9+1 Q&A with Munchkin Kat

What inspired you to first start making music? And how did you come to be in your current incarnation? Or if you prefer, a brief bio about you.

I started out as a rock guitarist because, as a teenager, I just wanted to get laid (back then the guitar was still cool). Eventually I got more into the technical and not-so-cool aspect, which led down to bands like Led Zeppelin and Queen. Bowie has always been my biggest inspiration though, specifically his more recent work. What impresses me is that he was able to evolve and adapt to changes while always remaining interesting. He welcomed change and embraced the weird, as opposed to being a curmudgeon and be stubborn about sticking to what some people call “real” music. I try to adopt this state of mind and to always research new sounds and possibilities, trying to understand why things work and how to incorporate them in tracks. The development of music and sound is an inspiration in and of itself.

Provide us with some info about your latest release…

Roasted chicken is the first Munchkin Kat single, and there’s many more to come! It is one of my first tracks, combining a funky bass and big synths while introducing fun percussive sounds. When I was working on it, I was reverse engineering glitch-hop and dubstep, so while the track has a slow but chill groove, I think you will find some interesting connections to these genres without one of them being too overbearing.

Which ones would you consider your main influences both music-wise & non-music-wise?

Bowie for sure, but more recently I have drawn most my inspiration from Opiuo, KOAN Sound, and just about anything funky. I love to listen to ‘Rappers Delight’ by the Sugar Hill Gang when I want to be in a good mood. That Bernie Edwards bass line in ‘Good Times’ (Chic) is slap central. Aside from that, kitty cats everywhere in the world are plenty inspiration to me.

In what way does your sound differ from the rest genre-related artists/bands and why should we listen to your music? In other words, how would you describe your sound?

My aim is to combine everything I’ve learned in order to create something completely different. I’ve been pulling from disco/nu-disco dance vibes, funk bass and groove, glitchop bpm and sound design, beautiful trance pianos and some dubstep growls. I’ve been curating my bass design to resemble something between a real bass guitar, Opiuo nastyness, and my own glitchy feel which will be introduced in my fall and winter tracks.

Please name your 3 desert islands albums, movies & books…

Book- The first half of ‘The Idiot’ is fantastic, and the second half to any Brandon Sanderson book is insane.

Albums- This always changes but currently… ‘Lodger’ by Bowie, ‘Slurp and Giggle’ by Opiuo, and Paris 1919 by John Cale. I think ‘Soap Opera’ by the Kinks interchanges with these often.

Movies- ‘Speed Racer’, ‘Cyrano De Bergerac’ and anything from the ‘Dollars’ trilogy are the films I’ve watched the most.

Do you prefer studio or performing live and why?

Studio, for sure. It’s more comfortable and I get more work done. I used to do live shows when I was playing in a rock band and, as much as I miss the actually playing in front of people, I do not miss lugging my amp and guitar to the venue and back (when if inebriated). They were always fun though, and I am currently working on getting a set up and running with some people.

Is there any funny-unique story you would like to share with us, always in relation to your music ‘career’?

Most of the funny stories are hardly safe for work, but they almost all stem from living in a railroad apartment in Brooklyn with the same five people for eight years. We played music together over three separate rock bands at the time, one of which was going more in the direction of disco. Life was extremely chaotic back then and there were lots of parties in that apartment, so I’ll leave the actual stories to your imagination. But I would like to think we all learned a lot in as short span and if it wasn’t for this experience with my friends I wouldn’t be in my current situation, working as hard as I can on music.

Which track of your own would you point out as the most unique and why?

A track that probably won’t be released until fall called Cool Ranch. It’s more of a joke track, but it is unique in the sense that all the sounds were made from a Doritos sample pack (Black Octopus’s April Fools release). The drums were made by cutting the samples to sound more percussive. Pretty much every other instrument was created by inputting the Doritos sounds into Serum (vst plugin) and making synths, basses and leads from it.

Would you like to share with our readers your future plans?

My plan is to release more funky/disco-like singles once a month until Fall. Throughout Fall and Winter, I will be pushing out more heavy, but still funky, tracks. There will also be a trance song in the mix somewhere. I have a collection of songs that I have been saving for an album, which I plan to release once we have the live set up and running.

Free question!!! (Ask yourself a question) you wish to answer and haven’t been given the opportunity…

What is your favorite animal?

A cat of course! But I also love teacup puppies. Munchkin cats are my favorite, in case you couldn’t tell :3

Curated by: Christos Doukakis

Recommended listening: