Catalyst: a substance used in chemistry that makes something react that usually wouldn’t. Katalyst: an Australian beats outfit used on the dancefloor (or couch for that matter) that that gets a reaction that most usually wouldn’t. Katalyst’s latest long player Manipulating Agent is a fresh, effervescent burst of tunes; raw, classy, amazingly diverse, captivating to the ear and packed with enough funk-esque sounds to send James Brown to the envy clinic.

“I love many forms of music and funk is defiantly one of them,” explains Ashley Anderson AKA Katalyst. “Funk can be slow, fast or have other styles incorporated into it.”

“The thing is, as with most forms of music, people have different definitions of ‘funk’. Whatever you find funky, it usually moves you in some way, head nodding, foot tapping, or getting down on the dance floor.”

The album is refreshing in its diversity of style and tempo, with both body-popping dancefloor grooves and more laid back melancholy numbers showcased. Something also pushed right throughout is a refined yet not overly polished production style, throwing tasty cuts and scratches together with peachy strings and atmospherics and rounding it off with sophisticated beats.

His distinctive diversity – pushing a ‘fusion’ of styles; jazz, funk, hip hop and everything in between - puts Katalyst at a level of his own, and gives the album a effortless ability to capture the listener again and again with the play-it-again-Sam meter pushing 10. What catapults it firmly into next level territory is the varied tidy rhyming, vocals and hard-hunted samples, giving each tune an individual quality.

“Different samples or ‘moments in music’ can offer inspiration for creating a tune based around that idea. It depends on what type of tune you have in mind as to what sample would work in a track. Its often the
atmosphere that a sample has that adds that intangible quality.”

While the album explores a range of sounds, the Katalyst live experience has the dancefloor in clear focus, a fact being demonstrated as the outfit embark on a national tour.

“The DJ set is geared for the audience to be able to get up and have a good dance, whereas the album is not as dance floor orientated. Myself and Leeroy Brown preform on 4 turntables, and mix up a collage of old and new classics, tunes off the album and a tracks I've written specifically for the live show.”

“We do all the scratching and vocal parts on the Katalyst tunes live, and Leeroy showcases his skills on the turntables throughout the set. I feel that in a club environment the slower tracks on the album are lost so we try and keep the set up-tempo and dance floor orientated.”

Katalyst happen @ Lot 33 Canberra on Friday 16th August, with Danielsan (Koolism) and Blake (Landspeed, nice to see the Ladybird Lounger back behind the decks!). Manipulating Agent is out now, check www.invadarecords.com for more info, including dates for the remix album.