Following our unapologetic full-strength MIXMAS mission throughout the festive break, we now dive deep into 2025 with a powerful multi-genre bass session and an inspiring story from London-based Australian Faded Society!
A multi-disciplined artist, DJ and industry professional currently spinning all kinds of cool community minded plates and music services, Faded Society – AKA Cat – is neck deep in DIY and grassroots empowerment including a 450-member strong WhatsApp group that connects new and rising artists, DJs and ravers around the world (The Faded Community) and, as of last Friday, a brand new digital zine!
A promoter with several years of London raves under her belt, Faded Society is also the co-founder of the Back2Back DJ Battle, a unique open format DJ tournament that launched last year in London and included a whole range of prizes including a festival set, Westend DJ vouchers, radio slots, mentoring sessions and loads more (including an interview here with 1 More Thing)
She also offers a whole range of marketing, consultancy and support services for musicians, DJs, music brands and individuals. An exciting and relatively new chapter in Cat’s life; after many years of working in product and marketing for big brands and corporations, last year saw her break away from the trappings of a 9-5, go freelance and share her experiences with creative communities who are faced with more challenges than any other generation has faced in the past.
It’s an outlook, attitude and energy that resonates deep with ours. Even down to the reality of having too many things to do that’s it’s hard to make the time for a good old mix!
But that’s what we made Faded Society do. And she delivered big time. Ears on the mix, eyes on the words…
You’ve just launched a zine! Amazing! What inspired it? And what can people expect from it?
I can’t believe this is out myself. The story behind it is not that fun – I was really sick from the flu back in November which forced me “not to do work” physically so it left my self-diagnosed ADHD brain to wander to many places. The main drive was thinking about how can I showcase more of the growing Faded DJ database that I’ve collected? How can I spotlight more artists in different ways other than what I’ve already been doing? Suddenly it was a lightbulb moment. Design is second nature to me so one thing led to another, I played around with some ideas and ended up creating 80% of the January issue after that day!
It’s for the community, by the community. It not only showcases up and coming DJs or exclusive interviews to deep dive into their music journey but also highlight segments such as new music from producers in the Faded Community. Getting ravers involved by telling their tales from night outs or what they’re listening to. Reporting on big venues and events as well as which smaller raves to check out in the underground scene in London!
Go on. Giving the ravers a voice, too! There’s SO MUCH awesome stuff being released, created and hosted every day… Editorial curation and projects such as zines are really helpful to help guide people through the noise and help highlight things that might otherwise be overlooked. We are also working on a zine and I know other crews doing similar things too. Do you think we might see a revival of this type of promotion?
I wasn’t aware of anyone else working on zines apart from my over-night light bulb idea which was marketed as a secret for a month haha! But it makes sense that there may be a resurgence in written content. I’m a believer of “narrating your own story”, so this was the perfect extension of the brand to be able to communicate exactly how I wanted to. It makes it extra special also to have something documented happening right now. I can’t wait to see what you have been brewing for 1 More Thing!
All in good time! Let’s narrate some of your story. You’ve had a really interesting journey. From what I know, DJing and having a your own agency wasn’t part of your career plan, was it?
Not really! I mean music has always been there and it’s always driven me. It drove me to this decision to curate my own shit and start DJing. But what I hadn’t considered was how I’d incorporate my skillset as a product designer and marketer with the DJing and music. It went from, ‘Ah I’ll start DJing and see how it goes’ to producing my own events, having my own community and creating the DJ Battle concept which is sponsored by a whole load of great brands. It’s been insane.
That’s amazing. What products were you inventing in your previous lives?
Oh wow so my previous lives were involved in all sorts from fashion to homeware to wedding stationery, working with major retailers and event clients. And now of course music services. I went through many products and materials and processes.
Wow I guess the thread is creativity and making things. You’ve always got a project on, right?
Yeah. I guess it’s all about looking at a brief, working out what I need to do to make it happen and how do I market it? That was 12 years of my career, that process every time.
Was there a moment where you could feel it coming around to music or was it incremental?
I guess both. In 2021 I threw my first event and that kickstarted me creating a community of ravers and DJs who want to come together and do what we do. Then March last year I quit my job, went to Vietnam for a month. I had my ‘eat pray love’ movie experience. I was finding myself and figuring out what I wanted to do next then had a lightbulb moment – I had been building this community and finding out what DJs and ravers need and it all clicked together. I can create platforms, I can bring people together, I can connect people with other people, we can run events and I can bring in my own marketing consultation and very quickly I had an agency. It’s been fricking hard but it’s been very rewarding.
Totally. I can relate to that. The pay off of your freedom is always thinking about work and income. You never really get away from it…
Oh so much! It’s been eight months of uncertainty – there’s no set monthly wage, there’s no annual leave, you’ve got to figure your shit out early and strategically to pay the rent. There’s been a lot of adjustments.
It gets easier but it never leaves your brain – it’s always there in your head. It’s like another limb or an extension of your thoughts in real life.
Ha. Yeah it’s very intense and doing events as well it’s very weekend heavy. There’s a lot of late nights, a lot of demands and a lot of time management as a result. Or else I’ll get burnt out very quickly.
Absolutely but it seems like you’re on it and have a good balance. You mentioned something earlier that struck me – knowing what the DJs and ravers want. That’s changed over the years so what do you feel the ravers and DJs want right now in 2025?
Yeah, so in my WhatsApp community there’s around 450 people and it seems pretty split between the massive events and big line-ups and the underground, independent events. It’s a constant debate ‘I want to just support the grassroots people’ and others will be like ‘nah I want big headliners and epic line-ups’. The price point is a big discussion too. It’s interesting to see this conversation happening in real life. There is definitely an interest in supporting grassroots movements but there’s just as much enthusiasm for big experiences and big line-ups.
I think we’ve arrived at a very risk averse era where people don’t want to take a gamble on an unknown DJ anywhere near as much as they did before.
Yeah that’s an interesting point actually and the biggest change we’ve seen since covid, from a promoter perspective, is how late people leave their ticket buying. Previously it might have been 72 hours for the last-minute crew but now it’s down to 24 hours or even six hours where you see that big 80% sales spike. It’s insane how last minute it is. People are making sure their friends are going or that they don’t have other stuff to entice them. It’s so challenging for promoters right now.
Stresssss
So stressful! I had to cancel Halloween because of it. Last minute trends really do kill independent promoters.
Everything is a transition, though. So how do you think this will evolve or develop to next?
I think there will always been that duality between the grassroots and the massive mainstream line-ups. Some people will always go with the big line-ups and those big productions and that’s for them. But there are many small community crews popping up with events that are very intimate and word of mouth. That will always be a movement in one way or another. And what I want The Faded Community to represent is that middle ground.
The squeezed middle! That’s where 1 More Thing is at – amplifying the underground and trying to encourage growth but not in an over-inflated way that we see all the time.
It’s so necessary for the middle part to exist. We need it because how can people go from amateur to big name without having a space in between to develop and thrive and flourish and learn and grow? It’s very important for brands like yours or mine to persist and make that space sustainable and inclusive.
100%. Couldn’t agree more. So let’s talk about your mix and your role as a DJ!
Yes! Thank you. I’ve been so busy developing The Faded Community or Faded Society Ltd the company, that I don’t get to mix or play out as much as I used to and whenever I do I remember how much I love it. I love curating the mix and putting things together that you won’t expect or maybe shouldn’t go together and gets you pulling those skanking bass faces! So thanks for having me, I’m excited to have it out there.
Love the slow-to-fast journey. Is this a fair reflection of a Faded Society in her natural habitat?
Haha. It definitely reflects a very strong side of me. I do so many different style sets as a genre fluid DJ. I have so many other sounds – more downtempo stuff, heavier stuff, housier or techno stuff. But this is a big bit of me. I love building up the energy and bringing in elements – saxophones, jazzy blues, spacey shit, rap on top of acid. It definitely represents how I DJ and what I love.
What are you representing in 2025?
So Back2Back DJ battle – it returns on Feb 7 in a new venue called Alaska, in Waterloo, London. If you’ve not heard of or been to the battle before then I highly recommend that you come and see what all the goss is about. We’ve got battles in April, June, a wildcard one in September then the championship in November. The finale last year was huge. We had Alpha Theta/ Pioneer in collaboration from Westend DJ giving some massive prizes to winners and it’s great to nurture the winners in their careers.
That’s very important. It’s not just ‘here’s your prize, off you pop now.’
Yeah it’s a big part of the prizes for the championship winner they get a UK festival slot with Riot Noise, they get marketing time with me to hone their skills online, they get a vinyl masterclass, they get all sorts of things, they get a Mixcloud Pro account and G Shock Radio residency. They win a lot to develop their career.
So last year was the first one?
Yeah we started with pilot show back in Jan 2024 where the winners won banana cake which Seye (aka Venxm) had baked.
Haha no way!
Yeah we wanted to test out the concept and that’s what we had as a prize. By the end of the year we’ve giving away pro-level Alpha Theta/ Pioneer kit! How much it grew is just insane.
What a sick way to conclude… When you put your passion into something you can achieve amazing things!
Yes, when you put your passion into something you can achieve amazing things! It’s hard work and you have to focus, but, for me as a female in the industry, I find a lot of females are too scared to do it. I guess fearful of rejection but what’s the worst someone can say? If they’re not interested in your pitch. That’s it. No biggie. Someone else might listen or get on to the next idea. Get out there and do your thing!
YES! Anything else to add?
Of course – we have a Music Marketing Masterclass which we also launched last year. It’s for all music artists and musicians who want to increase their presence online. Not just on social media but the full marketing perspective to ace their game. We have three weeks hosted by three different facilitators including yourself, Donal Sharpson who’s an amazing music producer and label head and I tie it all up with practical marketing exercises and strategies and how to be authentic and present yourself online. That’s happening in Feb so I hope to see some of you there!
Follow @TheFadedCommunity for all details of events, marketing workshops and more
Check out www.fadedsocietyltd.com for all info
Follow Faded Society on @FadedSocietyOfficial