Review: Prolific producer An On Bast (real name Anna Suda) first appeared on Pets Recordings this time last year, contributing a cut to their excellent Friends of Pets compilation series. Here the Ghost Kitchen regular delivers her first full EP on Catz "n" Dogz, an ear-catching affair containing four varied cuts. Compare and contrast, for example, the low-slung, tribal-influenced late night sweatiness of Afro-tinged stomper "Para" and the wonderfully deep, acid-powered mid-tempo chug of "Life In A Hammock". Suda's penchant for rising and falling, slightly psychedelic lead lines also comes to the fore on the rolling deep house goodness of spacey closer "Sway", while the bass-heavy shimmer of wonderfully melodious opener "The Ballet Began At Eight" is the EP's most striking moment by some distance.
Review: Madrid based Italian Bawrut follows up a run of great tracks on top labels such as Midnight Themes, Ransom Note and Multi Culti with this absolutely kickin' new release for Berlin based PETS Recordings. Across the Jomo EP's four tracks, you get treated to a deep trip aboard the acid express on the woozy "Desert Island", hear the drummer get wicked on the dusty shenanigans of "Piano & Piano" and going deep into the late night on the psychedelic madness of "Your Job Is My Job".
Review: Polish expats in Berlin Catz 'N Dogz launched their Pets Recordings imprint a while back and have become an unstoppable force in the current tech house climate. They now present newcomer Beton into the fold and while not much is known about the producer as yet, we can tell by this dynamic two tracker that he is on to big things. "Bruxelles" opens proceedings with this rusty and dusted down acid jacker that will appeal to retroverts digging the current Unknown To The Unknown or Delft style sound. Second offering "Voice 64" is more uplifting and energetic with its 808 drum roils, grinding monosynth arpeggio and druggy vocals geared for some tunnelling moments on the dancefloor during the wee hours.
Review: 2019 was a massive year for Pets Recordings with an impressive late run of releases from artists like Truncate, Mathias Kaden and Psychemagik. Belgian producer Beton opens the Polish label's 2020 account with this Dockside single, some three years after his debut opus via Pets Recordings back in 2017. Launching his own label Trek U that same year, with a release on Twin Turbo in 2018, too, Beton resurfaces with the sound of breaks and nostalgic rave in "Dockside", with its raw kick drum and liquid bass a super combi alongside playful synths and melodies. "Transmodal" on the flip looks towards old school trance and breaks again with touches of acid and cathedral atmospheres in this snare-heavy trip through the abyss.
Review: Toy Tonics regular Black Loops (real name Riccardo Paffetti) comes to Catz N' Dogz' label Pets Recordings with a four-tracker operating in that band of the musical spectrum where deep house and garage collide. The opening title cut is a sparse affair, essentially deep house in nature but with steppy, garage-y beats and vocal bites that sound suspiciously MC Neat-ish. 'Unity' is more heads-down with slamming, almost techno-style kicks and otherworldly synths, 'Keep A Secret' has the bumpin' feel of classic west coast deepness and finally 'Born In The 80s' is a pacier cut with more of those freaky-deeky synth sounds.
Review: For The Lovers marks a first appearance on Pets Recordings for longtime Toy Tronics and GRUUV sorts Black Loops. The Berlin-based Italian twosome start in confident fashion with "4 The Lovers", a near perfect fusion of dreamy, meandering chord progressions, punchy beats, mournful piano and bold, mind-altering sub-bass movements. It's pleasingly robust, but also delicate and attractive. Elsewhere, "Where My Girls At" sees them doff a cap to the bustling, swinging beats and cosmic electronics of classic Prescription Records material, while "Blomst" is a glistening, saucer-eyed shuffle into sunrise-friendly deep house pastures in the company of a dub-loving bassline freak.
Review: Cologne based musician and poet Bryan Kessler returns after some great music released on Get Physical, Numbers. and Sanfuentes recently. Four tracks of 'stone cold party denters', where like the title track says - "Party Like You're Not Alive". This rolling hip-house jam could easily raise the dead. It's backed by three more remarkable weapons, among them are "Trance Balance" with its moody bass-driven bounce and generous use of cowbells, followed by "Outsider's Dance Rhythms" which is a dark house epic featuring skeletal rhythms and a chunky bassline in the vein of early Chicago house classics.
Review: The list of remixers involved in this reworked version of Catz 'N' Dogz 2015 album Basic Colour Theory makes interesting reading. While the Polish duo has called on some big-name pals - Claude VonStroke, Fred Everything and Jamie Jones, for starters - they've also recruited some more left-of-centre talents, including Psychmagik and Polish contemporaries P'taki. The variety and depth of talent shines through from the start, with Fulton's synth-boogie interpretation of "Good Touch" making way for a lusciously deep and electronic mix of "Nobody Cares" by Karizma. Elsewhere, highlights include a rubbery tech-house take on "The Joy" from Anja Schneider, some sweaty, late night business from Eats Everything and Skudge, and Matthew Herbert's thrillingly wonky, Isolee style revision of "Good Touch".
Review: Grzegorz and Wojciech are back - has it really been ten years now that these guys have been plying their craft? Some would consider them legends now. The Polish via Berlin duo are back with a couple of sleek tech house cuts for their always reliable Pets Recordings imprint. "Opsi Bubsi"has just the right amount of bump and bounce to warm up crowds during the pre-peak time slot. Otherwise "Elixir" gets deep and atmospheric on that Crosstown Rebels esoteric vibe with layers of hypnotising pads doing most of the work over a low slung groove.
Review: As the matter-or-fact title suggests, this EP delivers fresh remixes of cuts from Catz 'N' Dogz bulging back catalogue. First to give the Polish outfit a thorough going over is Roman Flugel, who turns "Don't" into a melancholic mid-tempo dub-house shuffler rich in blissful electric piano chords, ricocheting echo effects and drifting vocal samples. Next, DJ Steaw delivers a fine deep house rub of "It's Happening" that fixes warm and dreamy elements to a typically bustling dancefloor groove, before Pional steals the show with a sparkling version of "Rave History" that sounds like late '80s/early '90s Pet Shop Boys after a four-day club session. Finally, LAWLER channels the essence of Danny Tenaglia for a big room-ready rework of "Keep On".
Review: Polish heavyweights Catz 'N' Dogz has had a quiet year by their usually prolific standards. It would be fair to say, though, that these two cuts have been worth waiting for. "It's Happening" is a warm, rich and groovy affair, with fluttering deep house notes playing second fiddle to a booming disco bassline, flanged vocal samples and huggable drums. "Our Crazy" feels dirtier and a little more intense, with restless arpeggio lines and nagging electronic percussion combining perfectly with the duo's deliciously dense, tribal-influenced drums and chiming, marimba style lead lines. It's the kind of track you whack on to raise the temperature on the dancefloor when things are flagging, and every DJ needs a few of those in the crates.
Review: More than a few misty-eyed ravers will go weak at the knees when they hear "New Love", the fine new single from Catz 'N' Dogz. Propelled forwards by a skittish breakbeat house rhythm smothered in turn-of-the-'90s style piano riffs, the track is the kind of retro-futurist treat that could have been made at any point over the last three decades. The Polish production pair delivers their own chunky, Balearic-minded Club Mix in which sun-kissed guitar riffs ride a thickset old school bassline, before Gerd Janson channels the spirit of Chicago hip-house originator Mr Lee on a rolling, '89-style revision. If that lot's not enough to set the pulse racing, the wild TB-303 acid lines and glassy-eyed synth stabs of Andrea Oliva's fine revision should do the trick.
Review: Friendship is the fourth artist album by Pets Recordings owners Catz'n'Dogz. Written and produced in the Spanish countryside, it sees the duo push the boundaries of modern electronic music. "There" combines robust, steely drums and spiky rhythms with James Yuill's dreamy vocals, making for a refreshing take on deep vocal house, while on "Mind", Rosalie's high-pitched tones are set to a mesmerising harpsichord and shuffling drums. The duo explore their own unique take on r&b-inflected pop with the playful "Yi Fang" -which features Taco Hemingway on vocals - while they showcase their underground credentials with the deep, pulsating techno on "One Plus You". All of these elements make for the most well-rounded Catz'N' Dogz album to date.
Review: A bold statement against insular club culture, closed minds and lack of innovation, "The Choice" continues Catz 'N Dogz positive broadcasts with the help of Miss Bunty and three great friends on remix duties. On the Miss Bunty vocal, the track's bouncy acid groove powers along boldly to support her empowering lyrics, while the BETON Tribute To The Classics mix gets deep down and dirty. Madrid's Bawrut lets the drummer get wicked and man of the moment Adriyano gets his dusty classic house stomp on with the Super Relaks remix.
Review: When lockdown hit earlier in the year, Catz 'N' Dogz were still basking in the positive feedback that greeted the release of their fourth studio album, "Friendship". With all of their gigs cancelled, they chose to use the quarantine period to record a follow-up. "Moments" is an intriguing proposition, not least because it deftly displays their growing musical dexterity. It features only a handful of dreamy, drowsy, dancefloor-focused cuts (see bluesy shuffler "Memories", the soulful and jazzy deep house workout "Time", and tech-tinged soundscape house closer "Tomorrow"), with the rest of the album mixing up dusty, trip-hop style beats, bittersweet downtempo grooves, slo-mo Balearic house and jazzy, hard-to-pigeonhole inspirations. As a result, it's their most mature and quietly impressive set to date.
Review: Featuring the combined talents of guests Zensofly and Maxville, "Wave" was one of the undisputed highlights of Catz 'N' Dogz recent album "Friendship". Here it gets the single treatment, with the short and punchy original version (track four) being joined by the Polish pair's previously unheard "Club Mix". This is something of a sweaty beat, with sleazy vocals, percolating electronics and raw warehouse stabs leaping enthusiastically above a booming peak-time groove. Justin Martin delivers the headline-grabbing remix, wrapping a wonky and heavy bassline and mind-altering stabs around a swinging, garage-influenced groove, while Theus Mago cleverly re-imagines the cut as a throbbing slab of Italo-disco/hypnotic house fusion.
Review: Dalfie follows Purple Hub, his 2016 debut on Pets, with this tripped out three tracker. "Outlaw" resounds to detuned riffs, rasping percussion and outer space swirls and swooshes. It's a perfectly weighted slice of futuristic tech house. On "For It", the emerging producer opts for a more organic style; the drums are hollowed out and rolling - calling to mind the late 90s West Coast house sound - albeit with a tone-shifting bass in the background. The final track, "Right Up (dub version)" is different again; featuring tripped out vocal samples, rave whistles and an insidious, wiry rhythm, it sounds like an update of Classic's distinctive sound.
Review: Glasgow's Dalfie (Gruuv/Glasgow Underground) is back on Pets Recordings with his third release.The Can't Think Right Now EP is definitely optimised for employment on the dancefloor, with the dirty lowdown electro bounce of the title track being one you'll hear rocking dancefloors well into the summer. Not just content being groovy, the Scotsman then serves up the tough rolling tech house of "Revolver" which is aimed squarely at White Isle dancefloors this season, and finally it comes to a close with "Me Plus 1" - a fierce and barrelling techno banger which will mix in well with your Drumcode or Suara tracks.
Review: Dalfie follows last year's Can't Think Right Now release on Pets with another dance floor-primed EP. "FJ" is sure to get a floor moving thanks to its combination of growing bass, acid spirals and what sounds like a sample of a dog barking. Powered by a series of irresistible builds, it's a subtle but hugely effective dance floor bomb. "R Rated" sees Dalfie opt for a somewhat different approach: the groove is straighter and pulsates to the sound of a buzz saw bass. Factor in some subtle drops that provide space for subtle vocal snippets and it's clear that Dalfie's tunes are as appealing as the EP's title suggests.
Review: Oasis marks a welcome return to action for Darius Vaikas, who last pricked the collective consciousness with his 2015 Guilt EP on Best Kept Secret. He begins with "Brother", a crackly instrumental lullaby built around cascading music box melodies, rich keys and fuzzy aural textures, before stepping towards the dancefloor via the atmospheric deep house shuffle of "The Bells". Title track "Oasis" continues on a similar theme, with alternately chiming and tumbling melodies stretching out across a clicking, tech-tinged rhythm track. Throw in rising chords and synthesizer motifs, and you have a chunk of effortlessly lazy audio sunshine. Finally, he layers swirling textures and fluid electronics atop a stuff house groove on fine closer "Save Me".
Review: Kevin Dennis Pierre aka Demuir out of Toronto is a legend of the scene with a discography that dates back 20 years. An OG house gangster, his music in recent times has hooked up with the likes of DJ Sneak and Cassy with other releases making their way to Yoruba, Robsoul, Desolat and most recently in 2019, Hot Creations. Now for Catz n Dogz' Pets Recordings in 2020 he drops the three-track Black Soul + Techno EP. Channelling a hardcore acid and Detroit styled techno edge comparable to the work of Blake Baxter, Demuir's "Something Inside Of Me" delivers a tunneling, bass heavy, grooving techno burner. With an extra dub version to boot, "Black Kids Love Techno" then looks towards trippy touches of bleeps and mind bending synths in a banging b-side alternative.
Can't Figure Me Out (feat Ben Westbeech) - (4:59) 90 BPM
Into The Night (feat Mama) - (4:02) 129 BPM
To Be Without Me (feat Glimpse) - (5:34) 115 BPM
Lavender Lady (feat Paul Randolph) - (5:28) 52 BPM
Motor Stepper (feat James Yuill) - (5:36) 95 BPM
Lonely In My Room - (4:57) 150 BPM
We Are Young (feat Tanya Horo) - (3:31) 55 BPM
If You Ask Me (feat Voitek Taranczuk) - (6:20) 150 BPM
Ula - (4:06) 150 BPM
You Help Me (feat Nnaji) - (3:48) 128 BPM
Review: Untitled is the debut album of Different Marks, the tantalising combination of Polish duo Catz n Dogz and Martin Dawson of Two Armadillos fame, finished shortly before Dawson's sad and untimely death last year. Those familiar with Catz n Dogz' bright, bumpy house sound will be right at home here, with an album filled with catchy hooks, swung rhythms, R&B influences, subtle low end and astonishing vocal contributions from the likes of Cari Golden, Ben Westbeech and Glimpse. Best of all, it's absolutely free!
Review: Catz 'N' Dogz, one of the first Polish house acts to achieve international success, has decided the time is right for a two-part, "cultural statement of intent from their country's great thinkers, creators, collaborators and disruptors in electronic music". This first part of the all-Polish compilation series is naturally full of intoxicating but varied dancefloor treats. Compare and contrast the Orbital-goes-dream house lusciousness of Earth Trax's "Horyzont", Kuba Sojka's dubby and hypnotic, late night tech-house trip "Walkin Bass" and the lo-fi house fuzz served up by The Analog Roland Orchestra. Best of all, though, is Das Komplex's epic remix of Till von Sein and Aera's "Dynamite", which bubbles away on a Balearic dub disco tip for 10 mesmerizing minutes.
Review: Here Pets unveil the second outing in the Home Is Where The Pool Is series (best name ever?), and the mood is deep and bouncy -perfect for swishing cocktails, skimpy bikinis and inflatables-a-go-go. Eats Everything is up first with the thumping and loopy rolling techno of "Chitter Chatter (dub)", before things flair up with the tingly fizz of Gemini's "On This Planet (Walker & Royce Edit)". "In Thin Air" by Steffano Ritteri is misty eyed synth-pop and Kim Ann Foxman & Shaun J Wright get really deep and emotional on the jackin' "Destination".
Review: Since muscling his way into the higher echelons of club culture back in 2012 - thanks in no small part to delivering a string of hot-to-trot dancefloor anthems - Ejeca has barely paused for breath. This, though, is his first single of 2018 following an action-packed 2017. "Find Me" is an unashamed blast from the past: a gloriously sweaty and glassy-eyed fusion of early '90s house tropes (think delay-laden diva vocal samples, relentless piano riffs and snappy percussion) and on-point 21st century retro-futurism. There's a similarly nostalgic feel to "Mesh", too, which sounds like a long lost David Morales Red Zone dub from 1990. To complete a rock solid package, Addison Groove delivers a tougher, sweatier and even more bass-heavy take on "Find Me" that's arguably even better than Ejeca's original mix.
Review: It's a big week for Russian producer Tripmastaz, who has two big collaborations hitting Junodownload: another studio hook-up with old pal DJ Sneak and this rugged effort alongside sometime Crosstown Rebels, Cuttin' Headz, Desolat and Defected regular Guti. "R U Happy" is an energetic, mind-altering workout that wraps wonky, acid-influenced electronic motifs, looped vocal smippets and warehouse-ready synth stabs around a rhythm track that sits somewhere between tech-house hypnotism and old school Chicago jack. D'Julz superb accompanying remix adds heavy sub bass, chunkier and looser beats and some seriously trippy high-register electronic noises, while Guti and Tripmastaz's EP-closing instrumental mix is arguably even more trippy sounding than their brain-melting original take.
Review: Sienkiewicz was one of the first artist to emerge in Poland's electronic music scene back in the 90s. He has since released a string of albums for labels like Cocoon and his own Recognition, and in a neat touch, he has been commissioned to put out a release on fellow Polish artist Catz'n'Dogz label. The title track is vintage Sienkiewicz as a low-slung groove underpins a series of analogue bleeps and howls. On "Mustang", the approach is more clubby, with Sienkiewicz laying down subtle organ builds over a rolling rhythm. The Polish producer's work always has a deeply experimental approach and this is mirrored in the choice of remixer on this EP, with Tobias turning "Mustang" into a fizzling, hissing minimal affair.
Review: This is Kaspar's second release on Pets having also put out material recently for Upon You and Kompakt's Exklusiv offshoot. Like Pets' owners, Catz N'Dogz, Kaspar mines a freestyle form of minimal house and techno. This is most audible on "Strout". The bass lunges and lurches unpredictably, there are blasts and bursts of atonal noise and a rickety percussive accompaniment that holds the arrangement together. He adopts a far different approach on "Roundhouse"; closer in sound to late 90s party techno, it centers on a rolling rhythm, larger than life horn stabs and the kind of rolling snares that are the polar opposite of glum minimalism.
Review: Cologne's Jonathan Kaspar is up next on Berlin's Petz Recordings. Following up great releases on Ojektivity and KX, the man from Cologne serves up the late night tech house of "Paradise" where that very refrain is repeated in pitch shifted fashion over a slinky groove with a seriously buzzing bass line. "Mellow" is a fitting title for this deep and atmospheric trip that uses tribal rhythms and a hypnotic one-note loop beneath some "erotic Discourse" style tape delay madness. Finally, if deep tribal acid house is your thing then "Cicatrice" will be right up your alley: druggy Sunday morning afterhours business right here.
Review: Anjunadeep and Needwant regular Joseph Ashworth returns to Pets Recordings following a near two year hiatus. "Sienna" is impressively woozy and tactile, with rich, lo-fi riffs, drifting chords and seductive electronics wrapping themselves around a loose but locked-in drum machine rhythm. While impressive, Earth Trax's remix - which introduces some tasty New Jersey style organs and a genuinely saucer-eyed Balearic house feel - is arguably even better. Perhaps best of all, though, is "Vitamins", a pleasingly analogue-sounding chunk of rolling deep house positivity that boasts some seriously juicy piano riffs amongst its many musical charms. Expect to hear all three tracks a lot in coming months.
Review: Fresh from the release of a sought-after salvo on Poker Flat, Joyce Muniz pitches up on Pets Recordings for the very first time. The Vienna-based DJ/producer is in throbbing space disco mode on ear-catching opener "Glass Mistress", clothing a surging, Italo-disco style arpeggio bassline in snappy drum machine beats, trippy backwards vocal snippets, glacial chords and intergalactic electronic melodies. "Trapped" is a more low-slung, bass-heavy chunk of analogue house/electro-disco fusion blessed with some suitably sharp and foreboding rave stabs, while "Naughty Party" offers a jauntier and cheekier take on synthesizer-driven nu-disco rich in quirky drum machine percussion and robotic vocal snippets.
Review: Next up on Catz 'N Dogz Berlin based imprint in Dutch producer Larry de Kat with yet more deep shenanigans following up great releases recently on Bristol's Banoffee Pies and his own Katnip Records. On the smoky and dusted down groove of "I Know You Can Hear Me" it's all about a love affair with analogue machines while "Naakte Groef" is just as stripped back and dubby, allowing those rusty drum computer rhythms to do most of the work supported by faint synth textures in the background. "Amlou" allows for something different on this loopy and vaguely jazzy jam that'll appeal to fans of DJ Sneak or the Robsoul sound; until things get back into the dubby side of things with the immersive liquid groove of "She Doesnt".
