Get to know Roza Terenzi, the Melbourne scene figurehead specialising in warehouse-ready euphoria

Relocating to Melbourne from her home city of Perth two years ago signified a fresh start for Roza Terenzi. Having spent five or so years experimenting and making tracks under the alias of Catlips, the producer, real name Katie Campbell, felt that she had found her sound and decided a change of alias was in order.

“It felt right to have a distinction between the time before and where I am now,” she says. “In the five years before, the music I made was a document of me learning how to produce.”

Campbell traces her interest in dance music back to her father. Primarily a reggae drummer, he also produced dub-influenced electronic music in the 90s. Having experienced it first-hand and with a background in jazz guitar, after leaving school Campbell enrolled on a music technology course and started delving into the history of the music she was studying. “I was quite surprised by how many unsung women were involved,” she says. Discovering the work of Fiorella Terenzi, an Italian-born astrophysicist who made music from recordings from distant galaxies, she changed her name in homage.

It was in Melbourne that Campbell took up a resident DJ spot at Lounge, one of the city’s most prominent clubs for house and techno, playing there monthly while also holding down support slots for Avalon Emerson, Jayda G and more recently Objekt across the city. But her productions as Roza Terenzi were first introduced to the world via a label based back in Perth, Good Company Records. Having played a number of shows for the collective while she was still based there, she felt it was a natural move for her debut. Across four tracks, 2017’s ‘O.G.’ EP captures Campbell’s ability to bring together high energy 90s euphoria and harsher, more metallic sounds.

She’s also developed a bond with Vancouver’s D. Tiffany, with whom she’s collaborated under the latter’s DJ Zozi alias. The breakbeat-heavy ‘Planet Euphorique’ is the product of time spent working together in their respective studios, having been introduced when the Canadian artist guested at Lounge and played much-loved Australian festival Inner Varnika last year. “We did some radio stuff together, then kept in touch, sending music back and forth,” Campbell says. “The first track on the record was me proving to myself I could make something at 115 BPM because my mum was like, ‘You need to chill out and make calmer things’.”

Campbell will soon head out on a tour of Europe and Canada, which will bring her to the UK. Some might find three months on the road daunting, but she’s mostly just excited to play to new crowds and visit new places. “I’m stoked to have a double summer as Melbourne winters can be depressing,” she jokes. With three records already out this year and a hectic schedule in her native country, it’s likely those international shows will pick up even further very soon.

‘Planet Euphorique’ by Roza Terenzi and DJ Zozi is out on Planet Euphorique now

Christian Eede is News Editor at The Quietus and a freelance writer, follow him on Twitter