Two of the world’s largest DJ powerhouses connected not only for an exclusive interview but for an incredibly groovy song too. Titled Rewind the Cat Dealers and MAKJ executed nicely on the club banger.
We caught up with the Brazilian brothers and California native to learn a little more about what it takes to collaborate on a dance track while living in two completely different parts of the world.
Exclusive Cat Dealers & MAKJ Interview
*This interview was edited for clarity*
Who initiated the idea to collaborate on a track between you all?
Cat Dealers: MAKJ sent us a message and for us it was an honor since we have followed this guy since before we can remember hahaha. So we started talking on a WhatsApp group and everything was so fast and easy, our styles matched perfectly.
MAKJ: Back in 2014 I remember when the Cat Dealers gave me a demo CD. It just took me 5 years to finish the collab.
Cat Dealers
Did you know what the track would sound like before hand? Or was it all made up on the spot?
Cat Dealers: It’s really hard to know before hand, especially in a collab with someone you’ve never worked with before. MAKJ sent us the guitar riff and we sent it to Caelu (vocalist) to write something and in a couple of days he sent it back to us with the vocals and we instantly loved it! So the three of us started to work on the track and it started to sound the way we wanted.
MAKJ: We sent back multiple demos until we decided that Rewind was a great fit for both our styles.
Is this the first time you’ve worked together? How do you feel it turned out? As expected or better?
Cat Dealers: It was our first time working together and everything turned out great. It was really cool to work with him and we’re very happy with the result of the song. We’re super excited with how it’s doing, it hit more than a million plays in less than a month, we did not expect that, but we’re loving it hahah.
MAKJ: This is the first time, I’m very impressed how the song turned out. It’s a great record, not just a great collaboration.
Cat Dealers
MAKJ
What did the production and creative process look like?
Cat Dealers: Working with people overseas nowadays is super easy. MAKJ would send us the stems and after we’d work on it, we would send it back and we kept sending stems until it was over. That was a super easy track to work on, everything was happening fast and the way we wanted it to happen.
MAKJ: A lot of Whatsapp lol. Voice notes and Dropbox also brought this track to life.
What sort of feedback have you been getting back from the public?
Cat Dealers: We’ve been receiving awesome feedback. To begin with, the song went amazingly well on the online platforms, reaching pretty high numbers on its first days. Now being able to play it live is so cool, we have a lot of fun seeing how the public reacts.
MAKJ: It’s the old MAKJ mixed with a new Brazilian touch. So my fans are happy and Cat Dealers demographic has been thrilled they’re putting a little more radio EDM into the mix.
MAKJ
What’s next for both of you guys? Anything lined up?
Cat Dealers: Who knows? Maybe another collab in the future hahah. We’d love to work together again.
MAKJ: Another collaboration for sure!
What has been a top highlight for you guys throughout 2019 so far?
Cat Dealers: So many things have happened this year, but for sure one of the highlights is our tour. We played in some awesome places all around the world, including some amazing festivals, such as Rock in Rio in Brazil, Medusa Festival and Arenal, both in Spain, Nameless Music Festival in Italy, and S2O in Thailand. Another special moment that we have to highlight was entering the DJ Mag Top 100 for the third consecutive year and climbing to number #46.
MAKJ: Being able to work with artists globally. I don’t think artists these days know how crazy that is. Back 10 years ago it was almost impossible to work with someone in another country.
When are we going to get you guys out to Seattle, Washington for a show?
Cat Dealers: We hope to come soon! We’d love to play there. Next year we have a couple of USA tours so hopefully we’ll get to play there!
MAKJ: 2020!
Cat Dealers, MAKJ – Rewind (Official Video) ft Caelu
Cat Dealers
MAKJ
