Q&A with Katanak – Winner of The QUBE Effect People’s Choice Award

With this year’s QUBE Effect program finishing up for 2020, and a new season on the horizon, we recently caught up with Katanak – one of The QUBE Effect participants this year, and winner of the BEMAC People’s Choice Award – to find out what he thought of his experience in the program…

1. Tell us about your experience in The QUBE Effect this year? What have been your highlights/learnings/best moments?

Highlights – so many! For starters just getting that phone call to tell me I’d made the cut of musicians involved in the program will pretty much be my first highlight. Can’t get any better than making it into QUBE Effect!  The opportunity to have a professional film clip filmed by Torn Parachute, AND be involved in the whole idea process has been unbelievably huge! I never realised how important it was to have a clip that captures the attention of the audience, so I would definitely mark that one down as a great lesson.  Last, but not least, was when I received the phone call to let me know that I was the BEMAC People’s Choice Winner.  I was working really hard at promoting my video and my music and to find out that people supported me and were happy to vote for me, topped off an extraordinary experience.

When COVID hit and the program had to veer in another direction, in my opinion I would say that the program became better. Yes, we missed the physical interaction of meeting each other in person and getting to know each other that way, but the opportunity to have each session filmed and be able to watch that recording as many times as you needed to, added to what we could take away from each session. We’ve had the opportunity to work with 4 mentors who have been around the industry for a long time and getting the chance to pick their brains about the things that will help me individually has been a huge help. Each mentor chosen this year gave us so much information and they were willing to give us their contact details so that we could follow up with any questions we had. They are really wanting us to succeed in this industry.

How could I also not mention Queenie Pelesa, our programmer. She regularly speaks to each of us individually and checks up on us to see that we are on track with where we need to be and any additional things we would like to cover. Always supportive, making sure we are there for the group zoom call, arranging our video clip filming and just being someone to run ideas by. QUBE Effect as a whole has been a great experience.

2. What do you think The QUBE Effect has done for your music career?

QUBE Effect gets a lot of attention in the Brisbane Music Scene.  Industry people are watching to see who’s in the group. The first thing I noticed was that people now knew my name and were searching me out on socials. I’ve also been asked to jump onto gig line ups and in the local scene that’s a huge step forward. It also means that when booking agents are looking for artists for a local festival, I’m hoping that I’ll be forefront in their minds. Being part of QUBE Effect and then taking out The People’s Choice award is something significant to add to my resume.

3. What advice would you give to other emerging musicians who may be thinking of applying for the next round of The QUBE Effect?

Don’t be hesitant! Just start that application and put your best music forward. You can’t be accepted into any program if you don’t at least try. I applied for three years before I got in for the 2020 year. Each time you do something, whether it’s writing a song or applying for QUBE Effect, you will learn something. Yes, you will probably have to have a couple of goes at applying, but each time you learn a bit more – how to write the application, how to write your bio, which song you want to put forward. Don’t worry what the result will be, just do it!

Watch all 24 QUBE Effect music videos for 2020, including Katanak’s winning video HERE

Four more final awards will be announced and presented to some lucky finalists on 3 October at the Awards Night for this year’s QUBE Effect program, thanks to these sponsors: Dew Process, QMusic / BigSound, The Tivoli, USC Studios & Magoo, Karl Bouro & Torn Parachute, Queensland Multicultural Centre, and Brisbane City Council.

Follow BEMAC on Facebook to STAY TUNED for these award announcements, plus opening dates for the next round of applications for The QUBE Effect 2021 coming very soon!

The QUBE Effect is a Brisbane City Council program, proudly produced by BEMAC and Queenie Pelesa (Creative Producer – District Studios).