- As a debutant on Warsaw's club scene my mind's eye was a little blurry as we pulled into the city's Centralna train station. In recent years Europeans have warmed to the idea of Poland as a viable clubbing destination through standout festivals such as Audioriver and Unsound. However, in terms of clubs I'm sure most would struggle to name a single dance music-focussed venue in the country. Through their releases on Dirtybird, Mothership and Get Physical, Catz 'N Dogz ('Greg' Demiañczuk and 'Voitek' Tarañczuk) have, by proxy, been cheerleading for the scene in their native land. And I'd travelled to the Polish capital for the release party of their second album, Escape from Zoo.
1500m2 is a medium-sized, industrially-styled venue, with chipped concrete, exposed brickwork and a questionable soundsystem. With differing degrees of success the club has seen Omar-S, The Mole and Motor City Drum Ensemble among those passing through its doors this year. (I was told that in the case of the latter party, the dance floor had completely lost its momentum by about 3:30 AM.) Indeed, as events in Warsaw are chiefly alcohol-fuelled, headline acts tend to perform before fatigue sets in—we arrived around 1 AM to find Catz 'N Dogz in the initial stages of their 90-minute live show.
Photo credit: Karol Grygoruk
A decently sized and noticeably rambunctious crowd were eagerly cheering on the home team, and it seemed like the duo were happy to sonically match their energy levels. Escape from Zoo is a playful and pleasingly diverse 13-track offering, although a combination of subpar sound and a pumped audience meant Catz 'N Dogz (perhaps wisely) camped at the high-octane end of their range, eschewing the subtleties of the full-length. There was something of a curveball reserved for the final track, however: the palpably UK dubstep influenced "Only for the Moment," one of Escape from Zoo's definite highpoints.
Catz 'N Dogz have become regular's at Made to Play's Panorama Bar sessions in Berlin (Voitek is based in the city full-time), which made the choice of label boss Jesse Rose making his Poland debut a neat segue. Rose's pumped up house sound was certainly complementary. Tracks like Justin Martin & Ardalan's "Mr. Spock" encapsulated the none-too-serious vibes that permeated the party. Local DJ and promoter Basia Polanska also appeared to be having some laughs in the deafening second room. She moved between classics such as "Pacific State" and newer fare like Caribou's "Swim" in a haphazard manner, but the five people that frequented the carpeted floor were happy enough watching her dance routines and hearing party-friendly sounds.
Photo credit: Karol Grygoruk
Back in the main space, the crowd appeared to be running on fumes as Jesse Rose neared the end of his set. Trapez's SLG took over for a live show and the audience thinned further still—but those who remained (and were willing to keep drinking) seemed there for the long haul, and his Detroit-indebted performance was warmly received.
I was a little surprised by the party's attendance, although there were other factors at play. The party fell on the weekend of All Saints (which sees large numbers of people leave cities and head home) and the door price of 20zl (5euro) is supposedly considered to be steep by local standards. From anecdotal accounts, recent parties in Warsaw with Levon Vincent, Tama Sumo, Ame and Steffi all failed to garner much of a crowd. And although one party is not nearly sufficient to gain a handle on the city's scene, it seems like there is a bit of a way to go before its club events are spoken of in the same breath as the country's bigger festivals.