Events

Yet again massive appreciation is going out from all of us at riffraff to you ploppers that continue to support and sustain the heart of the true underground house music party movement on Teesside as well as for making Easter extra special. Sam Russo had a brilliant time ...playing on the turntables followed by bopping away with you all at the end of the night on the floor. That’s when we all know that we are involved in a proper party.

As the year progresses rapidly the April showers will be over soon however the dungeon will be raining Catz and Dogz on May 5th when the formidable pair graces us with their presence. This is a booking that the riffraff camp have tried to nail down for quite some time now (Please don’t nail cats or dogs as its not very nice and if you are going to do it make sure that you use masonry nails and preferably a Tacwise 500EL gun to guarantee you get right in there, put some plastic sheets down too)

Obviously the two of a kind don’t need to be introduced because if you haven’t heard their music as either Catz or Dogz or under the other moniker 3 Channels then you have either been probably listening to chart house music, not listening to music at all or could be dead. (If you’re dead then you probably want to head towards the light, move on and then tell St Pete we said “Now then”. He will understand what you mean)

So anyway Catz and Dogz yeah we got them coming to play and stuff and it’s going to be fabulous as always. Here is some info on them just in case you have been living under a rock… (If you have been living under a rock then you are probably some kind of arachnid or crustacean and I am amazed that you can read this.)

The duo’s refreshing take on dancefloor music has, in the last 12 months, propelled them into the limelight like never before. Perhaps it was getting the remix treatment from the incomparable Carl Craig and rising star Tanner Ross on their most recent Mothership release. Or the A&R home runs they scored with Pets Recordings, debuting Eats Everything’s smash “Entrance Song” and curating remixes from Maceo Plex, Axel Boman and KiNK. Or maybe it was their first appearance in Resident Advisor’s hallowed Top 100 DJ Poll. In any and all cases, the truth is clear: Catz N’ Dogz are well n’ truly at the top of their game.

It began in 2003, when their techno-centric tracks swiftly caught the attention and then joined the rosters of some of the most respected underground dance labels in the world: Trapez, Crosstown Rebels, Pokerflat, Boxer, Leena, Trenton, as well as the boys’ own budding imprint Channels Rec. The instant that Claude VonStroke heard 3 Channels’ red-hot club records, he snapped the twosome up for his Dirtybird label; there they remixed Claude’s infamous anthem “Who’s Afraid Of Detroit?” for a highly limited (and highly sought-after) one‐sided vinyl release, followed by the dancefloor-destroyer Chicken Affair EP, which appealed to the broadest spectrum of underground house and techno DJs.

Catz n’ Dogz’ sophomore album took an entire year to create, but it proved to be more than worth the wait: Escape from Zoo found the guys boldly leaping over the barriers in 2010, wildly roaming the terrain and straying further and further from convention. Escape from Zoo freely explored the intertwined vines of street bass, disco, R&B, deep house, hip-hop, and it blossomed through collaborations with heavy hitters dOP, Claude VonStroke and Jazzanova’s Paul Randolph.

Even as the rapturous response to Escape from Zoo launched them headlong into a heavy period of touring, live shows and festivals at hotspots around the globe, the boy endeavoured to further develop the scope of the Catz n’ Dogz universe. They launched Pets Recordings with the distinct aim of bringing Poland’s production talent to an international audience, they kicked off the Petcast podcast series, and took their label showcases on the road, establishing residencies at Berlin’s connoisseur clubs Watergate and Farbfernseher, alongside regular appearances in Szczecin and various other Polish cities.

Whether you’re charmed by their bass-heavy, colourful and always groove-laden DJ sets, drawn in by their arresting live show, weaving your your way through their illustrious output as producers, or delving into the magical tunes curated from their close network of friends, Grzegorz and Wojciech (or Greg n’ Voitek) are simply two of the hottest house Catz (n’ Dogz) on the scene today. (See what we did there).

ROOM 2

This month features a Geordie based organisation that are making waves with bookings such as Droog, Dyed Soundorom, Tale of us and some solid residents to play around such prestigious bookings. We are happy to welcome SAMPLE to host upstairs in the club and are pretty certain that they can follow on from previous guests up there such as Eivissa Soul and Different Language whom have left their mark on our crowd and in that room. (Like a dog would leave its scent)

Our residents will also be back on this event doing their thing KRISTOFFER, MILHOUSE, PHIL STIRZAKER & of course Grandad Pennington of Zoo Project fame.

Stirzaker has just had an EP titled TS8 Vibingz signed to Barcèlona based record label Deep Mentality so he is buzzing at the moment and he has even more top quality work in the pipeline.

Lee has recently sealed all his bookings at the Zoo Project where he will be making ten appearances throughout the summer and has just signed a track to Bullet Dodge Records recently stated as Carl Cox’s label of 2011.

Tickets for the event will be on sale from our usual sellers, Dan Dixon, Aimee Cornwell, Phil Stirzaker, Jenny Truefitt, Lee Pennington, Yakuza in Town.

Don’t miss out on these tickets because this again will be another mega event!!! (Mega a word that was in the 80's but brought back for mega effect by us