Wongo: "We Want to Keep Box Of Cats About the Music"

Wongo and the rest of the Box Of Cats crew are celebrating the label’s 200th release, and he swung by to dive into “The Key,” what’s next, and more.

The house music scene wouldn’t be what it is today without Box Of Cats. This label was brought to life nearly a decade ago by Jak Z, Tom EQ, Jeff Doubleu, Kyle Watson, Wongo, and Marc Spence, who looked to champion the sounds of the underground that’s left of center, quirky, and fun. They’ve continued to push Box Of Cats forward with impressive releases, and now they’ve dropped their milestone 200th for the world to hear.

For this massive celebration, founders Wongo and Kyle Watson teamed up under their Pavement Special alias to bring “The Key” to life. This fresh tune is a concoction of the diverse ideas that the two artists have, which also represent the dynamic nature and overall ethos of Box Of Cats as a label.

Luckily for us, Wongo had some time to sit down and chat about the release and the label itself. Give “The Key” a listen on Spotify or your preferred platform, and read on to dive a bit deeper into his mind as he celebrates this major milestone for Box Of Cats.

Stream Pavement Special – The Key on Spotify:

Hey Matt, thanks so much for chatting with me today, and congrats on the major milestone for Box Of Cats. The 200th release is “The Key,” a tune under your collaborative project with Kyle Watson, Pavement Special. This milestone tune features the vibes that the label exudes with its releases – can you tell us a bit about its production?

Kyle sent me a bunch of demos that he was working on, but the track that stuck out to me was mainly just a breakdown. I think Kyle is the king of putting moody chords into heavy-hitting club music. So, I felt my job was to build it from there. I had a groovier drop initially, but I think circling back to simplicity with the off-beat bass line really helped. It’s super current, and we used that idea in our own way without feeling like it was trying to be techno or a hard dance track. From there, it all really fell into place pretty quickly!

The mix you put out to celebrate this milestone is simply sublime. Although it was teased as the “first and maybe only-ever Pavement Special DJ mix,” do you reckon that we could eventually see this happen in the future at a festival?

[Laughs] I dropped that ‘maybe’ because you can never say never. If we were to do a b2b under that name, I would almost just want it to be the ONE time I finally get Kyle drunk, he comes to the after-party, and we tear the roof off it. [Laughs] For those there, it will feel special.

Box Of Cats began its journey as a label on SoundCloud but has soared to even greater heights over the past decade. What do you feel has helped draw so many people to the tunes on this imprint during this time?

For me, it’s having a person on the other side of the consumer that people can speak to and befriend. Whether it’s messages about our music itself or young DJs sending us emails on how to get their first DJ gigs, we have always been there for them, and it’s helped build a community around the music. I think having artists who care about their industry behind the wheel really helps!

Looking back, can you share some of the most defining moments for the label over the course of its run?

100% one of the defining moments was about BOC30; we were getting 1,000s of downloads on each track on SoundCloud and realized that we needed to make it legit. Keeping up with the demos folder was becoming hard, and the label as a whole was starting to take up real people’s time. The Sponges’ “Make It Juicy” was another. The track wasn’t massive, but it had this underlying feeling of being groundbreaking. We signed up those boys quickly and started getting their music out. I had 100 Zoom chats to mentor them about the industry as they didn’t know this world. As you know, they are now killing it, and it’s so good to see.

Box Of Cats isn’t planning on stopping anytime soon, either. What plans do you have for the imprint in the coming years? Are there any goals you and the crew hope to achieve?

The major thing we want with Box of Cats is to keep it about the music. As Kyle and I already have busy touring schedules and live on opposite sides of the world, it’s hard to organize anything other than that. I keep playing with the idea of a second record label that offshoots from Box of Cats and goes in a certain direction a little more, but we will have to see!

If you could offer any piece of advice to rising house artists who are looking to make a splash in 2025, what would it be?

I know the old ‘stay original’ line gets old but it’s crazy how important it is for the next-gen to keep hearing it. Still, 80% of the music we are sent via demo feels either like a copy of another song or its using a Splice sample we have heard 100 times. The internet is such a huge place and so easy to find samples and ideas from places other than where everyone else goes!

Finally, on a personal level, you were just announced on the lineup for next year’s edition of Friendship! Can you share what you’re most excited about for this upcoming show? What can Shipfam expect from your set(s)?

Yes, I am frothing! 100% the most exciting part is just being with Shipfam. Their community has made such a huge impact on the US underground market over the years, and they continue to do so. I want to be on that Dial a DJ thing and just rock up to random people’s rooms and play tunes. That sounds like the funnest shit ever.