Katanak Visits The Lights Of Mackay

By Sam Gillespie

Brisbane musician Dylan Cattanach, AKA Katanak, is no stranger to Mackay. He’s an avid believer in regional live music and will be bringing his glistening indie pop sound back to the sugar city in July following the release of his new single, ‘Lights of Tokyo’, playing alongside a star-studded north Queensland line-up. Sam had a chat with Dylan ahead of the show.

Why is it important for you to tour regional Queensland?

Everybody goes down to Sydney and Melbourne, but rarely do you hear of anybody going to north Queensland. For me, it felt like a better option because the people up there actively want to go out and see music because it’s not something that’s super regular up there. Being able to take my music up there seems like a good step to get in, have genuine people like the music, come out to see it and become fans of what I’m doing.

Where does your inspiration come from?

I grew up listening to heaps of ‘80s and ‘90s stuff. There was always music playing at my house. My early inspirations were Pete Murray, Thirsty Merc, Missy Higgins, really awesome music that translated really well live. As I got older and Katanak started, I got really into British indie music, like Circa Waves, The 1975, Two Door Cinema Club, bands of that similar vibe. I love all of that music and that’s what inspired Katanak specifically.

Tell me the story behind ‘Lights of Tokyo’?

‘Lights of Tokyo’ is a song I’d been sitting on for going on eight years. The reason for that is because I love this song so much and I didn’t want to ruin it by not doing it the justice it deserves. I released the song five years ago with another band and I have all the rights to the song so I kept it and I didn’t really like how it was originally recorded. I felt like it was wasted and I wanted to redo it in Katanak, so I worked with Matt McGuffie and Aidan Hogg to create what it is now and I think it’s exactly how I wanted it to be.

What else is in store for 2023?

We are going to be releasing an EP sometime in the future. I’ve got six songs booked and ready to go with Aidan Hogg and I am excited for everybody to hear this music.

And what can punters expect from your Mackay show?

You can expect it to be one of a kind. The bands we’re playing with and us personally are very excited to play and I’m excited to put on the show of a lifetime for anyone who comes along in Mackay.

WHAT: Katanak's 'Lights of Tokyo' East Coast Tour with Weathered, Comfort Royale and Noah Davis

WHEN: Empire Alternacade and Events

WHERE: Saturday, July 1 from 9:00pm

TICKETS: Eventbrite

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Photo credit: Gabi Rankine