After a big win for the Resin Dogs at this year’s Queensland Music Awards, Andrew ‘DJ Katch’ Garvie is keeping the good times rolling right into Record Store Day with his label Hydrofunk Records.
“For Record Store Day I’m going to do a pop-up shop at the Brisbane Record Fair over at West End at Rumpus Room,” Andrew says.
“As well as putting stuff into stores people can come out and get some old stock – we’re going to have CDs there almost like gold-coin donation giveaways, and we’ll have some vinyl stock that won’t be in stores.”
In March, Resin Dogs won Best Hip Hop/ Rap Song at the Queensland Music Awards for their track ‘Pack Your Bags’ from their 2018 album ‘Notorious D.O.G.’. Though having won awards in the past, Andrew says it was an honour for Resin Dogs to be recognised specifically for the quality of their songwriting.
“It’s still a bit surreal because we haven’t really released anything in so long but to get that recognition and for songwriting – because we’ve won best hip hop group or best live act but not for songwriting, so it’s a really different thing and it’s really good,” he says.
Andrew says the award is also a nice way to mark their long-term partnership with rapper Abstract Rude, who features on ‘Pack Your Bags’ and was present at the ceremony to accept the award with Andrew and fellow Resin Dog Dave Atkins.
“It’s like 20, maybe 21 years since we first met [Abstract Rude] and started writing, collaborating, touring and just hanging out and doing stuff,” he says.
“We tend to be doing a lot more with different projects back and forth between here and LA. I like to think he’s one of the truer adherents to the art form; we’ve always had that thing about the art form, especially with Resin Dogs or even what I do. It’s about the art form, it’s not about the tricks or things that come with it.”
As a member of Resin Dogs and co-founder of Hydrofunk Records, Andrew holds premier status in the Brisbane hip hop community, and says Record Store Day provides vital support to the independent music sector. “[Record Store Day] does get people into the stores, which is a good thing because it keeps especially the independents alive,” he says. “It invites people to come out... It works within the music community and it is a really great thing.”
Having run Hydrofunk Records for over 20 years, Andrew says it’s important for independent labels and artists to keep finding new and interesting ways to counteract the might of major record companies. “I’ve seen a lot of complaints that [Record Store Day] has been hijacked by the major labels, but that’s why they’re major: they’ve got a massive presence,” he says.
“To work in amongst them you’ve got to be creative, make releases more interesting and do something they’re not doing. You have to compete. I think every day should be Record Store Day.”
