THY CATAFALQUE – interview with Tamás Kátai

There are bands, which as I like to call them are AC/DC of certain style – whatever it is, death metal, black metal, heavy metal, pop or rap. It is not that I have anyting against such approach to music, they stay within their musical world and polish it on the subsequent albums. However, THY CATAFALQUE is the band from different category as Tamás Kátai does not like to stand still and repeat himself. All the albums he released have their own identity and merge so many genres in one big basket. Those who like unexpected mixtures in which death or black metal is followed by folk melodies should definitely check this band, which after over 20 years recently decided to come out of the recording studio and play on international stages.

Hi Tamás, it is nice to meet you. This is your first visit in Poland. How was your first concert yesterday in Warsaw?

Yes, it was very nice. We played in VooDoo Club. It was absolutely fantastic, people were very friendly and enthusiastic. It was a nice club too.

As for the concerts in general, it all should be new for you as this is your first or second real tour around Europe, right?

Yes, it is the second tour, because we had one two years ago. We played in 10 cities that time, and this tour is planned for 15 places.

Can you explain to the readers why you decided to tour after so many years of THY CATAFALQUE as a studio project only?

The reason is that we never planned to play live at all. As you said, it was meant as a studio project only. It was only two of us at the beginning – me and János (Juhász – guitar player). We had no drummer, so it was all about creating music and recording it. After 2011, I was only by myself, I wasn’t even looking for the chances to play live. Then, this guy here (pointing to the manager) he was the one who organised our first gigs with other people who played my songs. I gave permission for that, so I ended up on stage to play a few songs with them. The result of it was the „Mezolit” live album. Then we decided that it would be fun to form a real live band. As a result, we are a live band since 2022.

As you said, at the beginning you did not even play bass as a permanent live member on those early shows, why?

Yes, I decided to play bass on the gigs as it was the easiest instrument for me. I am not a good player, but I have to be on stage as I create the music for this band. I had to choose one instrument, so bass was the easiest choice for me.

As for the concerts, there are so many band members in THY CATAFALQUE. Is it profitable to organise the tour in that case?

Well, it is not easy and profitable, because there are so many of us. It takes a lot of money to send us on the road. What is more, all of us are working, so we need to take holiday, etc. It is not easy for some of us to be free for three weeks and the other time for the festival season, so it is not easy to organise all of this. We might be losing money on this tour, but it is definitely fun. So many people are enjoying our shows and they are happy to finally see us live. I think it is worth to do that.

Now that you started playing live, you need to keep that going and get the band promoted through as many shows as possible.

Yeah sure, my main motivation is to have fun and visit cities I have never been before. After this tour we are also going to Brazil and I have never been there and did not plan to go there. Now, I can and it will be a great, new experience. To some point, it is even more important than playing on the stage. It is of course exciting to play live, but all things happening around are new for me and I am enjoying that.

Do you have some time to do some sightseeing?

Sometimes yes. It depends what time we arrive to certain city. On this tour, I had a few chances to explore the city a bit. I usually go to the swimming pool in the morning, because I like it. It is a good way to start a day with some exercise.

Now that you play live with full line-up, is THY CATAFALQUE still one-man band or a complete band?

When we play live, it is a normal band, but when I write music, it is my responsibility. I write all the music, but all the people who will be on the stage today played their parts on the next record that is going to be released. Everyone is putting their own input, but I am the one who decides on the musical direction etc. In that sense, it is still a one man band, but one the stage THY CATAFALQUE is a normal band.

When you compose your music, do you sometimes meet with your bandmates and jam with them, let’s say in later part of composing stage?

Yes, I sometimes do. Practically, I play the guitar and bass, but I have a problem with drums. Árpád is the drummer in the band, he knows the best how the drums should sound, so I give him freedom. If he finds something more suitable for the music, then it is much better than what I proposed. The music must be good, no matter who writes it. I always encourage all the musicians who take part in the recording session to just be themselves. It is just for the benefit of the music.

Let’s talk about the last two albums you released – “Alföld” and “XII: A Gyönyörü Álmok Ezután Jönnek”. They were released within quite short time in between them. Still the music is very different – the first one with only a few exceptions is far more extreme, straight forward metal album, while „XII” is definitely more versatile. This last one has more folk elements and is more melodic in general. Did you compose them together and then split the songs between them two?

No, I composed them separately, but yes, with “Alföld” I wanted it to be darker and heavier metal album. I had so many ideas for such music over the years, so I wanted it to be a simple and straightforward metal album. That was it and then after that release I went into more experimental and diverse stuff again with “XII” album.

Looking at all your albums, it seems that you do not set any borders while composing your music. Did you sometimes have a feeling that some ideas, melodies or styles which you then mix into your music could be too much for THY CATAFALQUE and then you save it for some of your other projects, or on the contrary you put it there on purpose. Of course, if it fits the song you are working on?

It did happen in the beginning, especially when it was me and János. He sometimes had different ideas, so I had to consider his opinion as well. I also have my solo albums and NEOLUNAR project which is experimental, jazzy music. Now, in THY CATAFALQUE, I think I have complete freedom and almost everything can fit there. That is why, I do not have any open side projects at the moment – there is no need for that. I actually released ”Neolunar” and “Slower Structures” albums, because I had too many ideas just for one album. That is why I released three of them (including THY CATAFALQUE “Meta”) in the same year – 2016. That is why, they were all under different names, but otherwise, it would all end up on THY CATAFALQUE album.

You are one of the few bands, at least in metal in general, that sing in their own language and managed to get to international stages. You actually had English lyrics in the early albums and then switched back into Hungarian, why did you decide to do that?

Yes, we had English lyrics on the first and second album. Then, I realised that it was much easier to sing in Hungarian. It sounded more natural while singing in English was a limitation. I wrote a song “Csillagkohó” for our third album called “Tűnő Idő Tárlat” and it was much better than anything before. I realised then that it was more inspiring and easier to write and sing in Hungarian. I still do not understand why more bands do not decide to do that as well. For me, it is more interesting to hear different languages in music. Even if I do not understand what they sing about, the music speaks for itself.

I do not know if you agree, but I think that there are languages that do not sound well in songs. For example, German is very stiff and even if RAMMSTEIN is an exception, because this language suits their “mechanic music” in general it does not sound well in other styles. Your songs in Hungarian do not sound like that…

Yes, RAMMSTEIN is an exception because their style works very well in German, so I agree. For me it now feels natural to sing in Hungarian. I feel I am limited when I sing in English.

I saw your live video from Dűrer Kert in Budapest. I read that it was sold out, so it seems that you are quite famous in your own country.

The capacity in that venue is 900 people. It was two nights concert and we sold out both of them. It is not that big though. I would not call it being famous neither. In the underground scene the name of the band is recognised. What is more, we are in international label called Season Of Mist, so bands and people who are interested in such scene they know us – apart from that, we are not famous.

Is the metal scene in Hungary big?

No, it is much smaller than in Poland.

How do you like the cooperation with your label – Season Of Mist? You have already worked them for over 10 years…

Yeah, it already is like 15 years. They let me do whatever I want to, so I am quite satisfied with this.

They actually seem to be such a label as you describe them. They have many typical metal bands, but apart from that they have bands like you or SOLSTAFIR, who also sing in their own language and they also mix versatile styles in their music.

They just let me do whatever I want to – they never told what to do or what not to do.

They never told you that this or that album will not sell…

Yeah, I never got this attitude from Season Of Mist. I have complete, creative freedom, so I am happy with that. I cannot ask for more.

You included so many styles in your music, so I had to ask the question about your influences now and earlier when you were a teenager.

Well, I was listening to different music styles, not only metal. However, I am really much influenced by the early and mid 90s metal scene.

What are your future plans. I know that at the very beginning of May you are going to Brazil and then have a few concerts in the UK.

Yes, we have two shows in Brazil and three concerts in the UK. In the summertime, we have a few festivals like Brutal Assault and a few smaller ones. I do not have any other concert plans than that.

You mentioned new record earlier in the conversation…

Yes, our next album will be out at the end of this year. It is already done and delivered to Season Of Mist. I am waiting for the release date, because I do not know it yet.

Can you reveal anything more about this album? What musical direction are you taking this time?

It is going to be very diverse and long, around 64 minutes – 12 songs. It was recorded with live drums this time. Earlier, all my albums were recorded with my drum programme, so this one will be more dynamic and organic.

I hope that after the release you will do another tour around Europe and come to Poland again.

Yes, me too. That is why we want to release it at the end of the year, so that we can have another European tour around the same time in 2027.

Great, I keep my fingers crossed for that. Is there anything you would like to say to the readers of Metal Centre?

I am very happy to here. Thank you very much for your interest in THY CATAFALQUE. I was very shocked by the amount of happiness I saw in Warsaw yesterday. People were unbelievably friendly and grateful to see us and the same we were very grateful they came to see us. It is very nice to be here in Poland, because people welcome us very warmly.

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