Larry de Kat, a Dutchmen from just outside of Utrecht with a unique style of hard hitting house beats and unrivaled funk. With releases on labels from Slapfunk to Dungeon Meat, he has continued to show style and development in his music over the past few years. He also released his first album back in 2013. He brings a rare sound to the world of house music. Recently we had the chance to ask him a few questions and were pleasantly surprised to learn to learn that there is a lot more to this mysterious man then what we knew.
- Just to start things off, can you introduce yourself and briefly tell us a little bit about yourself?
“Here’s a funky introduction of how nice I am, tell your mother tell your father, send a telegram”. -Phife Dawg on Check the rhime. Great track. This is actually the inspiration for the title of my Dungeon Meat track called “A funky introduction” soon to be released.
- When did you first start making music and how did it happen?
Actually I started playing the guitar when I was just a little kid but I soon got fed up with my band members, haha. You know everybody has their own vibe and wants to push it, I can’t blame them one single bit. Eventually this lead to me multi tracking my own songs on the drums, bassline and vocals. I’ve burned it to a CD-r disc which sold 3 copies but it was a lot of fun nonetheless haha. This whole thing developed more and eventually lead to fruity loops, reason and finally my beloved mpc2000xl and other hardware linked to ableton.
Unfortunately I never had people around me who could teach me so I’ve gained all my knowledge just by myself in a time where there wasn’t any YouTube or whatsoever. Luckily I was really driven to push my musical boundaries. I’ve made a lot of shitty tracks but they do have a special meaning in my personal life. Be it a love song or just a song to smoke a little something and to relax to. I always had the urge to make the music I listen to and try to inspire people how the music I like inspires me.
- Were there any outside influences that pushed you towards making music? Parents, friends, teachers?
No not really, at a moment I was less productive but I now have a great place where I live thanks to a friend and have my studio and where I can get out of bed and just do a quick tune or make some music at night before I go to sleep. Especially the last one is handy because there are no neighbours so I can play music loud and don’t have to feel bad for my sleeping neighbours.
- What’s your proudest moment as an artist to date?
I don’t know really, I am never really proud because of my terrible urge for perfection but I think if the child version of me could see the present day me I would be very happy, because this is what I want. Also hearing Brawther really digging my first release ever on the Slapfunk label really felt like I was doing something good and gave me more motivation.
5. So you released your debut album “The final chapter” in 2013, looking back on it now are you happy with that release and are you planning on making another album in the near future?”
I have to say when I listen to my older productions they sound quite raw and slopped, mainly because those tracks for example “I like da way you work it” were made in 2010 but I guess it has a certain charm, the tracks were built just like they did in the 90s and you can hear that. Personally “I want your sax” stands out for me, it rocks on the dancefloors. “The final chapter” you are referring to was also a collection of older tracks I wanted to give a place on vinyl to sort it all out, hence the name. On Katnip though there will be a lot of new tracks also filled to the rim with sometimes funny interludes and snips and hoppin’ stuff! Unfortunately you only have 15 mins per side so I have to be selective and keep some tracks short but I think it adds up to the experience in the end, Quasimoto once said “We make ya wanna press rewind” and I like the thought behind that, take the listener on an adventure from the beginning to the end!
- When you aren’t making music or djing, what type of music do you like to listen to and relax to?
I am really a big fan and vinyl collector of old music like jazz, soul, disco and funk. I am a big fan of Charlie Parker, Django Reinhardt and such and the way they compose songs and melodies are really a big inspiration for me. Also I listen to my own music a lot since I made about 2 to 3 sketches a week, mostly not meant to be released but just to reflect my mood and vibe and add as a soundtrack to my personal life. And don’t forget hiphop, I think it’s the genre closest to house music besides disco because of the way you produce it, talking samples and layering different sounds and stuff.
- Do you think that your love of these other genres is then reflected in the music that you make?
I certainly think so and I hope people can feel it too. I try to weave a lot of disco, hiphop, funk and soul vibes in my music, be it rhythm or melody wise or just plain the samples I’ve used in my productions. Also swing is very important for me. It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.
- You also have just begun your own label, Katnip Records. Tell us about that!
Well I am really excited about that as you can imagine. Thanks to Tristan da Cunha I was able to get in contact with Juno Records and they were so kind to support me distribution wise and at this moment Studio Airport is doing the full cover artwork which will be really something else, I can’t wait but since the pressing plants are very busy I have to give it some time.
- With so many labels out there these days, what pushed you to want to set up one of your own?
Well It’s been really difficult sharing my own music with the crowd since I want it to be perfect and as soon as it’s out there, there is nothing you can change anymore. Although I’ve always had a big passion to send across music that moves you and send people love through music. Luckily there was Slapfunk which tried to push me a lot. Eventually this lead me to conforming to sounds that were most definitely my own but I felt like I have to explain to people more what Larry de kat really is about. I have a lot of tracks that wouldn’t fit on specific labels and I got so fed up with it that I wanted to start my own imprint to give all these different songs a place. This means that my Katnip Records will primarily focus on my own music. It will contain different styles but without forsaking my roots of course.
- And what does Larry de Kat get up to outside of music?
I am a biology teacher in a small town near Utrecht where my pupils don’t know anything about my 2nd life as a musician/deejay and I love doing that. And it’s really lovely to inspire young people with your stories and try to teach them something about the world, also I am really in touch with nature and respect for the people and the world we live in, I try to give that to my pupils. Another big passion is food and cooking and I have a group of crazy friends who love to surprise each other with haute cuisine recipes and other fun stuff. Most recently we started making our own Banana port liquor which will be ready to be served next year at the private release party of my Katnip records with a swine on a spit, that shit’s wiiiild!
- Lastly what’s one song that you are loving at the minute?
Pfew, there are so many songs that I get down to at the moment it’s really hard to pick.. But if I should name a song that always sets me in the perfect mood it would be Clifford Scott – Samba de mamba. That is some juicy juicy juicy jazz, and with juicy I mean drowned in it!
You can find Larry de Kat over on Facebook
But be sure to stay up to date with the new label Katnip Records