Thy Catafalque
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Category: Progressive Music Lounges
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URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=82408
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Topic: Thy Catafalque
Posted By: toroddfuglesteg
Subject: Thy Catafalque
Date Posted: November 01 2011 at 15:45
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THY CATAFALQUE was formed in 1998 in a small town of Hungary consisting of the duo Tamás Kátai (keyboards, guitar, programming, vocals) and János Juhász (guitar). After their first and only demo "Cor Cordium" the band was signed to KaOtic Productions which also released their debut album "Sublunary Tragedies" in 1999 and "Microcosmos" in 2001. Three more albums has followed and the band, now a one man project, is releasing their new album Rengeteg next week through one of the biggest metal labels in the world; Season Of Mist. I caught up with Tamás Katai for the Thy Catafalque story. ####################################################################################
Your biography has been
covered in your ProgArchives profile so let's bypass the biography
details. But which bands were you influenced by and why did you
choose that name ?
When we started back
in 1998 we were heavily influenced by the black metal genre in
general. We were caught by the atmosphere of that
music. It’s not musicianship but that particular mystical, cold and
painful, yet majestic sound, something out of this world, that was
it. I was also pretty much into the Shakespearean universe at that
time reading literature at the college and this is how this
expression came up as the moniker of the band. For the first two
albums we used English lyrics, hence the English name.
Is any of you involved in
other bands ?
Thy Catafalque had
been consisted of two people till the recent days – János Juhász
and me. The latest album was written and recorded only by me and
János left the band, so now it’s only myself. We had had a band
before Thy Catafalque, that was Gort. Other than that I was playing
in Gire and had my solo project under my
name and there wasTowards Rusted Soil. Right now it’s only TC
that’s atctive.
Attila Csihar
is probably the most famous metal musician from Hungary. How is the
metal scene in Hungary these days ? Well, I’m not
quite well informed about the recent
Hungarian metal scene as I’ve been staying in Edinburgh, Scotland
for four years now, but we have some great bands, that’s for sure,
even if they are not known outside the country. It’s just not easy
to get known abroad for us, it might come because of the language
barrier or whatever reason, but you can find more and more Hungarian
bands now spreading across Europe in a lot of genres. Still small in
numbers though.
This is an archive based
interview also intended for the fans you get well after both you and
I have passed away so let's go straight to your albums. Please give
us your views/some words on your albums, starting with.......
 Sublunary Tragedies from
1999 Our first album.
Very immature in execution with horrible production, yet lots of good
harmonies and riffs all over the record. Some of the guitar riffs
could be used even now. For example the second half of Ashesdance, or
Come Latautumn Rains. I like it in spite of its more than obvious
shortcomings.
 Microcosmos from 2001 Sounds a bit better and
the songs are more diverse. The first time we used violin and it’s
still there (or a cello) on all of our following albums. Also the
first time I had Hungarian words for a song. Great melodies again.
 Tűnő Idő Tárlat from
2004 Our watershed album.
One of the strongest in terms of creativity
and most importantly we found our own distinctive voice. Also this is
the first one to be sung in Hungarian. It’s dark, heavy and
atmospheric. This is also the record where we discovered this spacey,
otherworldly mood. I don’t think I could top this one, only
reaching this level would do it. Still self-released, but re-issued
by Epidemie Records six years later, in 2010.
 Róka Hasa Rádió from
2009 The logic
follow-up of Tűnő Idő Tárlat with 9 guest musicians, with better
production and music in similar fashion. The first record to feature
Attila Bakos (Woodland Choir, Taranis) and Ágnes Tóth (The Moon And
The Nightspirit) on vocals boosting the music big time. Also the
first one to be released by a real label, a label not even Hungarian
– it came out through Epidemie Records from the Czech Republic. It
has proved to be a successful CD, going to be re-released on 30
November and also has had a Russian licence. This was the album that
has made Thy Catafalque a more common name in metal underground.
 Rengeteg from 2011 Well, the new album
released by Season Of Mist, which is a huge step. Also the first one
counting only myself as a band member as János left the band, so I
did all the writing and recording stuff. Attila and Ágnes are still
here performing brilliantly. More guitars and less expermintal
elements perhaps but the mood is still the
same with really strong songs. This is the best sounding album of Thy
Catafalque and hopefully will be the most known thanks to the label.
How is the availability of
your albums ? You won’t find the
first two albums. The original Tűnő Idő
Tárlat is also sold out, but Epidemie Records put it out again in
digipak in 2010, so it’s available through them and also digitally
through iTunes, ReverbNation ( http://www.reverbnation.com/thycatafalque" rel="nofollow - ),
or BandCamp ( http://www.thycatafalque.bandcamp.com/" rel="nofollow - ).
The original Róka
Hasa Rádió digipak from 2009 is also sold out, you may find some
copies from the e-shop of Season Of Mist though. Epidemie Records
will re-release the CD on 30 November, so it’s going to be
available again. Digitally available the same way as the previous
records.
And Rengeteg digipak can be pre-ordered from the e-shop of Season Of Mist or Amazon or iTunes. Release date is 11 November in Europe, 10 January 2012 in North-America. How is the creative
processes in your band from coming up with an idea to it's being
recorded ? Now that I’m by
myself it’s even more simple. I am playing on the guitar or the
synth, put the emerging ideas together, build up a song, build up the
album. I send over the clean vocal parts to Attila and Ági, they put
themselves in, send back the lines. All the
work is done at home, in my room throughout a year or two per album.
I work on music besides my daytime job, if I have any time or energy
left. What is the lyrical topics
on your albums ? It has always been time
and space and things related to them. I often write about my
childhood memories, the autumn and the space itself. Rengeteg means a
vast trackless forest in old Hungarian. The title defines the topic
of the album on many levels.
For those of us unfamiliar
with your music; how would you describe you music and which bands
would you compare yourself with ?
It’s
usually called avant-garde metal. It has its roots in black metal and
all metal extreme but also in electronica and folklore. For sure, we
are not a progressive metal band like Dream Theater or something like
that. Damn, I can’t even play the guitar properly. I think we are
close in attitude to bands like Negura Bunget or Sólstafir.
What is your current
status and what is your plans for the rest of this year and next year
? Currently I’m waiting
the album to be released in a week or two, then start to compose for
the new one. That’s the plan. I’d like the new record to be a bit
more experimental and less straight-forward.
To wrap up this
interview, is there anything you want to
add to this interview ? Thank you very much for
your interest in Thy Catafalque. Please lend an ear for the new album
or the older ones, don’t be afraid. Thank you to Tamás Katai for this interviews The PA profile is http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=4198" rel="nofollow - and the homepage is http://www.myspace.com/thycatafalque" rel="nofollow -
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Replies:
Posted By: Bosh66
Date Posted: November 02 2011 at 03:18
| I have the Tűnő Idő Tárlat reissue and it's a superb and varied avant metal album. I'd recommend! |