Katalyst Entertainment

02/05/2025

https://chicagoreader.com/music/gossip-wolf/katalyst-conversation-ari-vincent-wilkerson-preyas-john-mohr/

The Katalyst Conversation play their first local gig outside the Hegewisch coffee shop, and punk lifer John Mohr celebrates his 60th at Gman.

12/05/2023

I changed my password so I think I can post things again (hopefully). In any case, we are still on pause at the store, but the music goes on! We are taking the show on the road. The Katalyst Conversation with Vincent Davis, Ari Brown, and Ed Wilkerson Introducing Preyas Roy will be playing the Soul on Ice Festival in London on March 14th, 2024. Check it out:

https://certainblacks.com/soul-on-ice-music-festival/23338/

We may even try to add a few more dates!

04/29/2022

Mondays are back for May!

04/04/2022

10/21/2021

05/14/2020

Archive Dive 1.2: When I first started working with The Art Ensemble, this was one of the recordings that stood out to me as having "legs". I had just come from working with polygram and had worked with a wide range of records and I could see the marketability of this record was there. It could easily be just as popular as some of the recordings that major labels were putting out. The original version had a beautiful cover that had a color photo of Moye by Joan Hackett. The image was and still is powerful. After we did Afrikan Song, I was evolving in my role with the group and Moye to the point that I was given the opportunity to develop a re-issue series centered around their recordings that were out of print. Moye let me re-issue this one first but wanted to use new artwork. I think he was just testing the waters with the whole reissue thing and didn't want to commit the original artwork. Either way, I was just grateful to have the chance to grow the label in that direction. We ended up having new artwork done by Rafi Kushmir and Sparrow was instrumental with putting everything together. The business model worked out as well. Since we were touring around this time, I was able to make a profit on a project for the first time and it was clear that the new direction presented possibilities. My objective was to build catalog and try to get wider distribution but in the meantime, on the road sales became a viable vehicle for progress.

05/07/2020

05/07/2020

Archive Dive # 1.1: somehow my last post doesn't appear to have posted so I will try again. This recording is not actually a Katalyst recording but it set the stage for the new direction the label would go. Around the same time I left Polygram to start my own label, I also began working for The Art Ensemble of Chicago as a roadie and assistant with the office. This opened up a whole new world to me both literally and figuratively. I was working under the leadership of Famoudou Don Moye, possibly the hardest working being I have encountered. That experience gave me the opportunity to evolve in my experience with studio recording. Up until this point, I mostly got tracks from groups and decided which ones to release but this was the first time that I was actively involved with all aspects of the process and started working closely with actual musicians. I was given credit as the project coordinator and it was released on AECO / Southport and was recorded at Sparrow Sound design. I set out to try to get my label involved with these activities.

04/23/2020

Archive dive #3: The 3rd release on the label was a 12" single by Main Frame called "Her, Her, Her, and You". After failing to get exposure in the world of R&B, I decided to put out a single from Main Frame to see if we could get the ball rolling on what was happening in the business with hip hop. The group was somewhat active and getting a decent name for itself. I was starting to work a lot on the road with the Art Ensemble of Chicago and when I came back from a tour and heard this cut, I knew that was it. We were able to get a video done and got rotation on "the box", which was a video channel that ran a lot of independent music. I also got a little radio play and club play. The group was doing live shows here and there and was recording an album that I intended to release. They added a new member named Tru Indeed and Just Ro went on to do a solo project. Shahid began doing some solo stuff too. Unfortunately, the group could not seem to get organized to take advantage of some of the opportunities presented to them. I released a cassingle of the song as well with one of the songs from the compilation as a b side. I will send a pic of that if I can find one. A lot of people have told me that "Girls, Girls" by Jay Z sounds a lot like it and Kanye may have gotten inspiration from it for that song. It is possible. The group did not seem focused and the album was never released. I still have the tracks and have considered putting them out a few times.

04/16/2020

Archive dive #2: This was the second project I put out. Concept was an r&b duo that featured the vocals of Shawn Mason and the production of Keith Howell (K Fresh). I saw them perform at a club called De Joie's and they sang a song called "How Ya Livin" and I had to have it. As a romantic and a songwriter, the song seemed very refreshing compared to what was out at the time. It seemed to have a timeless quality that very few songs have. I made it my mission to put this song out and worked out a deal with them to release it as a single with another song they were working on called "Seranade", which was more of a track that had a couple remixes with input from Phil Storm, Rio, and Robert Bond. As it turned out, "Seranade" got a little more attention because it had a groovy track that kind of went well with the steppers. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get the kind of radio play that was needed to generate the kind of activity that the songs deserved. I learned the difference between working with the major labels and independently. Either way, the music is still timeless and I go back to it frequently. Shawn Mason put out some new music as "Mason" that still has that same quality.

04/09/2020

Archive Dive: This was the first project I produced. It was a 1993 compilation called "Welcome to the World of Chicago Hip Hop". It featured 5 different groups with 5 different styles from around the city. Students of Science was a group from the north side that represented the militant and conscious side of Hip Hop. Most of the lyrics were delivered by Shahid Mustafa and the tracks were done by Chris Underwood. Main Frame was a group that brought together some of the powerhouses of the hip hop scene at the time. Byzy Stylz, Just Ro, 2 ntnse, and shahid (now dj shahid). They kind of were the happy go lucky side of things with witty lyrics that sometimes got explicit while the beats were very groovy and infectious. "Main Frame gotta be the sure shot" was a nod to them from Common. They have resurrected as the Gr8 Unknown. Paul E (now Less M Perfektion)was a wordsmith that demonstrated prolific wordplay over funky grooves. Devon was a more socially conscious rapper that dealt with such issues as homelessness and CODA was a group that dealt with the gangster culture. This project was only available on cassette and made a little noise. At the time, I thought I was going to be able to build a foundation in Chicago with all of the talent here as opposed to artists being plucked to the east or west coasts.

01/25/2020

https://blockclubchicago.org/2020/01/22/new-hegewisch-record-store-would-let-neighbors-listen-to-music-drink-coffee-if-owner-can-get-it-funded/

Owner Kevin Beauchamp wanted the store to be a place where music lovers can gather and share their interests.