Who are you?
Hi! I’m Joël Kefentse AKA Le Lion. I’ve been a producer and enthusiast in the scene for 14 years and I’ve recently founded Catnip Sound.
What’s your ethos?
I believe in creative freedom and to push against all that is commercialized. Which is in and of itself a paradox since the label is going to be commercial in some ways, yet it is the only way for me to push the sound I create and hear around me more. Not that I want to push against the status quo that badly, I just want to express myself. However, I do feel like the bass genre is generally a shin-kicking one.
Tell us your origin story?
I started my first label in 2015/16, it was called The Pack Recordings. I unfortunately had to disband it 2 years after its inception and had planned to start a new one by then already. But life took me in different ways and directions, so I decided to focus on the production side of things.
7/8 years later, I finally feel the fiery passion for it again. Got loads of talented friends I want to represent and loads of material of my own waiting to be released. Catnip Sound is an obvious reference to the feline group. I’m absolutely obsessed with cats; this is basically a tribute to them. A tribute to the place I call home, where I feel safe. Big ups to my cats Dante and Yuki, they are the real deal. The plan is to donate a portion of the proceeds from our catalog to animal shelters in need, worldwide.
Tell us about your local scene…
I’m currently based in Rotterdam. The local scene is in a bad spot if I’m honest. I come from a time when the scene was world-wide vibrant, and I was simply lucky and blessed with all the bookings and connections back then. It’s hard to even find a dubstep party in Rotterdam nowadays. Which is understandable, throwing a party usually costs way too much these days. After covid, everything just went to shit. Although at the same time there has been a new surge/wave of interest in the scene this year. Some figure heads in the country have started the collective Dubstep Netherlands, of which I am also a part, and this initiative is helping to keep the genre afloat. In the end it doesn’t really matter if there’s a scene or not. It all starts and ends with producing the music and enjoying it – and that obsession is still well alive and has been for 14 years.
Do you have a specific sound or vibe?
As long as it makes me do a stinky face and hold my gunfingers in the air, maybe even moan a bit.
Do you have a regular artist roster- who can we see releasing with you?
Yes, I’ve carefully selected a group of people who are absolutely fucking insane and underrated. And I got some homies from my previous label as well! Our first compilation release will be out in September, which will showcase the entire roster: Luitzen, Pulsar, Entah, NVRMND, Noclu, Audiak, Krimma, Facesplit, Madan, HYMN, Ramsez, Katch, Repulsion, Mikrodot, and ROI OS.
Tell us about your A&R process…
I keep the group small and close. I want to know every person I work with. I let them pick their most experimental stuff that they are most insecure about. To me, those are usually the gems I want to hear.
What makes you different from other labels?
I don’t know and I don’t really care. I don’t try to compare myself, I prefer to leave it at the expression. However, I don’t like it when people are able to expect what’s next. Not the next 16 bars, not the next 32, not the next tune, and definitely not my next release. I like to throw a bit of chaos in the mix.
What I do notice, is that most labels don’t focus on the entirety of the genre/spectrum anymore. I only hear focused sub-genre labels, which are either on the deeper end or the harder hitting riddim. What happened to doing all of it? I produce all of the spectrum, and I’m just one producer! Most producers create all of it but are scared to put it out due to the commercial pressure. I know too many producers who aren’t expressing their creativity the way they want to, because they are limited by the labels pushing them.
People like to play it safe, but dubstep has never been safe in that respect! Dubstep is all about going against the status quo, it’s about opening your mind to things you don’t understand. It’s a raw and unapologetic reflection of outcasts. It’s punk as fuck and I miss that rawness in our scene a lot. It’s what got me out of my shell as a teen.
What does it take to run a bass music label in 2025?
Unrealistic dreams, depression & relentless stupidity
What have you got coming up we should look out for?
We had our first launch event on the 9th of august in collaboration with OneForty Events in Rotterdam (Shout out to Nocturne & Obia), celebrating the launch of the label and our first accompanied release.
FVCK WITH THE VISION Volume 1 – Compilation release which came out on 25 September. Don’t you dare miss out on it. It’s donation based/free via our Bandcamp & Soundcloud, while also available on your favourite streaming platform including Beatport and Juno.
Follow Catnip Sounds: Instagram / Bandcamp / Soundcloud
