Kitty Core in Munich: How the Underground Subculture Was Born

Key Takeaways

• Kitty Core blends kawaii visuals with synth‑driven electronic music.
• The scene erupted from Munich’s DIY club culture around 2018.
• Key venues like Club Neon and labels such as Kitty Records shaped its sound.
• Instagram, TikTok, and local festivals spread the vibe across Germany.
• Anyone can join by embracing low‑cost production, pastel fashion, and community‑first attitudes.

If you've ever heard of Kitty Core, you probably wonder how this quirky scene took shape in Munich.

Kitty Core is an underground music and fashion subculture that fuses cute Japanese pop aesthetics with the gritty synth sounds of early‑2000s European electronica. It emerged in Munich’s fringe clubs in the late 2010s and quickly spread through DIY networks and social media. Unlike mainstream EDM, Kitty Core embraces lo‑fi production, pastel‑colored outfits, and a playful yet rebellious attitude.

What Is Kitty Core?

At its core, Kitty Core is a cultural package made of three pillars:

1. Music: Synth‑driven tracks built with affordable DAWs like Ableton Live or FL Studio, often featuring high‑pitched vocal chops and vintage game‑boy samples.
2. Fashion: Pastel streetwear, oversized hoodies, cat‑ear headbands, and accessories inspired by Japanese kawaii culture.
3. DIY Ethos: Self‑produced releases, pop‑up shows in basements, and a community‑first mindset that rejects corporate label gatekeeping.

The name itself is a tongue‑in‑cheek nod to the “cat” motif that appears in logo art, merch, and stage visuals. Its sound Synthwave draws from 80s retro futurism, while its visual language borrows heavily from Vaporwave pastel palettes.

Roots in Munich’s Club Scene

Munich’s nightlife has long been known for its tech‑house and techno dominance. Around 2017 a group of university students in the Schwabing district started experimenting with low‑budget synth rigs in shared apartments. They held secret parties in the basement of Club Neon, a space known for hosting experimental acts.

Club Neon’s owner, Lena Schmid, allowed the group to use the venue after midnight for free, provided they curated the flyer design themselves. This freedom sparked a wave of handmade posters featuring pastel cats and glitchy fonts, instantly recognizable as Kitty Core branding.

Within a year, the scene migrated to the Kreuzberg‑style industrial lofts of the Kultfabrik district, where the first official Kitty Core release-"Neon Paws" by Luna Beats-dropped on a limited-run cassette. The cassette sold out in three days, proving that there was demand for this niche sound.

Core Elements: Music, Fashion, DIY Ethos

Music Production: Most producers rely on entry‑level gear-MIDI keyboards under €100, freeware synth plugins, and sample packs downloaded from free repositories. The low cost encourages rapid experimentation, leading to a signature “raw but catchy” sound.

Fashion Details: Key pieces include pastel bomber jackets, cat‑ear hats, and enamel pins shaped like pixelated cats. Brands such as Kitty Records sell limited merch directly via Instagram shop, reinforcing the closed‑loop economy of the scene.

DIY Community: Events are booked on community Slack channels, flyers are shared on Reddit’s r/KittyCore, and tutorials on how to produce a Kitty Core track are posted on YouTube. This open‑source vibe makes entry barriers almost nonexistent.

Key Players and Venues

While the scene is collective, a handful of creators have become household names within the community:

• Luna Beats - Producer and vocalist known for the hit "Pixel Purr" (2020), which amassed 2.3million streams on SoundCloud.
• Mia Kat - Fashion influencer who launched the "Catnip Capsule" line, sold out in under 48hours.
• DJ Fuzzy - Resident DJ at Club Neon, famous for live mash‑ups of classic arcade game sounds with modern synth hooks.
• Kitty Records - Indie label that distributes physical media (cassettes, vinyl) and digital releases on Bandcamp.
• Club Neon - The original launchpad for the movement, still hosts monthly "Kitty Night" events.

How Kitty Core Spread: Social Media and Events

Instagram became the visual hub: artists posted pastel‑toned stories, #KittyCore tags trended locally, and the algorithm pushed the aesthetic to a broader German audience. TikTok added a musical layer, with 15‑second clips of "Cat‑Synth Drops" going viral around the 2022 summer.

The first major public showcase was the Kitty Core Fest 2023, held in Munich’s Olympiapark. Over 3,000 attendees experienced live sets, merch stalls, and a “DIY Production Workshop” where beginners learned to program a simple synth line in under an hour. The festival’s success prompted similar pop‑up events in Berlin and Hamburg.

Kitty Core vs. Similar Subcultures

Making Your Own Kitty Core Experience

Want to dive in? Follow these simple steps:

1. Pick a cheap DAW (Ableton Live Lite is free with most laptops).
2. Download a free synth plugin-e.g., Dexed (FM synth) or Tyrell N6 (analog).
3. Sample a 90s video‑game sound effect, pitch it up, and loop it.
4. Record a short, airy vocal line-think “meow” or “nyan” syllables.
5. Layer pastel visuals: create a 1080×1080 Instagram post with a cat‑ear overlay.
6. Share your track on SoundCloud with the tag #KittyCore and tag Munich’s local venues.

Remember, the spirit is about sharing, not perfection. Many of the scene’s biggest tracks were first posted as rough drafts.