It’s a plain fact – close friends Grzegorz and Wojciech have had a stellar and prolific career as the house outfit Catz ’n Dogz. The duo worked their way from humble beginnings to international acclaim, boasting performances at the hottest venues in Europe and abroad,
their own record label, chart-topping singles and LPs. Their discography includes the 2018 EP “The Feelings Factory,” Catz ’n Dogz’s thrilling return to Dirtybird Records. Spring 2019 saw the much anticipated release of their fourth studio album, “Friendship.” This album celebrates the friendship that has made Greg and Voitek’s collaboration so powerful, and features exciting collaborators like Kiddy Smile and Jono McCleery. In the past fifteen years, the Polish producers have grown exponentially as collaborators, captivating dance DJs, and supporters of contemporary electronic musicians.
Catz ’n Dogz have made a lasting impression on the electronic music community. Taking a firm lead in the Eastern European electronic music revolution, the pair have previously graced the cover of both Mixmag and DJ Mag Spain. They have held spots on such elite charts as the RA Top 100 and DJ Mag’s Top 10 Albums of 2015 for their LP “Basic Colour Theory.” Other accolades include a nomination for Best Track at WMC Awards 2013 with “They Frontin’ feat Monty Luke” and the title of “Producers of the Year” from Muno.pl. Clearly, Catz ’n Dogz continues to dazzle the dancers on the floor and the electronic music community at large.
The duo hasn’t stopped there. In addition to making music, they continue to spread the love with their label, Pets Recordings, its sub-label, Step Recordings, label nights, and Wooded, a microfestival. The Pets Recording catalog exhibits a wide range of electronic musicians, diverse in sound but alike in their ability to ramp up the dance floor. Catz ’n Dogz’s Step label takes a back-tothe-basics approach as a vinyl-only label. Here, they celebrate electronic music’s root functions and hardware tradition, embracing a grittier sound with some rough edges. Together, Pets and Step combined represent over 50 artists, including heavy hitters like KiNK and Eats Everything.
Szczecin, hometown to Catz ’n Dogz, is only 100 miles from Berlin, so naturally the two DJs were inspired by Berlin’s iconic techno sound from the beginning. Though Grzegorz and Wojciech recognize the significance of this influence, they resist pinpointing a primary source of inspiration. After all, their discography includes tracks of bright disco and deep house, samples of sexy jazz vocals and bold spoken phrases. The duo’s playfully innovative spirit is clear. When they were asked in an interview with Birdhouse: German or Detroit techno? they responded with Pets' manifesto: Music Not Genres. As Catz ’n Dogz demonstrate in their DJ sets, their musical ethos approaches sound through feeling, not category. When it’s too late for house and too early for techno, you might find something in-between bumping during a Catz ’N Dogz set, something that resists genre but invites movement and connection. Here, in this area between genres, Grzegorz and Wojciech are pushing boundaries as Catz ’n Dogz, and celebrating the diversity of house and techno music through their label, Pets Recordings.
Their innovative mixing ability is articulated through the wide range of collaborators on their albums. In their 2015 “Basic Colour Theory” alone, Catz ’n Dogz worked with indie greats like Peter, Bjorn and John, iconic rappers like Phat Kat, and fellow electronic legends like Green Velvet. These collaborations result in tracks with depth and feeling as Catz ’n Dogz seamlessly ties together seemingly disparate genres of music. It is not a surprise heavy-hitting DJs and pop stars alike have been inspired to add their own touch to Catz ’N Dogz’s work. “Basic Colour Theory,” that fifteen-track voyage through experimental sounds, went on to provoke a whole album of remixes in 2016, with new takes from Claude Von Stroke, Jamie Jones, Maurice Fulton, Anja Schneider and Jay Shepheard. “Basic Colour Theory Remixed” proves not only the enduring relevance of Catz ’N Dogz innovative LP, but also their irreplaceable spot in a global community of producers.
Catz ’n Dogz’s inspired, collaborative outlook on production is articulated by their own well-received remixes. Just this year, Catz ’n Dogz released an engaging reworking of Claptone’s “Under the Moon.” Grzegorz and Wojciech have also left their mark on Marlena Shaw’s “Woman of the Ghetto” in 2017, and Thomas Schumacher’s “Hush” in 2013, which held the #1 spot on the Beatport tech house charts for five consecutive months. Just as Catz ’n Dogz have looked beyond the range of techno musicians for their collaborations, they have reworked tracks by artists of multiple genres, including rock outfit Kings of Leon and pop icons Friendly Fires and Roisin Murphy. Catz ’n Dogz’s upbeat sound translates seamlessly from the home stereo to the dance floor. In addition to their stellar LP and EP productions, Grzegorz and Wojciech are renowned for their powerful DJ sets, the two skillfully reading the room and leading their audience on journeys into new worlds of sound. Their skillful DJ performances has made them a staple at some of the most prestigious festivals worldwide including SW4, Park Life, Bestival, Snowbombing, Electric Daisy Carnival, and BPM. One can also find them on set lists at the hottest clubs in Europe and abroad, like Panorama Bar in Berlin, Fabric in London, Smolna in Warsaw (where they are resident DJs), and many more.
With multiple projects in production, performance, and organization, Catz ’n Dogz have already left their paw prints on the global stage of electronic music. Even with these accomplishments, Grzegorz and Wojciech are not slowing down — in fact, the best is yet to come. It is safe to assume that Grzegorz and Wojciech will continue to bring out the animals in us all with their innovative, dance-inducing sound.
