Overview

Hello world! We are Katalysst, a band based in the beautiful city of San Francisco, California.

In the summer of 2019, two musical worlds collided when a guitar-playing classical singer met a self-taught bassist at a music festival in Davis, California. We fell in love and a beautiful new partnership was created. We have both dreamed of being in a band with our romantic partner, so this duo is a bit of a dream come true for us. We began slowly, playing a few shows at the beginning of 2020, but didn’t begin writing our own songs until the pandemic and the BLM protests. From there, it was as if the floodgates had been opened and we wrote song after song inspired by our desire for societal and social change. We eventually compiled them into a concept album of commentaries on American life and culture. 

Over time, our sound and writing style has evolved into something purposeful and heartfelt. 

We've made several DIY recordings in the past, but haven’t yet recorded in a professional studio. For the past two years, we've been working tirelessly to achieve the sound and style we envisioned. Now, in order for these songs to exist outside of our heads and live up to their true potential, we need your help!

We’re super excited about the material we’ve been working on and are so ready to take this massive next step as a band!

We've got a collection of great songs ready to record -- this Plaid Dog campaign is the final step toward creating our first ever, professionally produced studio album.

This campaign is raising funds for our professionally recorded album with Bryan Brundige in Boston, MA. Bryan is a Boston-based producer and engineer with experience working with both established and up-and-coming musicians. Together, we’re digging into our original material, writing arrangements, and reaching out to local musicians to bring the songs to life. 

We’ve been able to cover the costs of recording and producing one song, which is ready for you to check out right here on this page. This first song is called “Promised LAnd,” and you can check it out below!

While we were able to fund the recording process for "Promised LAnd" on our own, to create an album of songs of this quality, studio costs add up quickly. With that said, this campaign can give us a unique opportunity to collaborate and make great art together. Your donation will cover the following costs of our project:

1. Pre-Production: This is where everything starts. We’ll start crafting the arrangements for each song slated for the album, hold rehearsals to fine-tune the songs and arrangements, and talk through new and exciting ideas for how to approach the recording process.

2. Recording: This is when we enter the studio and start capturing the music and where the songs become what you'll hear on this album. This campaign will play a huge role in making sure we have enough time to capture great performances for every member of the band.

3. Mixing & Mastering: Each track will get mixed to create the right balance between instruments, texture and color that make up a track. As a final step, the album will be mastered from beginning to end so that the listening experience is cohesive and carefully choreographed from start to finish.

And what will you get for your generosity and support? So many awesome things!

We are so appreciative and grateful for any support you can lend to this campaign. In exchange for your generosity, we've put together a really exciting group of gifts that are available exclusively through your participation in this campaign.

Check out some examples below and a full list to the right!

It's hard to express how much this project would change our lives.

A well-recorded album would open a lot of doors for us in terms of future opportunities. We've made demo quality recordings in the past, but have never been able to produce fully realized versions of our songs. With a professionally recorded, high-quality album, not only can we realize our vision, but we can share it with the world. Our songs and our message will be able to be distributed and enjoyed on a wider scale. More, and better, venues will have access to our music. We can take the next step towards establishing ourselves professionally. For those reasons and more, this project is critical to our future as a band. You have the power to help us make this project a reality!

Our families and friends have all been incredibly nurturing of our talents. Without that early encouragement this band might not even exist. We can't wait to show fans old and new what we can do!

If you're ready to contribute, just click the "Back This Project" button on the top right of this page! Every little bit counts, and we’re so grateful for all your support.

If you have folks in your network that would be interested in supporting us, please feel free to share this page with them.

Thank you so much for checking out our campaign page. We can't wait to share this music with you.