Katsu - Awakening

Katsu burst onto the Bristol scene in 1995 and over the next couple of years played numerous gigs at Bristol and Bath's top venues, including to thousands at the Bristol Community Festival at Ashton Court and even an appearance at Glastonbury Festival.

Although their gigs received wide acclaim, and they recorded plenty of music, they only managed to self-release a four-track EP and a CD album, both of which sold in tiny numbers.

Gigs live in people's memories, but physical releases that transcend generations and tend to be the key to keeping a band's music current, an element Katsu's legacy has been lacking.

The band had originally come together as the musicians behind the first four Armagideon albums and included Phil a former Rhythmite and member of Vin Gordon and the Authentics, Wilbert who had engineered for The Revolutionary Dub Warriors and worked with Adrian Sherwood as well as Guy who would form Dub From Atlantis.

They were key members of the local reggae scene, experienced musicians and their recordings are just as good as their live shows were. We decided their 1997 album, Awakening, deserved the release it didn't receive back then - a proper pressing run with distribution, making it available to a wider audience, doing justice to the music. 

Timeless, quality reggae.