Katalyst

Ashley Anderson, working as producer, DJ, and label head under the name Katalyst, played a key part in advancing intelligent hip-hop and its Southern hemisphere branch in particular, while also building an eclectic body of dance remixes alongside original soul and funk material. Prior to adopting the Katalyst identity, Anderson recorded as Moonrock. That earlier phase yielded a self-titled album in 1998 together with several contributions to the Café del Mar compilation series, whose tracks were intended for sunset listening in Ibiza.

Katalyst’s debut track appeared on the characteristically green vinyl of a Dope on Plastic release. In 2001, Katalyst joined forces with Geoff Barrow—producer, instrumentalist, and founder of Portishead—to launch Invada Records. The label’s inaugural outing was 2002’s Manipulating Agent, Anderson’s first full-length project under the new alias. A remix collection titled Agent Manipulated followed the next year.

After supplying remixes for Gift of Gab, Machine Gun Fellatio, Ugly Duckling, and the Next Men, and devoting increasing attention to label operations, Katalyst resumed recording with the 2007 album What’s Happening. Expanding his range, he enlisted rappers alongside soul vocalists Stephanie McKay and Steve Spacek and rock singer Adalita Srsen of Magic Dirt. To unify the diverse tracks, each contributor was asked to compose a socially conscious piece addressing a timely political issue, an approach signaled by the album title (itself an allusion to Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On). The video for “Say What You Feel,” featuring Stephanie McKay, intercut black-and-white footage of protest marches spanning the 1960s, 1970s, and 2000s.