS IN EFFECT, GUY. BUT MOSTLY MIAMI BASS TYPE OF SOUNDS LIKE
MC SHY D, AFRIKA BAMBATA, ALSO PUPLIC ENEMY, DJ ROB BASE EZ ROCK, TO NAME A FEW. ALL 808 BASED MUSIC. NO HOUSE THOW
SOUL IMAGO:you certainly have some rarities in your record collection.Name 3 of your favourite plates and which artists have influenced you?
dj cat:MAY I DO.
THE KORGIS – EVERYBODY’S GOT TO LEARN SOMETIME
JOHN HENRY BARBEE – KOPENHAGEN RECORDINGS
MAMA CASS ELLIOT – MAKE YOUR OWN KIND OF MUSIC
FROM THE PRODUCER PERSPECTIVE I’D SAY, DE LA SOULS THREE FEET HIGH AND RISING. THAT WAS THE OPENER FOR MOST CRATE DIGGERS.
PUPLIC ENEMY FOR MAKING ME INTERESTED IN ALL THEIR SAMPLES THEY USED FOR THEIR SOUNDS.
IMAGINATION – ITS JUST AN ILLUSION . TO KEEP IT GROUNDED.
SOUL IMAGO:What do you think of the technical changes from analog to digital in the recent years?What makes a Dj a good one and which disciplines should he master?
dj cat:BEFORE I STARTED WORKING, I WENT TO A AUDIO ENGINEER SCHOOL FOR 18 MONTHS. I SAY, I LEARNED A LOT BUT IT IS ALWAYS A QUESTION OF PERSPECTIVE.
THE GOOD THING IS, EVERYONE WHO WANTS TO MAKE MUSIC, CAN DO IT WITHOUT SPENDING THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS…THE ONLY THING THAT MAKES ME CRY, WHEN I HEAR RIPPED 128K MUSIC IN A CLUB.
I GOT A RECORD BAG SAYIN‘ “ WHAT IS A DJ IF HE CAN’T SCRATCH“
IF A DJ CAN EXPRESS HIMSELF IN FRONT OF AND FOR PEOPLE AND IMPRESS THEM, MAKES THEM FEEL GOOD, THERE IS NO QUESTION FOR ME, WITH WHAT KIND OF EQ HE IS DOING IT. THERE IS NO ADVICE TO MAKE.
SOUL IMAGO:what do you think about the so-called german hip hop scene?Have you ever heard about artists like Casper or Cro?
dj cat:I AM SORRY, BUT I NEVER HEARD OF CASPER. CRO ROCKS IT LIGHT WEIGHT, I LIKE WHAT I HEARD SO FAR.
SOUL IMAGO:In your opinion, what’s missing from popular music?
dj cat:THE ORIGINALITY