I.H.O.S. Chats With… Sleepy Cat
Next up in our interview series is Sleepy Cat, the L.A resident that has been burning up our speakers with his special blend of throwbacks and bumpin’ house grooves. His mini EP “Be There“ brought some of that polished house we never tire of hearing and with a Brandy vocal sample thrown in the mix, we were hooked. He has been setting the underground dance scene ablaze and we knew we had to get a piece of that action. Expect variety and innovation and fresh dance vibes to be coming from his set tomorrow! Remember to RSVP for our party tomorrow because space is limited!
Read the full interview after the jump!
IHOS: Ok so let’s just get this one out of the way, what’s the story behind your moniker?
SC: Well my friend Sam actually gave me that name. I tend to like to sleep in and take naps (lol) and one day he just called me a sleepy cat. My friends thought it was very fitting and at that time I was starting a new alias and needed a new name. So it worked out.
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IHOS: We hear that you are from San Francisco, what drew you to L.A? Was it a spontaneous decision or planned out?
SC: With the internet nowadays we are able to make music anywhere we want. But there is still something to be said about networking in person and Los Angeles has always been the Mecca for the music industry. So it was natural that I would be inclined to move there. I had a couple of friends living down here already which made the move a bit easier. But it was something I wanted to do for a long time.
IHOS: We know you tap into garage, house, nu disco, R&B, etc. How much of those influences were sparked from where you grew up? Or did L.A bring it out of you?
SC: I grew up listening to R&B and Hip Hop. At the time I didn’t realize that most of that era of music was very groovy, which has resonated in my productions as Sleepy Cat. I then got into dance music when I started DJing trance. I’ve spun and produced all types of music and what is portrayed now in Sleepy Cat is a mesh of all the music that I love. From Soulful House to raging head bangers.
IHOS: You also collaborated with Templeton on a remix for BANKS a few months back, which was really good btw. How did you two meet? How did the collaboration come about?
SC: Me and Greg met when I was in school for audio engineering. A rapper friend of mine introduced us and we started making music together. We were making commercial “pop dance” music with some hip hop influences at the time. We have built a strong relationship over the last couple of years since we both moved down here. And we collaborate quite often even though we are not featured on the tracks we work on. The collaboration for that track came about when Greg was having trouble finishing the remix. So I came in and worked on it with him and we decided to release it together.
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IHOS: We like to get a sense of what nightlife is like for our interviewees. What venues do you like to frequent in L.A?
SC: Lately I have been checking out the underground warehouse parties east of downtown and also Sound Nightclub.
IHOS: How would you describe your sound to new listeners?
SC: Groovy.
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