This is the translation of the interview made and published in Hungarian by koncertblog.hu preceding the Winter Moon mini-festival organized by Y-Production and Dance Movement in Budapest on February 10th, headlined by Z-Cat and Fagin’s Reject. 

Two completely different approaches within the goa scene and psytrance music showcased by the young Russian DJane, Z-Cat, and the seasoned English artist, Fagin’s Reject, the two headliners (out of three) of the Winter Moon mini-festival, in a candid, occasionally chauvinistic, yet humorously captivating double interview with some disturbing geopolitical implications.

Do you remember the first music you heard? How did you decide to pursue music? And then how did you get involved with psytrance, the goa scene? Who were the first artists who made a deep impression on you?

Z-Cat: It was some records from the 60’s and 70’s my parents liked, so they played them a lot at home. Until 2003, I was quite a hardcore raver, partying hard in Moscow every weekend. At a psytrance party, I started singing along with the music, and I realized how well it fit with this kind of music too. So I sang whatever came to my mind, it was fun, people came: some thought I was crazy, some liked it. There were times when people sat around me and listened to all the crap I did on the dance floor as if they were at a concert. Then a producer friend of mine used my voice in his music, we made several tracks together. He taught me how to mix, and sometimes when he was sick or could have played two gigs at the same time, I went instead of him. That’s how I started performing as part of the G-Light project. Time passed, and I wanted to improve, but my boyfriend wasn’t a partner in this: he said Yana, you are a girl, girls can’t play music, so in the end, we broke up. I vowed I would prove him wrong.

Fagin’s Reject: The first music I remember was Queen, Motown, Ella Fitzgerald, and Nina Simone. Then I recall British ska bands like Madness and The Specials, which was the coolest music when I was around nine in elementary school. After my brother brought home Killer by Iron Maiden, I immediately wanted a guitar, just like everyone else who’d heard it. Then since I was ten, I’ve been listening to metal, but also punk and stoner rock, funk and soul, anything with cool grooves and riffs, but the music itself, so to say, must emotionally uplift you.

Which do you prefer more, the process of composing music or performing? Where and when was your first official performance? Compared to the current situation, what was fundamentally different back then?

Z-Cat: I love both equally, for me, they are interconnected. In 2004, the aforementioned ex-boyfriend organized a party where the first performer canceled his appearance, so I had to step in to start. What I have noticed lately is that people are dancing facing the stage, whereas, in the past, they danced facing each other, smiling. This is also because the whole scene is getting better, the decorations, the visuals, but also the music and parties are of better quality. Everything changes, psytrance changes, we are part of it too.

Fagin’s Reject: Music making is quite difficult for me, not only because of the expectations I set for myself, but also because I have to move every two years, and it takes time to settle into a new place. In 2012, I performed alone for the first time at a squat party in London. I really enjoy that wherever I go, especially if it’s another country, people greet me enthusiastically because of my music. It’s a great joy to see people enjoying my work. What I’m sure of is that the underground always stays underground, despite many trying to dilute it for business purposes.

How does the process of composing music happen for you? Is the whole thing in your head and just comes out, or is it a longer process in which the track continuously changes? When do say a track is finished?

Z-Cat: First comes an idea, then a melody, I work out the main parts, and then I figure out how the story goes. Then, after mastering it, I test it on the dance floor, and if it works there, then it’s ready.

Fagin’s Reject: When a painting’s finished, can you add another brushstroke? Who decides? Usually my partner, Nadia, lol. The process always depends on what I want to do. Sometimes, I start with a title, then I continue with the mood it suggests. Or there’s just a mood, and I go from there. Even a certain bpm can change the process. It works almost any way, just want to be original enough.

How much does technology help or hinder you? For example, when you get a new device for your studio? Overall, how much are you gadget geeks? Very much, or are you more of the mindset that if something you know works, why tamper with it?

Z-Cat: Technology definitely helps, and I’m quite an experimental person, always trying something new in every new piece of music. That’s why all my music is very different, and I work slowly because I don’t do the same thing twice, always trying out new tools.

Fagin’s Reject: I really like Multi-FX plugins and cool distortions. I could make a track out of random sounds by recording samples from a factory, kitchen, or anything else. I’m not really interested in the latest synths. The only hardware I like is the Nord 2X.

What kind of music do you listen to in your free time? Do you listen to music as a producer, analyzing it, trying to figure out how it was made?

Z-Cat: My husband is an Indie musician, he’s in charge of music at home. We listen to everything except very cheesy pop music. A lot of classic rock and experimental avantgarde music. When it comes to psytrance, of course, I mentally dissect it all and try to decipher it. I think, subconsciously, this happens in every producer’s mind. 

Fagin’s Reject: At home, I mostly listen to music that algorithms throw up, or that others recommend. There are very inspiring bands from completely different genres that I listen to a lot, like Queens of Stone Age, Ruff Majik, High on Fire, PigsX7, and lately Amyl and the Sniffers.

What is your impression of Hungary? Both of you have performed here before. What are your top 3 festival/party experiences?

Z-Cat: I played twice in Hungary, at smaller parties, and during these times, I didn’t spend much time outside the venue. Unfortunately, I haven’t played at Ozora yet. I have a top 5 festival/party experience: Universo Paralello in Brazil, VooV Experience in Germany, Vortex in South Africa, RPC in Argentina, and Moon Crystal in Mexico.

Fagin’s Reject: I like coming to Hungary, although it’s true that my experiences are limited to Ozora and Budapest. Budapest is a city that I love coming to anytime. Good food, and architecturally very beautiful. I always bring back pálinka and paprika, both are wonderful. Actually, I played at Ozora for the first time in 2014, it’s been 10 years this year, and I remember how nervous I was… I played once at the top of the World Trade Center in Bangalore, that was intense too. The most important memory of my life was when I played my music for people and saw their reactions.

You receive, listen to, and play a lot of music, obviously. How do you keep track of all of it? Do you use any apps or systems to keep track of what music is for what, what it is, and so on?

Z-Cat: My husband is in charge of the music, he could answer that…

Fagin’s Reject: I pay for YouTube Premium, it mostly takes care of this sort of thing.

Z-Cat, we don’t know much about the Russian psytrance scene, but obviously, we know the big names. Are there events in Russia similar to Ozora, for example? How can such a freedom-oriented scene even exist in a dictatorship like Putin’s Russia?

Z-Cat: Between 2006 and 2022, I also worked as a party organizer, so I have a pretty good insight. The Russian scene was big and of high quality; we had events with tens of thousands of people, and I managed to bring almost everyone to Moscow. But then in 2014, with the annexation of Crimea, everything changed, and since then, things have gone even worse. Since the attack on Ukraine, it has been a nightmare… I couldn’t continue my life in the way I was living, so in 2022, my family and I moved to Israel. But there are still parties in Russia, smaller ones, with a more modest lineup, and there are events similar to Ozora, but they are also smaller than they used to be.

How did you feel when it turned out that the symbol of the war against Ukraine partly includes the initial of your artist name?

Z-Cat: It was another madness; everyone was shocked that the letter Z became a symbol of war, especially since it was the logo and symbol of the Kazantip Festival, a very popular electronic music festival in Ukraine among all age groups, including Russia. Many other bands suffered, such as Zemphira, Tequilajazzzz, etc. I adopted my name in 2004, and it has nothing to do with Putin’s war. I thought maybe I should change my name, but then I realized that after 14 years of work and many releases under this name, it’s almost impossible. Then, as I traveled around the world, I noticed that the psytrance community doesn’t really know about it, only in countries like Serbia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, and probably Hungary… They know and somehow relate to it, but the rest of the world, especially across the ocean in Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Canada, they have no idea why the Z was made a symbol in Russia.

Did the condemnation or non-condemnation of the war cause tension in the techno scene, and even DJanes like Nina Kraviz were involved – but in the psytrance scene, we haven’t heard of such. Have you experienced anything like this as a Russian artist?

Z-Cat: Yes, at the beginning, it had an impact, I even lost some gigs because of it. Swiss organizers canceled my gigs just because I’m of Russian origin, it didn’t matter that I didn’t support the war, they didn’t care that since 2014, I’ve always been in opposition, attended every protest, and so on, none of that mattered to them. I received many messages threatening to kill me, cut off my head – just because I’m Russian. Some Russians even labeled me a traitor, threatening me in letters not to return to Russia, otherwise they would torture and kill me. Some promised to pour red paint over me. But now, two years after the outbreak of the war, things are starting to calm down.

Fagin’s Reject, you’re not the typical goa-hippie archetype. You seem more like a Motörhead fan, which makes you a truly unique presence among the psy heads. This duality is also felt in your music. Was it your goal to fuse metal into goa, or did it happen completely by chance?

Fagin’s Reject: Yes, it’s intentional to have some metal vibes in my music. Since the beginning, I’ve met a lot of people who love metal, black metal, and also enjoy psytrance. For me, both are similarly tribal subcultures. I always try to make music that’s rock and roll, or in other words, just badass!

Do you have or have had any bands other than your psytrance project?

Fagin’s Reject: Maybe in the future, I’ll have a darkprog project!

What could be the next defining musical mutation within psytrance? How do you see, for example, the night/forest substyles? Do you feel any fatigue in them?

Fagin’s Reject: Who knows, hehe. To me, the only important thing is that you can shake your ass.

Source: Original interview in Hungarian on koncertblog.hu