CAT
GADGET

Is there a record whose discovery you still remember vividly, and which keeps finding its way into your DJ bag? What connects you to it?

There are quite a few! Depending on the direction a night is going to take, some records keep ending up in the case for a whole year. But I couldn’t say that I have “the one record” that always comes along.

Of course, I have a special connection to the very first record I ever bought: The Cure – Boys Don’t Cry, which I bought at a record fair in Vienna.

Your sets bring together EBM, electro and Italo disco, among other things. How do you know two tracks will fit together when they come from very different musical worlds?

Alongside playing in clubs, I really enjoy putting together guest mixes for podcasts and specialist labels. When I make a guest mix, I try to include as many tracks as possible that I’ve never played, or haven’t played for a very long time. Or I take a completely different direction from usual.

Over time, you develop a better feel for what works together across different genres and decades. Still, sometimes two tracks don’t fit at all, even though I would have sworn they would. And a few months later, I don’t always like a mix as much as I did when I made it.

Spending that much time with the records helps when I pack for a gig: I already have a clearer idea of what I might play, so I can pack accordingly. But I still have the freedom to do everything completely differently from what I planned once I’m playing.

You organise Grufti Groove with Užas! What was missing in Graz when you started, and did anything develop at the first nights that you hadn’t expected?

My first nights out as a teenager were at goth events in Vienna. Bands such as Nitzer Ebb, Skinny Puppy and Front 242 have remained favourites ever since. I don’t look particularly goth, and I play different genres as a DJ, too.

I missed being able to play in that direction without constantly wondering whether it fitted the occasion. I think Užas! felt similarly. Because DJing is one of many hobbies for both of us, unfortunately there has only been one Grufti Groove this year. But we will definitely be back with it next year.

At the first Grufti Groove, we realised we should divide the night into before and after midnight. More post-punk, ’80s music and classics beforehand, then harder sounds and more recent productions afterwards.

You are part of the Grrrls DJ Crew. Was there a moment with the crew when you dared to try something as a DJ that you might not have felt ready to do alone?

Without the Grrrls DJ Crew, I wouldn’t have had nearly as many opportunities to play. Especially in the early years, not much would have happened without Grrrls.

Learning to play records is a very long process — at least for me! I also wouldn’t have the opportunity to organise an event such as Goth Night Out on 7 November.

Imagine someone coming to Goth Night Out for the first time on 7 November, without knowing anyone there. What would you tell them, and what would you hope they take home from the night?

I hope everyone goes home with a good feeling!