Kat Says: Happy New Year, Friends!
Here are my favorite Kat Calls episodes of season 2, thanks for tuning in!
Well, first of all, let me just say how sorry I am for sending you an email on New Year’s Eve. I don’t want any emails today, you don’t want any emails today, but here I am, sending this through.
What can I say? It’s part of my process of reflection to create a list of must-watch Kat Calls episodes from Season 2 and leave that reflection in 2021 where it belongs.
This year was, well, it wasn’t everything humanity as a whole wished it would be. It wasn’t all that bad, though. We all reunited with friends and family. We all hit dance floors once again. I even went to a couple music festivals!
Okay, fuck it. I’ll share more than just Kat Calls episodes. I’m gonna share some of my favorite moments off the screen, too!
In 2021, I had the chance to interview Gaspard Augé of Justice not once, but twice! Once in celebration of his debut solo LP Escapades for Spin, where he told me all about his inspirations and what it felt like to step out from under the shadow of the giant cross (which he considers to be a “third member of the band", btw). The second time was when he gave me a tour of his studio over Zoom. He was wearing a button-up short-sleeve shirt covered in American flags. It was the day after July 4. So weird!
You already know about my interviews with Danny Elfman. Those were wild. I also got to chat with Joseph Mount of Metronomy about the incredible song “The Bay” from the band’s album The English Riviera. That was for Roland, so we went into some serious detail about the synths used on that classic tune. He was a real ‘gent!
Omg! And I got to interview two of my favorite visual artists in the world! Friends With You and OseanWorld!
Of course, this year was also the year Daft Punk officially hung up its helmets. It was my great honor to write this love letter to the robots who literally and truly changed my fucking life. Apparently it went pretty viral. I was invited to talk on BBC Radio and Sirius XM about it. Neat!
I also went to Mexico and saw a wonder of the world. I finally got to hug my parents and grand parents again. I got vaccinated (three times!), I went to Porter Robinson’s incredible music festival and cried my eyes out. I went to III Points and reunited with nearly every Miami friend I have (and saw Wu-Tang!! Killer Bees on the swarm!).
I was even interviewed, twice! Once (sort of) when EDM ID shared my band’s mix! It’s nearly 40 minutes of entirely original material! You should listen to it! I was also interviewed by my friend and fellow writer Graham for EDM.com, where I shared tips on how to deliver a top-notch interview from the artist’s perspective.
It wasn’t a perfect year. My uncle passed away very suddenly in Sept. He was a really incredible guy. Tell the people you love that you love them while you can, and make the most of the time you have. Every day is a gift, after all!
I dedicate all the awesome stuff I see and do in 2022 to my Uncle Frankie. If the Dolphins actually make it to the playoffs, I know it’s because his spirit is somewhere in the ether, pulling fucking strings, lol.
Alright. I’m done reflecting. Sorry I made this email all about me, seesh. The truth is, all this content isn’t about me. It’s about us! FANS RULE, POSERS DROOL. What am I, 10? Whatever. On with the list!
Must-Watch Kat Calls Episodes from Season 2
Every conversation I had this year brought light to my life and joy to my heart. I’m incredibly proud of each and every single guest that I’ve managed to book for the show.
Thank you so, so much to every single one of you that’s ever watched, be it live or later on YouTube. Your likes and comments mean the world! I’m not screaming into the abyss! Someone is out there, screaming back! lolol
Looking through all of these interviews, it makes me almost cry. I can’t believe we’re fucking doing this, hahahahaha. IT’S HAPPENING. Okay, here are some really fun ones.
Kat Calls: Madeon
I mean, fuck dude. I started Season 2 with Madeon!!! We made the front page of Twitch! It’s still the most live viewers I’ve ever had. It was also my last Kat Calls with Spin, and that was a lesson for me in standing up for myself. Landing on the front page of twitch is cool, but knowing your worth is even cooler. Madeon is a fucking G, though!! This convo was amazing! He didn’t wanna leave! They never do! Lol
Kat Calls: Moore Kismet
Dude, Moore Kismet really blew up this year, and I’m incredibly proud to have booked them on the show before they became like, idk, the most in-demand up-and-comer on the scene, hahaha. Not only is Moore Kismet a talented teen, they’re a true sweetheart and a bonafide star!
Kat Calls: Kaleena Zanders
Another huge star on the rise! Kaleena is a powerhouse, and this conversation was the start of a real and worthwhile friendship! So proud of all the major moves she made in 2021, and I can’t wait to see what 2022 holds in store!
Kat Calls: Pusher
Pusher made one of my favorite albums of the entire year. Stay-At-Home Popstar is a thrilling collection of ‘80s-influenced electro-pop sing-alongs that exorcise the pain and inanity of life in late-stage capitalism. Also, Pusher is very nice!
Kat Calls: Glenjamn
THIS. MAN. IS. A. LEGEND. He was there filming the blog house era from the beginning, and he’s never stopped rolling. His stories are insane. He spoke about his friendship with Virgil Abloh, too, which feels very poignant in light of that genius’ sudden passing :/ This conversation is a lot of love!
Kat Calls: Nala
Yooo, Nala is my girl! We have been buds since the clubbing days of Miami in the 2010s. This is another star on the rise that I am just so, so proud of. She’s going HUGE things in 2022, just you wait!
Kat Calls: Wavedash
Honestly one of the most fun interviews of my life. I even put my porg on for this. These three lads are incredibly talented. Their album World Famous Tour was one of my favorites as well. Spotify told me I listened to “Dummo Loop” more than any other song this year! That’s math.
Kat Calls: Skream
I just—I have no words. This man blessed me with this one. What a fucking legend. Don’t fucking miss this, but get ready to make sense of his insane accent hahaha.
Kat Calls: Swardy
If you haven’t yet watched Swardy’s incredible, mind-blowing, heart-warming set from Porter Robinson’s Secret Sky festival, then you simply have not lived. Watch it with any children you have in your life, then watch this amaaaazing chat. Fun fact: this was recorded the day I got my second vaccination shot!
Kat Calls: Sam Gellaitry
I can’t help it. I’m crying. I’m so honored to have had these conversations. Sam Gellaitry’s music has moved me for years, and he was so warm and friendly in our chat. He really opened up, and this has brought quite a few new friends to our circle! The comments on this one bring me to happy tears, hahaha. This is officially my most-viewed Kat Calls upload ever! Yay!
Kat Calls: Vindata
Vindata has now become a solo project, but I’m incredibly proud to have chatted with the duo before the split. I’m pretty sure it was amicable, because they seem to be, like, just fine here. Obviously Jared had other production projects going on, which we talk about here!
Kat Calls: Heyz
This one was so fucking fun. Heyz was truly one of the most interesting and off-the-cuff guests I’ve had on the show. It was a barrel of laughs, and it turned what had been a pretty rough day into a great memory! (I had just found out I might have lost my friend’s cat, right after I started the stream. Good news! The cat came home that night! Yayay!)
Kat Calls: Rinzen
Another friend who is doing incredible things! Rinzen was a fellow music journalist for Billboard when I first met him. Now he’s dropping some of the most thought-provoking techno on the scene. This conversation was brilliant!
Kat Calls: Elohim
Again, an artist that I admire so much who agreed to come on the show and just floored me with their openness and friendly demeanor. I really do hope you get a chance to see her live. It’s a beautiful experience!
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There are so many more conversations. Sorry this list is so long. I just like, couldn’t leave so many things out, and yet I still did! There are more videos coming to YouTube in the coming days. I also plan to upload these chats to Spotify. Yay!
Kat Calls will return for Season 3 in February 2022—with a whole new intro sequence! It’ll be the same song, though <3 I also might be moving to YouTube directly. Also, I intend to make a lot of edited content for YouTube. I have a fun docu-series I want to start, and I hope to tap a lot of my music friends to help with it.
I just seriously can’t tell you how much your support means to me. I hope to see you all winning in 2022. I also hope to start a little section of the newsletter where I can highlight YOUR WINS, too! My friends are all doing such neat stuff, let’s spread the word!
Okay, go drink some champagne and sleep in tomorrow. HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Thanks for tuning into my newsletter. Listen to the playlists on Spotify. One is updated weekly with all the songs from each edition. The other is cumulative with all the updates ever!