Thee Cool Cats

Words by Rob Chadwick

Your sound is a blend of a number of electronic music genres, is there one genre that inspires you more than others?

Well I grew up on the border of Mexico and the U.S. so music wise I was exposed to all kind of genres and sounds, I always thank my dad for making me listen to all kinds of music growning up especially that funk and disco which in turn led me to explore House Music. So basically my sound draws from there 4/4 house music but with Attitude. No matter what genre you’re listening to or working with it all goes back to the beginning.

You put a lot of emphasis on groove and big basslines, has this been a sound which you’ve evolved over the years? 

Again it all goes back to House and Funk that groove comes from that and from the fact that to me Dance music should make you feel like dancing and I’ve always put an emphasis on big bass lines because I want my sound to have edge to it, i want someone to hear one of my records and automática think damn this sounds like a Thee Cool Cats track because of a heavier bass line sound but it still feels groovy and fun… it’s house music with an attitude that’s how I describe and of course it has evolved over the years and I’m sure it will keep moving but I know one thing it will never stop being fun. 

What’s the dynamic like working as duo in the studio? Do you both specialise in different areas? 

Well, I have now been working solo as Thee Cool Cats for the last year and to be honest it was a big shift and actually kind of scary going from being a duo production wise to working alone. You have to really focus and it’s not as free flowing, when I was working as a duo it was always about bouncing ideas off each other and seeing what fit, Gerry and I were really lucky about meshing so well but now I’ve learned to become much more engaged and throw myself 100 percent into the sound and just let it flow.
Amine Edge gave you a big helping hand playing your tracks out, how did your relationship develop following this? 
Yeah my boys Amine and Dance have been amazing they thoroughly pushed Thee Cool Cats as one of the first acts to release on CUFF and have always been around to help if I needed any help with advice or anything basically it’s really hard to meet real people in the industry and my boys keep it real. Having them ply out and then release Hand On The Pump in 2014 really helped me launch into the sound which led to me keep growing, tour and meet so many amazing people.

Your residency for Audio Rehab at Eden is coming this summer, how did this come about? 

I met AudioRehab London Head Honcho himself Mark Radford when I played a gig at Ministry of Sound last September and we really hit it off. We had done some collaboration on a track called Something Happens for Audio Rehab but it had been a long distance thing. But like I said before it’s really hard to meet real people and my bro Mark is as REAL as they come so when he invited me to play in Ibiza for the residency here was never a doubt about doing it plus I have only been to the Island once and this is going to be a big summer much love and respect to Mark and Eden Ibiza for making this happen !!! From Mexico to Ibiza baby it’s #HUSTLEGANG time.

Is a residency at an Ibiza club night something that you always dreamt of? 

I have only been to the island once, and have always dreamt of having a residency and staying in the island for some time. The plan is to stay for a while and get to know everything Ibiza has to offer. Can’t wait to see a bunch of the homies and even get some work in #JUSLA

You guys have been working with lots of different labels, are there any exciting new collaborations in the near future? 

Yeah it’s really exciting actually I have been working on collaborating with some really talented producers from here in Mexico that should end up being in some really cool stuff, my boys Tom & Collins, the homies Moose & Bear, Pablo Carrillo, Andruss, Adriana Lucia and my bro Julian Luken for some really cool labels. I am also working on some stuff with a bunch of friends from Brazil Diamn, Jean Bacarreza and some I can’t really name yet. Definitely looking forward to working with Mark on a new collab for Audio Rehab but also be on the lookout for a solo release this summer. Also looking forward to working with bro Croatia Squad for some stuff on Enormous Tunes that should be really fun so all in all it’s gonna be a good summer and fall Be Ready because I’m coming in HOT. Thank You guys at DMC for taking the time to talk to me and keeping up with the sounds …. #HUSTLEGANG

Thee Cool Cats has a residency at this years Audi Rehab Events at Eden Ibiza – http://edenibiza.com/artist/audio-rehab/