a repository for representative recordings of all natures

Nashville, TN
Progressive Pop
Mike & Mitch Kluge


Since the birth of the label in 1997, FatCat has always had a solid engagement with material sent to us as demos. Where numerous labels will throw demos straight into the trash unopened, at FatCat we've always made an effort to listen and reply to every demo received. Numerous FatCat artists have been picked up having been discovered in this way (including Frightened Rabbit, The Twilight Sad, David Karsten Daniels, Welcome, Odonis Odonis, Get Back Guinozzi!, Silje Nes, Ensemble, Xinlisupreme, Songs Of Green Pheasant, Janek Schaefer - to name just a few), and it has always been really exciting to unexpectedly discover something great in this way. Just as when we started, this philosophy of keeping an ear to the ground and attempting to support good new creativity remains at the core of what we do.

With rapid changes in technology of recent years, the majority of demos are now sent to us electronically, but we are still happy to receive material through the post as CDs (please mark as 'demo submission' and mail FatCat Records, PO Box 3400, Brighton, BN1 4WG). Whilst we are still receiving a high quantity of demos, with our ever-busy release schedule and ongoing commitments to an expanding roster of signed artists, FatCat are now finding fewer opportunities to physically release material from new artists. As an antidote to this, back in 2004, we began using our website to showcase the best of the demos we were receiving. Alongside a DIY microsite built specifically to help people who wanted to release their own music, we hosted the our favourite demos online, with artwork and MP3s available for free download. In 2010 we began to use the more immediate freedom of SoundCloud as a platform - setting up a dropbox for people to submit tracks to and a player on the front of our site to showcase the best demo submissions. 

In February 2012, the new and improved FatCat demo site you are now using was launched, again using SoundCloud as the engine to drive the site. We have kept all of the the original demo artists on the new site - grouping them in collections archived by year. There is a lot of really great material stored away here, so please do spend some time looking around. 

The choices of who we have asked to join this archive are highly selective, and we make no apologies for this. These are tracks we consider to be really good quality material, tracks that we are happy to help promote and to have associated with FatCat. If you like what you hear here, then please do download the tracks and share this music with your friends.

A Memphis-born singer/songwriter with a penchant for catchy hooks, harmonies and edgy pop rhythms, Nashville-based artist Lauren Strange cites influences from PJ Harvey and Liz Phair to the Pixies while simultaneously utilizing her skills she cultivated as a longtime student of classical music. 

After being named the Grand-Prize Winner of the John Lennon International Songwriting Contest, Strange relocated from her hometown of Memphis to Nashville, TN in 2011. Once in Music City, Strange cut her teeth as a background singer, making a name for herself as one of the most sought-after young vocalists in Nashville, where she has collaborated with a wide range of artists, including Paul McCartney, Passion Pit, and Little Anthony & The Imperials. Strange’s previous EP “Say Yes” was released in 2014; in 2015 she toured internationally with Jennie Vee (Courtney Love, Eagles of Death Metal) and in 2016 she issued her cover of The Cranberries’ “Zombie.” 

Strange’s adeptness at songwriting and unparalleled ear for harmonies caught the ear of producer and experienced songwriter Tony Smith (SLEEPER/AGENT), who took Strange under his wing to record the entirety of her 2017 EP “Salt” at his home studio in East Nashville with a cast of talented musicians including Lincoln Parish (Cage the Elephant). Strange and Smith returned to the studio in 2018 to record her latest EP “SHAKE,” which broaches a new, heavier sonic territory for Strange and explores darker lyrical themes than those found in her previous works. 

Strange’s versatility shines through her independent releases and illustrates her truly unique ability to genre-meld while maintaining a cohesive and relatable artistic vision.

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