Originating from Australia and now calling Denver home, COPYCATT has been an unsung force in bass music for far too long. As an innovator within the scene for over a decade pairing wicked bass with an underlying musicality unlike any other producer out there, COPYCATT has honed in on a neuro-leaning signature sound that continues to evolve with each and every release.
Since moving to the US in late 2023, the artist has played nearly 50 shows, including iconic venues such as Red Rocks, and continues to build momentum with the turn of the new year. With lots on the horizon, we are excited to premiere an ID-filled, all-original COPYCATT mix spanning an electric 60 minutes.
In this mix, COPYCATT takes his artistry to new heights, featuring 30 unreleased tracks and showcasing bootlegs of Pusha T, Danny Brown, and the highly sought-after ‘Baddadan’ remix. This mix marks a milestone in COPYCATT’s career, and offers a glimpse into his artistic vision.
We also had the pleasure of catching up with the producer for the first time since 2020, getting a detailed look into his life since then, the mix-creation process, and much more. Don’t miss the mix and interview below!
Let’s dive right into this mix. What prompted you to put it together in the first place?
Honestly I feel like I’ve done a lot more writing than I have released in the last few years and I haven’t really put out any big statement pieces recently so I thought it was about time I give a kind of update on what I’ve been working on.
It’s also a lot more motivating to know I’ve got an outlet for the stuff I’m writing when I’ve got a show or two coming up
33 tracks, 30 of which are unreleased. That’s an insane amount of music. Have you recently found a new wave of productivity? Do you feel more at ease sharing your work compared to a few years ago?
Since I moved out to the US I’ve been basically living off playing shows for the first time so I’ve got a lot more free time than I’ve had previously. It’s also a lot more motivating to know I’ve got an outlet for the stuff I’m writing when I’ve got a show or two coming up. There’s definitely a chunk of things in this mix from the hard drive that date back a while but certainly a larger portion is things I’ve written more recently. I’m glad to air it all out honestly, I haven’t been this excited to upload anything in a while.
You’ve got a couple of collaborations in the mix, notably one with Chee and one with Zane Schaffer. How did those come about? Collaborations are somewhat rare for you – how do you decide when to work with someone, and why do you feel the two aforementioned artists were good fits for collaborations?
I’m gonna take a bit of license here and say that Lee (Chee) and I have been mutual fans of each other’s music for a while now. I’ve always felt like we have similar influences when it comes to bass music and hip hop so collaborating was on the to-do list for a while. We had a couple of ideas we were working on before I came out to the US, but since I met him in person at the end of 2023 we’ve only added more stuff to the pile. Similar story with Zane – I was a fan of his work through SoundCloud and got to meet him early last year, and we just kinda related on a lot of things musically and ended up churning out a few good ideas pretty quickly. He works hella quick too. I feel like an old man whittling away at my one drum sample while this guy is just cranking out ideas with his wired earbuds like a madman.
The mix also features remixes of artists ranging from Wu-Tang Clan to Pusha T and Danny Brown. What drew you to remix these particular tracks, and how do you approach reimagining these works?
I really only ever bootleg stuff I like. Often times it’s just something that’s really inspiring me and I end up throwing it into the DAW and having fun. The Wu-Tang Clan bootleg was especially significant for me – I was listening to that track a lot back in Brisbane and I wanted to give it a treatment that preserved everything I like about the original, while adding a bit more thrash n bash to it. I worked on that one both in FL Studio and Ableton to try out different ideas, and I’m pretty happy with the result. I’ve also been on a bit of a Danny Brown kick for a sec obviously now that I’m onto my second bootleg. I did make one exception to my bootlegging rule recently after my manager bullied me into flipping Nelly’s ‘Country Grammar’ for a show in St. Louis – it turned out pretty aight so no bad blood, Wes.
It’s been so easy to meet people and make connections
I can’t believe it’s been over four years since we last connected. At that time you had recently moved to Melbourne from the Brisbane area, and now you’re living in Denver, correct? Was Denver a no-brainer for you when you got your visa?
Bizarre. That was during COVID too, which feels like a weird dream in retrospect. I was spending a lot of time on Discord with Frequent, Hudson Lee and the Upscale squad back then. It kinda just worked out that when my visa got approved Nolan (Frequent) had a room free up in the big share house he’s at in Denver so I basically moved straight into the middle of everything. It was extremely serendipitous in a lot of ways – my biggest listener base has been Denver for a long time so I got to meet a lot of people who were either long-time internet friends or long-time fans which was wild. Obviously that included meeting Nolan in person for the first time since we met online in 2013 (Shoutout ‘Adapted Records Up & Comers 2013’), which was bizarre and awesome. We’ve played a lot of fun and atrocious sets together in questionable settings since. Also got to meet Keota who lives out here who I’ve also known since I think 2015. The list goes on and on. It’s been a trip.
What’s the best and worst thing about living in the States?
Honestly I don’t know if it’s just that I’m living in the epicenter of the music scene I’ve been a part of for so long or maybe it’s Colorado specifically, but it really feels like Americans are a lot more outgoing than what I’m used to. It’s been so easy to meet people and make connections, and I feel like I get roped into so many things that I normally wouldn’t if I relied solely on my own social battery. There’s always stuff happening. That’s the real difference I feel living here. In Australia, even when things are happening, it feels like the energy stays very slow and relaxed, in both a good way and a bad way. At home I’m relaxed and grounded, but out here I’m motivated and inspired. I’m genuinely grateful for both, but I do miss home a bit. Thankfully planes exist.
I will also say my humour does not always translate out here. The Australian way is to kind of joke in a way that is nearly indistinguishable from being sincere, and that’s created more than a few awkward moments for me since I got here. But on the bright side watching me bewilder someone I just met is entertaining for my friends to watch. Nolan loves it.
This is the first time in my 13 years of making music that I’ve been able to live off of it so I’m very grateful
How has moving to the States had an impact on your career?
It feels cliché to call the US “The Land of Opportunity”, but for me that is true. Most of the artists and events that are relevant to my music are here, so it’s no surprise to me that I’ve felt so busy since I got here. This is the first time in my 13 years of making music that I’ve been able to live off of it so I’m very grateful. The US has literally 10x the population of Australia, so even just from a show standpoint, it’s a lot harder to exhaust the show opportunities than it would be back at home.
Has the move had an impact on your music and creative direction?
It’s funny I think I’ve watched like 3 or 4 different non-US artists I know all move to the US and gradually slide into making 140bpm bass stuff. I was like “I wonder if that will happen to me.” and it definitely has to a degree, but I’m also a sucker for the boom-bap bounce. So my subconscious seems to have found a compromise by slowing my usual 180bpm vibe down to 160bpm. Feels a bit slower and heavier I guess. I am loving the 140bpm stuff though. Dudes like Cesco, Monty, Chee, Kursa, VCTRE, and Ternion Sound have definitely sold me on it.
Aside from that I’ve really just connected more deeply with my own ambitions since I came out here. Despite how deeply I’ve always loved music and the power it has to create culture, getting a decade into it and going through a whole ass burnout phase honestly had me feeling a bit apathetic about actually trying to make something of it. Getting the visa and doing the tour was kind of a leap of faith, and seeing that dream become so real has brought back a lot of old sentiments and dreams about music that I’m more inclined to explore now.
I’m also constantly learning that taking risks and being vulnerable is really the path to great art
When we last spoke, you discussed having an on-and-off relationship with social media in the past, but left us with “trying to make something interactive out of my art using social media is honestly something I’m enjoying exploring at the moment.” Do you feel that that has changed over the last couple of years? Does getting more show opportunities put pressure on you to be more active on social media?
There is definitely an element of having to promote the shows I’m playing and sell tickets that I worry might be taxing for people who just follow me because they wanna hear my music. If I really have to promote something I try to have fun with it and be genuine. I usually make myself laugh at least. At the moment I hope throwing an hour of unreleased music at that problem will mitigate the “promo fatigue” some of my listeners might be feeling. But I’ve also missed out on seeing some really good shows because I didn’t hear about it, and social media really is getting increasingly loud and saturated so I don’t feel too bad about pushing a show or two, especially if it means people actually come and boogie. I also post a lot of silly shit (and put it in my mixes). I don’t know how to feel about that, I just kinda neglect self-control sometimes in that regard, but at least it’s honest. I think as long as I focus on making good art and putting it out there’s a bit of leeway for me to promote a few shows and dick about and be myself.
You also left us with a great paragraph on the importance of only doing the stuff that you like to do. Do you still live by this? Has your recent success put some externally or internally-imposed pressure on you to make music for others instead of yourself, or do you still feel entirely true to yourself?
I’ve only become more confident in the idea that making the thing that you love is always going to be the best thing you have to offer. I will say performing has added an interesting layer to this philosophy I have, because the task when you’re getting on stage is to create an experience and pull people into it. That requires you to get into their shoes a bit and try and understand your music from their perspective. Sometimes I play tracks that I feel sick of or wouldn’t listen to by myself because if I know it’s gonna get the room on the same page and open the vibe up so I can play the stuff I really want to play. But I’m also constantly learning that taking risks and being vulnerable is really the path to great art, so if there’s any pressure I impose on myself it’s just to take the risk with pushing what I love even if I’m worried it might not work. Aside from that I do not care to “hustle”. Somewhere along my 13-year journey I burned that stress out of me and since then I’ve concluded that if I want to sacrifice my joy for the sake of profit or clout I should go home and take up a trade or something. Creating is too precious for that.
Alright, no more deep stuff. You’ve played close to 50 shows, including Red Rocks, since moving here. What are some of your plans for 2025? Any bucket list venues or festivals you’d like to play?
January seems to be when all the promoters start to count their chickens and make plans so there’s a lot of offers coming in but not many announced yet. I’m looking forward to playing the Slander show in Arizona next month going b2b with VCTRE (also finally get to see Chee b2b Moody Good at that show). Also Starbase in April. The lineup for that is stacked.
As far as shows I’d like to play, I’m kinda just down to see what pops up. I’m hanging out to hit a few of the cities I haven’t played so far like NYC and also there’s definitely a few gigs I’ve played that I’d love a rerun on – Infrasound, Submersion, Flash Club in DC, Tampa FL, and Sioux Falls were all standouts.
I’ve only become more confident in the idea that making the thing that you love is always going to be the best thing you have to offer
And we have to ask, how much of this mix material is going to get an official release?
This is a great question that I’ve been asking myself to be honest. I definitely intend to release an EP in the first half of this year, and two or three of those bootlegs are coming out very soon. I’m certainly not invulnerable to external validation so it’s likely if some particular track on the mix gets a lot of love I’ll probably put it out sooner. I’ve also thrown a few tracks in from this more melodic guitar-infused album I’ve been nursing which was kind of intended to piggyback off of ‘SUIT UP‘, a track that I only ever put up on SoundCloud. I’ve refused to put a deadline on that stuff because it feels like a sound I’ve been developing and honing for a while. I think this mix might be the first time a few of those tracks are uploaded anywhere. I also performed a few of them at Submersion last year so I can tentatively say I’m moving towards that sound more and more, and might blast that one out into the world this year, but that’s one of those creative risks I’m talking about. We shall see.
