dj pirna: the day i found out that my cat only has one life
Francisco Espregueira
Dresden producer DJ Pirna has been building his own version of club music for years, with a catalogue that moves through funk, hip-hop, house, electro and what can be defined as “Ghettoboomsound.” Releases such as Prehistoric Passion (2022) and It Smells Like Bootyhole on Mars... Bring Me Back to Earth! (2024) show a taste for strange titles, chopped-up samples and rhythms that rarely stay in one lane. On The Day I Found Out That My Cat Only Has One Life, released by Former City Records, he takes that playful approach into album territory. Fourteen tracks were selected from a reported 122 compositions, giving the record the feel of a deliberately edited collection rather than a maximalist dump of ideas.
The story running through the album centres on Eric, whose childhood memories of music, Lego and snacks take an unexpected turn when a tractor ends the life of his cat. It is an odd premise, but DJ Pirna treats it as a loose thread rather than something that needs to dominate the music. “Do I Do”, featuring Elis Dao, “Hacerlo Mal” with Giu Azul, and “The Vibe” with Esther D bring different voices into the mix, while tracks like “Mo Funk” and “Please Dance With Me It Is Philantrophy” keep the focus on the groove. The result sits between a club cuts record and a beat tape, with the narrative giving the tracks a little more room for our imagination. Former City Records, DJ Pirna’s home base in Dresden, is always the perfect place for truly good club records that without taking itself too seriously. Available on vinyl.