Ahead of her appearance at RTRFM’s Full Frequency Presents: Go Bang at Flyrite on Friday, March 21, Katie Campbell aka Catlips talks TROY MUTTON through killer Boiler Room sets and Perth’s producer scene.
‘There’s something in the water’ is a phrase often thrown at WA in regards to its rich pool of bands and high quality indie rock scene, and it’s fast becoming applicable to an equally deep pool of super talented young producers making waves nationally and abroad.
Recent WAAPA graduate Katie Campbell, under the stage name Catlips, is another who can comfortably be added to that list, offering a twisted take on house that is as hard to define as it is exciting to listen to.
“I’d say the warped element (of my music) comes from me taking really specific little devices from various genres and particular tracks; things I like the most and working them into my own tracks. I find the musicians I’m constantly looking to include Nicolas Jaar, Four Tet, Isaac Tichauer, Sound Stream and Motor City Drum Ensemble to name a few, as well as taking a lot of rhythmic inspiration from Chicago house and disco.”
And like some of those world renowned artists, Campbell can now add herself to the list of musicians who’ve featured on the influential internet live streaming music project, Boiler Room. Recently joining Perth acts such as D.Y.P, Sable and Hugo Gerani, Catlips’ set was broadcast live to thousands across the world.
“Yeah Boiler Room was definitely a highlight – I just had so much fun during the set, I got to test out a bunch of new tracks, which really went off, so that was exciting and the crowd really made it, including glitter bombing me numerous times.”
Along with those artists, there’s a host of up-and-coming producers that has Campbell excited about our corner of the world. “…There are so many good producers and DJs which makes it so much better to make music yourself if you have a strong community supporting you. Laura Lowther has been working hard on a bunch of new Kučka stuff which is sounding really sick so I’m excited about that, also Atripat… I’d also love all the members of MmHmMm to come back and release some material because they really excite me. And Basic Mind. 10/10.”
Those who tuned in to the Boiler Room set, have seen Catlips supporting artists such as Daedelus, or caught her recent Melbourne tour will know she’s running a whole bunch of gear onstage, crafting engaging live sets.
“For most shows I run my laptop using Ableton which holds all my cut up tracks that I trigger live on an APC40, allowing me to change up structures and improvise with different effects. I then play a bunch of samples on Native Instruments Maschine, mainly my vocals or main song elements. Then my laptop is also running Max/MSP/Jitter or Max For Live, which contains my visual programming and reacts to my audio cues from Ableton in order to produce in-sync live visuals that are projected.”
After we see her on the Full Frequency Presents: Go Bang lineup, Campbell is looking forward to more shows, locking down some writing time ahead of potential overseas travels, and some special collaborations. “I do have a few very special collaborations in the works with a good friend of mine… although I can’t tell you about that because we keep it secret until performance date.”
Catlips plays RTRFM’s Full Frequency Presents: Go Bang at Flyrite on Friday, March 21.
Get your tickets here.
