Fresh indie tunes with catchy pop hooks are the signature style of emerging Brisbane artist Katanak. Katanak comfortably straddles the genre’s grey area of rock & pop, proving that he can’t be defined by genre. In 2023, Katanak embarked on his second Queensland tour, rocking the Cairns Festival and Rockhampton River Festival stages, sharing the spotlight with The Delta Riggs. He also supported Pete Murray and secured the halftime slot at the FIFA Fan Festival during The Matilda’s electrifying game against France for the FIFA Women’s Football World Cup.
Katanak performed this year at the Agnes Blues, Roots & Rock festival secured for the start of 2024 and is preparing to release his debut EP with ARIA Award winner Aidan Hogg. His music has been played on major stations, and his Sunday video clip has been added to rotation on MTV Upload across Australia and New Zealand. More recently, Katanak reached #1 on the aBreak Music playlist for ‘Honeycomb and Hurricane’, the first single release from his upcoming debut EP.
Can you recall when you knew you were destined for a music career?
“I went to Music Industry College, which is the same school that Thelma Plum, Sahara Beck and Asha Jefferies all went to so it’s very music oriented. In grade 12 our principal asked us all to write a song for a compilation album. So I wrote a song that I considered to be ‘the best song ever!’ Although as everyone knows when you develop a skill set further down the track you realise what you thought at the time was top shelf, actually was quite lacking. Good for a first effort though.
After I finished school I completed a Diploma of Live Sound, so wasn’t in any way thinking about being at the front of the stage and always thought I’d be working behind the scenes. Around that time I was asked by a couple of guys from school to join their band as a drummer and I decided I really liked being at the front of the stage. That led to writing a few songs of my own and forming my own first band. Every step of the way I was learning so much.
When that band broke up, I realised that writing music was what I enjoyed and I became Katanak.”
When you entered the music industry, what challenges did you encounter?
“At that point in time I didn’t consider it was too bad. There were still venues that paid guarantees to unknown bands andthey had free entry. People would wander in to hear live music, stay for everyone’s set and there was always someone in front of you. Covid came along and suddenly the crowds disappeared, people didn’t want to buy tickets for shows, venuesstarted charging hire fees to cover their dwindling income.
Now people will walk in 5 minutes before their friends’ band plays and then walk out as soon as it’s over to go to the club. That momentum that used to be there where you had other bands fans in front of you and you had the chance to win them over, is now no longer there. I’ve chatted to a number ofbands and I’m not the only person that is finding this now. People just aren’t as interested in going out to support live music anymore, unless a big name is coming to town.”
Who are some of your biggest musical influences, and how have they shaped your sound?
“Personally my biggest influences have always been early 2000’s Aussie rock. I grew up with a huge variety of influences from having a musical family but I always found myself going back to Pete Murray, Powderfinger, Wolfmother and bands that all came from that same era. Those bands didn’t necessarily influence my work in Katanak but they gave me a love for live performance more than any other bands I’ve heard or seen. As far as Katanak goes my influences are mostly UK and US artists such as The 1975, Two door cinema club and Circa Waves morphing into The Band Camino, The Wombats and Corella.”
How do you balance creative expression with the demands of the music business?
“It’s hard for sure. For example, this last release I ran out of time and didn’t get around to sending individual emails to blogs and community stations, or even reminder emails my song was coming out. Indie artists now have to be songwriters, business people, creators (for socials), admin support and most of us have full time, or at least part time jobs to pay for our ‘dream’, plus throw our personal lives into the mix. I don’t have a team behind me and trying to be creative and at the same time run a business, does mean something has to give.
I wouldn’t change a thing though and I’m lucky I have a very supportive partner who understands I need to go into my music room.”
How has the Australian music scene influenced your career?
“Initially I was influenced by the early 2000’s rock and I still consider it amongst one of the strongest musical periods in Australia.
When I started writing for Katanak, I became heavily influenced by music coming out of the UK and you can hear a shift take place in my musical style. At that point The 1975 and The Wombats were taking over my world and they got me started down the path of a cross between indie pop / indie rock. So I would say that while early Australian music got me started, I’ve moved away from what’s considered ‘in’ here. I’m not grunge, surf or reggae and I don’t have an agenda I’mpushing. I just like to write fun, upbeat, catchy songs that make people feel good.”
Can you share a story behind one of your favourite songs you’ve written?
“My favourite story to share regarding a song I’ve written is about the lyrics to Pinch Grip. This song was written about a mate, he knows exactly who it’s about, and it follows his story as he tries to navigate a half relationship at the time. The story goes that every other day he’d have some story to tell about how she was in and then out, and then in and out. She also said she didn’t like his hair and all of these other silly reasons but despite all of this he still wanted to get with her. So I wrote a song about how she had him by his throat and wouldn’t let him in but wouldn’t let him go.”
How do you handle creative blocks or periods of low inspiration?
“I talk about this stuff often when I do interviews but honestly there’s no one thing that works. For me, going about my day, living my life and just not forcing something seems to fix any block I’m having. I’ve tried to brute force songs and creativity many many times and everything only makes it worse when you can’t find that breakthrough moment. When you take a step back and live your life, you start to find things worth writing about.”
How has your relationship with your fans influenced your music and career?
“I really like chatting to fans on my dm’s. With the release of my new music I’ve been finding fans in the US and UK andthey are keen to connect and let me know they’ve found my music. As an artist this is great because without them I’d be going nowhere. The music I’ve written over the years is all very different and what I love is that each fan discovers me viaa different song. They take that next step of listening to more of my music and they come and let me know. If anyone out there is reading this, definitely jump on and let a band/artist know you are vibing with their music. Responding to all comments and dm’s is one of the most powerful ways to connect with someone and keep them wanting to support you.
I don’t write my music for commercial purposes. It’s all for me and what’s happening in my life at that point in time so I think that comes through and what attracts listeners.“
How has technology and social media impacted your music career?
“I discovered Meta ads (then Facebook) in 2020. I was getting ready to release ‘Take Us Back’, a track that I reallythought would capture the attention of fans and naively thought Triple J as well. I had a mad video that was shot as part of the Brisbane City Council QUBE Effect program and I was all ready to go and take over the world! The week that was setfor release was the exact week Covid hit and the world shut down. Crickets!
I sat around for months and thought that my one shot was over. Someone I know happened to come across a group teaching indie artists how to do Facebook ads. She looked into it and after a chat we decided to just give it a go using the video we had. We were incredibly surprised at how well the ad went and how many people started following and listening to my music. Ad’s are a really powerful thing, but it’s all about the video. Not every video works. There is just something about the video for ‘Take Us Back’ that was shot in 3 hours, in a garage, that makes people listen to the song. In fact we recently started running the ad again just to see what would happen and once again new listeners are finding my music.
Social media is the bane of most, not all, musicians. Some love making ‘content‘ but I find it incredibly hard work. I want to write music, not be a videographer. However I can see the huge benefit in regularly posting. Having a video clip does help with some content. The funniest thing is that you never know what’s going to work. I can spend time making a post, thinking of the words, hashtags, etc and it’s not received as well as I thought. I can then just throw a pic out there because I’ve got nothing else and people love it. I don’t pretend to know what’s going on.”
Share any upcoming projects or releases that you’re looking forward to!
“I’ve spent a year and a half writing and recording my Debut EP. The first two songs off the EP have already been released with ‘Holding Out For Gold’ as my next release on Friday 20 September. Three more tracks will follow with ‘Do Nothing With Me’, ‘Can you Hear It’ and ‘Who Do You Love’ followed by the release of my EP the week after.
Once again all different, but similar enough that you know they are from the same artist. It is one of the things I pride myself on. Writing music that is interesting to the listener but different so they don’t say ‘isn’t this the same song?’.”
What impact do you hope your music will have on listeners?
“I’ve always said that I prefer to write happy and upbeat songs as the world can be a sad old place anyway, so why make it worse. In saying that, I sometimes write about subjects that are dark but running underneath is this happy beat, so you get the best of both worlds!”
What advice would you give to aspiring singer-songwriters looking to break into the industry?
“Music is a long game. Be prepared to win some, lose some, work hard, be put down, play to 1,000 people, play to 5 people, have people like your music and people dislike your music. While we may all have stars in our eyes initially, songwriting, performing, touring, is like any other job. We have to work hard, keep learning, and keep the faith. Remember that you are doing it for yourself, no one else. You’ll see people all around you who catch a lucky break or bands who started with you just go leaps and bounds ahead of where you are while you seem to be stagnating. Don’t ever compare yourself to another artist. You’ll only feel bad.
I was given the advice early on ‘network, network, network. At the time it didn’t make any sense but as I’ve gone through, a lot of the industry is connected in some way and one thing can lead to another.
There’s been a lot in the press lately about Triple J. Yes, they can push you higher if you can get played, but don’t expect it. There are other ways to run the race and Triple J aren’t the be all and end all. Community Radio are great supporters of new independent music and there are now awesome online Aussie stations popping up who have very supportive listeners ….. and are themselves super supportive of emerging artists of all genres.“
Pre-save ‘Holding Out For Gold’ here and be sure to follow Katanak as he prepares to release his debut EP in early 2025.
