07 Sep Gabe Gurnsey remixes Das Koolies as they release KATAL
Ebbing, foaming synth waves lap upon warm shores as Das Koolies’ irresistible gazpacho of warped island-techno-kraut-psych delivers new single, Katal, the fifth track to be revealed from their upcoming album DK.01. Heat haze and ocean shimmer meets quaking beats and contagious vocal lines on a track that found the band connecting their own, healed growing pains with those freshly felt by their children.
Kicking the prop away from beneath the trapdoor into their fiefdom of idiosyncrasy and watching DJ, producer and artist, Gabe Gurnsey fall in, Das Koolies have welcomed the former Factory Floor member as the first guest remixer to customise their wayward symphonies. Bringing four alternative versions of Katal to the party, all released at the same time, Das Koolies’ superheated core of sweat-dripping, warehouse to field house music influences are brought to an erupting surface in Gurnsey’s hands.
Tearing days off the calendar ahead of not only the 17-track album, but their first ever live shows, kicking off at Rough Trade East on release date, Fri 22 September 2023, Huw ‘Bunf’ Bunford, Cian Ciarán, Dafydd Ieuan and Guto Pryce deliver Katal as an unlikely, reflective hymn to their past. Having asked three of their, simultaneously 14-year-old children to sum up their existence, Das Koolies found themselves staring down their younger selves.
The band states: “We had three kids at 14-years of age at the time and, shortly after the Covid lockdowns, we asked them each to give us three words that summed up their lives. Surprisingly, they all came up with an almost identical three – busy, tired and sad. Not much different to us when we were 14, then. ‘Katal’ is us watching our kids’ present and our past merge. Weird.”
Das Koolies tipped the first domino on the thrilling tumble towards their long-awaited album with the cataclysmic beginning of Best MIndf*ck Yet, featuring friend and actor, Rhys Ifans on vocal duties. Landing a little closer to the territory they won as Super Furry Animals with the warped rock-pop of later singles, Nuthin Sandwich, Pain Down The Drain and Out Of This World, the inclusion of extended remixes for Katal comes through on Das Koolies’ long-term promise to also deliver fans the sounds of their illicit rave roots.
Following his latest remix invitation, having also reworked the music of Depeche Mode, The Charlatans, Working Men’s Club and NEU!, Gurnsey says: “I fell in love with ‘Katal’ as soon as I heard it, so I was buzzing to get working on this remix. So many elements of the original track, especially the vocal hook, inspired me to want to get a version on the dance floor as soon as possible. It’s turned out to be one of my favourite remixes I’ve done so far.”
