Teasing us with celestial panning textures and guitar details expanding into a melodic indie pop soundscape, Katanak opens his new single, Weigh Down, with the vulnerable lyrics, “Hard when the world’s on my shoulders, and the waves crashing down on my head…”
Katanak, who is also known as Dylan Cattanach, has been cast as bassist Jerry Scheff in the upcoming ELVIS movie by Baz Luhrmann, which helped inspire this release!
Weigh Down is a philosophical track which touches upon life’s emotional experiences and the human condition. Katanak‘s curiosity energy helps guide us with his lyrical wisdom.
Speaking on the theme of the song, Katanak says, “A while back I was really feeling like I’d lost my way and was questioning expectations I felt had been imposed on me. It felt a lot like I was falling and just couldn’t get up. I wasn’t the person I was supposed to be and my music didn’t seem to be on track? It took a concerted effort to get over this and Weigh Down was a cry of frustration that helped me verbalise how I felt.”
The music has a sense of optimism whilst the subject matter is more introspective. Katanak cites “the confident energy of The 1975, darkness of Coin and influences from The Wombats” as a melting pot of influences for the record, but it is also clear that the rising artist is forging his own path.
Weigh Down is self-produced by Katanak and recorded and mixed in the studio with Jared Adlam (Caligula’s Horse, Mitch King, Aleyce Simmonds).
Katanak recently received grant funding from Arts Queensland for a regional Queensland tour, heading to Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Maroochydore and Toowoomba, finishing up in Brisbane.
We have added Weigh Down to our New Music Spotlight playlist and have been exploring Katanak‘s wider catalogue including Astronomy and Take Us Back.