Forty Cats, also known as Christina Gavrilova, is a talented artist from Russia who’s tracks have garnered impressive support on the world stage over the past several years.
With successful international gigs as a DJ under her belt and a continuous stream of original tracks and remixes being released on quality labels such Sudbeat, Mango Alley, Manual Music, and Kindisch, Forty Cats has established herself as an artist to watch.
Balance Selections 258: Forty Cats
Tracklisting:
01. Forty Cats – ID
02. Ary Garay – Hound (Monuloku Remix)
03. Meeting Molly – Elementary
04. Federico Monachesi – Emerald Lake
05. Loveclub & Domingo + – Shin’Ya
06. Redspace & Lluis Ribalta – Choice (PASINDU Remix)
07. Forty Cats – ID
08. Forty Cats – Outlast
09. Forty Cats – ID
10. Forty Cats – WDYM (Dowden Remix)
11. Kamilo Sanclemente – Distant Blips (Dowden Remix)
12. John Dahlback feat. Dons & Tranquillo – Everywhere (Anton Make Edit)
13. Forty Cats – ID
14. FJL – Be Rocking (FM Edit)
15. ID – ID (Forty Cats Remix)
16. Forty Cats – A Spoon Of Honey (Michael A Remix)
17. Forty Cats – ID
18. ID – ID (Forty Cats Remix)
19. Kasper Koman – March (Imran Khan Remix)
20. Paul Oakenfold feat. Carla Werner – Southern Sun (Sebastian Busto Bootleg)
21. Julian Wassermann – My Side
22. ID – ID
Balance Selections Q+A
Name: Christina Gavrilova
Location: Yerevan, Armenia
Facebook
Soundcloud
Instagram
Alias/Producer name: Forty Cats
Labels affiliated with: Sudbeat, Soundgarden, Mango Alley, Meanwhile, Juicebox
My last 3 releases:
Forty Cats – Lea
Mike Hiratzka – Melodia (Forty Cats & Dowden Remix)
QuiQui – Labyrinth Of Paradoxes (Forty Cats Remix)
What music did you listen to as a child?
My house was often filled with good music back when I was a child. My parents weren’t musicians but my father used to DJ back at school and often played tracks by Boney M, Jean-Michel Jarre, Robert Miles, Pink Floyd, Rockets, Ultravox, and more.
When was the first time that you realized that you liked electronic music?
I had a friend who introduced me to trance music back when I was a teenager. The first track that I instantly fell in love with was Paul van Dyk ‘Nothing But You‘.
When was the first time you saw a DJ in a club?
The city of Murmansk where I spent most of my early life was quite fruitful for foreign DJ act performances, and one of the first memorable events was Ronski Speed’s show. He played a fantastic trance set which I enjoyed from the beginning till the end.
Which producers/artists/acts inspire you?
I’ve been deeply into the progressive house scene for the last four years, and my icons in this sound are Hernan Cattaneo, Guy J, and Khen. I should also mention Alex Mango, and his Mango Alley, a label that has been delivering top quality for the last 15 years non-stop. I’m also really fond of “out-of-the-box” artists like Max Cooper, and Gidge.
What was the last album that you downloaded/bought?
I haven’t been listening to any albums for almost 5 years, to be honest. The majority of my favorite tracks are recommended to me by Spotify or are delivered in promos from the friendly labels. The recent track that was on repeat in my personal playlist was Ólafur Arnalds ‘Partial‘ (Max Cooper’s ’99 remix). I’m a big fan of Max Cooper‘s music, and this remix specifically is on top of sound design and technical quality, in my opinion.
What is your current production and DJ setup like?
I do live streams at home using my APC-40 MK II controller + Ableton Live. When I play live gigs, I usually rely on classic hardware like Pioneer. The ideal for me is to use 3-4 decks to play a set in the most convenient way. As for music production, I mostly use VSTs like Pigments, Analog Lab, ANA, Kontakt, Diva, Jup-8, and more. I also use Dreadbox Tiphon analog synth and Strymon TimeLine effects pedal.
What releases do you have on the horizon?
My track “Lea‘ was included in Soundgarden’s ‘Summer Collection‘, and it’s my debut on Nick Warren’s imprint, which I’m really proud of. Also, a lot of my remixes for the various labels have recently seen the light of day, and I also have an EP for Cattaneo’s Sudbeat in development right now. Stay tuned! 🙂
Where can we hear you perform?
I have a mini-tour in Russia — I’m gonna visit at least 5 cities in August, then I’m off for my first South American tour in Argentina, Brazil, and maybe more countries in October. Really excited about this one! I also have a monthly stream/podcast called ‘In My Bedroom Sessions‘, which started back in 2020 as a way to escape from the COVID-19 lockdowns.
Tell us more about the podcast you made for Balance?
It was mixed live using my laptop, APC-40 MK II controller, and Ableton Live. It took me one day to compile the tracks (I prepare tracklists of my sets very carefully, with attention to the details like BPM and harmonic mixing), then one more day to perfectly craft my mix. The standout tracks from my set are Meeting Molly – Elementary, Kamilo Sanclemente – Distant Blips (Dowden Remix) and John Dahlback feat. Dons & Tranquillo – Everywhere (Anton Make Edit)
My Recommendations
The top track in my DJ wallet currently is:
Julian Wassermann – My Side
If I could recommend only one of my tracks for you to listen to it would be:
Forty Cats – A Spoon Of Honey
If I could recommend only one track for you to listen to it would be:
The Blizzard – Kalopsia
The last movie I watched that I really liked:
‘The Greatest Beer Run Ever‘. What I expected to be just an easy-going comedy movie turned out to be a deep and thoughtful drama based on true events with a very pacifist message that is very relevant today.
My favourite TV show:
It’s gotta be ‘Scrubs‘. My favourite sitcom of all time!
