EffaTha & The ProjekT KaTholiban "Transcendence Metal" 2022 "and original 100 instrumental compositions!

I could not be so far from any influence of the music industry, from influential names in the industry, from any well-known clichés that prevail in the production and management and music business, than my personal name and surname. So far, farest. I have nothing to do with “music” in that sense.

But with music as an expression of the soul, as an art form of expression, I have a lot to do with music as a dance of imagination and creativity.

When I tried in 2017 as self-taught and without anyone's help by musicians or producers or DJs, albeit very shyly, I started poking around a bit just by various musical tools, consoles, software, various video lessons to teach myself to make some kind of composition that would make sense, that would have a theme, story, color and body, I had no idea that I would create a whole new musical world for me.

For me, that world has no limitations. There are no rules, especially not the kind of rules as they are known in the world of musical production and in the way they work with musical tools.

Although since the late 1980s I have been working as a rock musician on the local music scene, first in the band Nepal, and then in collaboration with Nepal bassist Nenad Markotaand then returned to the band Nepal again and disappointed since 1994 I have not been a member of any musical formation in my local environment as an acoustic jazz duo, after that in the band Sub Effect with dear friends Slobodan Bodo Rebic, Robbie Muskardin (also a member of the band Nepal) and Alen Matovina
(later a member of the Morso group) and Eddie on bass, and subsequently also with Matovina in the Wild Boar group, and then returned to the to the band Nepal again and disappointed since 1994 I have not been a member of any musical formation in my local environment.

But I still wrote lyrics, played a bit of acoustic guitar, composed, looked for myself in music, turned to spiritual themes and for more than a dozen years prepared for what would be known as the first Christian heavy metal band in Croatia... for the EffaTha group.In 2008, the EffaTha group held its first rehearsal. It was 16.09.2008.

The band broke up five years later, in 2012, recorded an epic work called "Mk 7.34" in 2010 and entered the studio at the end of 2011 to record the first real album we called
"Mute Cry" and the work on that album has dragged on and the whole story is available today on Wikipedia and Metal Encyclopedia and in some articles and interviews that I gave on behalf of the group in Jutarnji list, Vecernji list, Book magazines and performed several times as a guest on Croatian Catholic Radio in the shows Slavka Nedića "Sacro Rhythm" and pater Ante Bobaš "They rock for the Lord" and some others. The music of EffaTha could also be heard on Radio Trsat, where I was an external associate and editor for 5 years and on the air of Radio Medjugorje as well.

The group performed live throughout Croatia, and it is known that we also performed at some festivals outside Croatia (Poland, SOS festival...) and that was it.
The torment of producing and paying the debts incurred by the conflict within the band itself and the producer who was greedy and rude I described and explained on the website and this story is fully available if anyone wants to read it. So much for that period of my musical life.

In 2012 I got married, in 2013 had a son named Jonah and is now 8.5 years old and about to finish second grade.

By 2017 I was out of music, and then I started working again, at first I was assisted by the keyboardist of the band EffaTha Fran Belanović. Attempts to reactivate the EffaTha group as a Christian metal band failed, there were several but nothing happened.

And then I decided not only to change the way I had thought about music until then, but also the approach and the musical style and the way I worked and made music.

I accepted working in various audio tools and music software as normal. And it brought me by then the greatest and widest possible artistic, creative and musical freedom. Working with sampls and loops has awakened my interest in other musical styles such as electro, industrial, dub, trance...

Having always been a big fan of electro sound in the 1970s and groups and artists like Tangerine Dream, Automat, Kraftwerk, Space Art, Giorgio Moroder, Brian Eno,Vangelis, JM Jarre and many kraut rock groups such as Kraan, Eloy, Nectar, Amon Duul and Space rock heroes Hawkwind (my favorite band), I somehow easily got used to working with piles of electro loops and samples.

Also having a big impact on me were Astral Projection, Apollo 440, Fluke, Propellerheads, Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, Junkie XL, Fatboy Slim, Orbital, Andy Hunter, Death in Vegas, Stereo Mc's, Air, Radiohead, Moby...

Having started as a kid of 7 years with groups such as Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Uriah Heep, Led Zeppelin, Grand Funk, Mountain, and with classic metal groups such as UFO, Scorpions, Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy, Blue Öyster Cult, Budgie, Iron Maiden and prog rock bands such as Rush, ELP, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, Yes, Camel, Gong, Soft Machine, Caravan, Focus, and previously shod with psych rock groups like Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Grateful Dead, The Doors, The Byrds, Love, Kaleodoscoipe, Shocking Blue and the like have encompassed a vast range of musical influences and styles. However, when I look at it from today's perspective the biggest influence on me was made by Mike Oldfield.

His conceptual style and surprising repetition of parts of one song in another completely new and separate composition gave me an insight into how one story can proceed to another story and thus constitute one whole and continuity.

This also prompted me personally to call myself a conceptual artist and in my musical imagination I behave exactly that way and create and compose by myself my conceptual new worlds.

Aware that the audio tool business belongs more to production than author's work, I am completely relaxed and the limits of creativity are immense, even in my head and reason I personaly have no boundaries.

Based on the results and fruits of my creation, my work could appeal most to fans of groups like Rammstein, KMFDM, Die Krupps, Laibach, Gravity Kills, Fear Factory, Apoptygma Berzerk, Ministry, Circle of Dust, Celldweller, Arglye Park...

So to lovers of eletro/industrial/metal sounds my music may feeI good. I am completely satisfied with this and when I look at the bigger picture and all the artists and groups and styles that have made an impact on me I am aware that I did all this completely spontaneously and that at any time my music could have been more metal, and maybe space rock or maybe hard rock with prog rock elements.

I love and actively listen to all these styles. I'm also a big admirer of the funk and disco sound of the '70s.
Funkadelic, Isaac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield...

On the other hand, besides hard rock and metal music, I also like alternative styles, indie rock and grunge, and especially punk and new wave. I appreciate rap and hip hop, but those styles didn't have any impact on me. I love jazz, jazz rock and fusion. The Mahavishnu Orchestra, the Weather Report, Billy Cobham, Return to Forever, Spyro Gyra, Al Di Meola and Pat Metheney are my almost daily musical choices.

So my own production may not be for every ear. It's probably all very much, for someone's ears too much. Although I really love heavy metal and one big part of my life I have identified myself as a metalhead, I have long accepted the fact that I am a big fan of contemporary music and interested in different styles, my ears can absorb it all. And I'm proud of my audiophile knowledge. I love music and I love what I do and create.

There are exactly 100 compositions on this compilation. They're all instrumentals. I've included compositions from both my musical endeavors, so there are songs I produce as EffaTha and like The ProjekT KaTholiban.

The music is exactly as I described it. I should note that in addition to being driven by a pure desire to create and create on and on and have an extraordinary love of music, I have no musical ambitions at all.

I have almost 52 years of life behind me, I have a beautiful child, my son named Jonah who is my first and only true love and nothing is comparable to that fact. I'm divorced but on good terms with my ex-wife Irene. In private life, there are things that can fill a man's soul. I'm a believer, a Catholic and a Christian musician.

I generally offer my music online for free, on Bandcamp. I feel comfortable here and I am happy to use the services that this music service offers.
My music is therefore my own view of art and life.

In our lives and privacy, we are not always completely free.
I found freedom in the creation of music, in my beautiful son a miracle of life, and in God an eternal love.

I need a little more patience. In Croatia, there is a folk saying:
"Be patient - be Saved."

So so be it. I pray to the Lord Jesus Christ to give me strength and faith in my illness and for the contractions in my hips to subside, the wounds from lying in the hospital after an endocardial infarction heal, and the arms, legs and muscles strengthen again.

Anything is possible to God. And even if He turns me completely self-taught into a little music producer. My music is my signature. Maybe when I think about it I do have some small ambitions, maybe sometimes someone decides to use my music in a movie of somekind.

This would be not only a personal success because I really do not have some oversized ambitions, but only joy and the realization that my work has some value.
Nothing more than that. Less than that, of course, I do, and I'm happy.

Marin Katava EffaTha on 02/26/2022


EffaTha & The ProjekT KaTholiban
"Transcendence Metal"
2022" i originalnih 100 instrumentalnih skladbi!

Toliko daleko od bilo kakvog utjecaja glazbene industrije, od utjecajnih imena u toj branši, od bilo kakvih poznatih klišeja koji vladaju u poslovima produkcije i menadžmenta te glazbenog biznisa nego što je moje osobno ime i prezime - nisam mogao biti. Toliko daleko, najdalje.
Ja nemam nikakve veze sa "glazbom" u takvom smislu.


Ali sa glazbom kao izrazom duše, kao umjetničkom formom izražavanja, sa glazbom kao plesom mašte i kreativnosti itekako imam veze.

Kada sam 2017 godine pokušao kao samouk i bez ičije pomoći od strane glazbenika ili producenata ili DJ -a, doduše vrlo stidljivo, počeo pomalo tek čeprkati po raznim glazbenim alatima, konzoloma, softverima, raznim video lekcijama kako bih sam sebe naučio napraviti nekakvu skladbu koja bi imala smisla, koja bi imala temu, priču,boju i tijelo, nisam niti slutio da ću stvoriti jedan čitav novi svijet.

Za mene taj svijet nema ograničenja. Nema pravila, pogotovo ne onakvih pravila kakvi su poznati u svijetu glazbene produkcije i u načinu rada sa glazbenim alatima.

Premda od kraja 80'tih godina prošlog stoljeća kao rock glazbenik djelujem na lokalnoj glazbeboj sceni, prvo u grupi Nepal, pa potom u suradnji sa basistom grupe Nepal Nenadom Markotom kao akustični jazz duo, nakon toga u grupi Sub Effect sa dragim prijateljima Slobodanom Bodom Rebićem, Robijem Muškardinom (također član grupe Nepal) te Alenom Matovinom
(kasnije član grupe Morso) i Edijem na basu, a nakon toga također sa Matovinom u grupi Divlje Svinje, da bi se potom opet vratio u grupu Nepal te razočaran od 1994 nisam bio član niti jedne glazbene formacije u mojoj lokalnoj sredini.
Ali, pisao sam i dalje tekstove, svirao pomalo akustičnu gitaru, skladao, tražio sam sebe u glazbi, okrenuo se duhovnim temama i više od desetak godina se pripremao za ono što će biti poznato kao prvi kršćanski heavy metal sastav u Hrvatskoj...za grupu EffaTha.
2008 godine grupa EffaTha je održala prvu probu. Bilo je to 16.09.2008 godine.
Grupa se raspala pet godina poslije, 2012 godine, snimila jedan ep uradak pod nazivom "Mk 7.34" 2010 godine te krajem 2011 ušla u studio na snimanje prvog pravog albuma kojeg smo nazvali
"Nijemi Krik" a rad na tom albumu se odužio i cijela priča je danas dostupna i na Wikipediji i Metal Enciklopediji te u nekim člancima i intervjuima koje sam u ime grupe davao u Jutarnjem listu, Večernjem listu, časopisima Book te nekoliko puta nastupao kao gost na Hrvatskom Katoličkom Radiju u emisijama Slavka Nedića "Sacro Ritam" te patera Ante Bobaša "Oni rokaju za Gospodina" te još nekima. Glazba EffaThe se mogla čuti još i na Radio Trsatu na kojem sam 5 godina bio vanjski suradnik i urednik te u eteru Radio Međugorje.
Grupa je nastupala uživo širom Hrvatske,a poznato je da smo nastupali i na nekim festivalima izvan Hrvatske (Poljska, SOS festival...) i to je bilo to.
Muke po produkciji i plačanju dugova koji su nastali zbog sukoba unutar samog benda i producenta koji je bio gramzljiv i bezobrazan opisao sam i objasnio na internetskim stranicama i ta priča je u cjelosti dostupna ako je netko želi pročitati.Toliko o tom razdoblju mog glazbenog života.

2012 godine sam se oženio, 2013 dobio sina koji se zove Jona i sada ima 8,5 godina i uskoro će završiti drugi razred osnovne škole.

Do 2017 godine sam bio izvan glazbe, a onda sam ponovo počeo sa radom, ispočetka mi je pomagao klavijaturist grupe EffaTha Fran Belanović. Pokušaji da se grupa EffaTha reaktivira kao kršćanski metal bend su propali, bilo ih je nekoliko.

A onda sam odlučio ne samo promjeniti način na koji sam do tada promišljao glazbu, već i pristup i glazbeni stil i način rada i stvaranja glazbe.

Prihvatio sam rad u raznim audio alatima i glazbenim softverima kao normalan. I to mi je doneslo do tada najveću i najširu moguću umjetničku, stvaralačku i kreativnu slobodu. Rad sa samplovima i loopovima mi je probudio interes za druge glazbene stilove poput elektro, industrial, dub, trance.

Pošto sam oduvijek bio veliki obožavatelj elektro zvuka sedamdesetih godina i grupa i umjetnika poput Tangerine Dream, Automat, Kraftwerk, Space Art, Giorgio Moroder, Brian Eno,Vangelis, JM Jarre te mnoge kraut rock grupe kao što su Kraan, Eloy, Nektar, Amon Duul te Space rock heroje Hawkwind (moj omiljeni sastav), nekako sam se lako priviknuo na rad sa gomilama elektro loopova i samplova.
Također na mene su imali veliki utjecaj i Astral Projection, Apollo 440, Fluke, Propellerheads, Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, Junkie XL, Fatboy Slim, Orbital, Andy Hunter, Death in Vegas, Stereo Mc's, Air, Radiohead, Moby...

Pošto sam kao klunac od 7 godina počeo sa grupama poput Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Uriah Heep, Led Zeppelin, Grand Funk, Mountain, te sa klasičnim metal grupama poput UFO, Scorpions, Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy, Blue Öyster Cult, Budgie,Iron Maiden te prog rock sastavima poput Rush, ELP, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd,Yes, Camel, Gong, Soft Machine, Caravan, Focus, a od ranije potkovan sa psych rock grupama poput Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Grateful Dead, The Doors, The Byrds, Love, Kaleodoscoipe, Shocking Blue i sličnih obuhvatio sam golemi spektar glazbenih utjecaja i stilova. Međutim kada pogledam iz današnje perspektive najveći utjecaj na mene je izvršio Mike Oldfield. Njegov konceptualni stil i iznenađujuče ponavljanje dijelova jedne pjesme u drugoj potpuno novoj i zasebnoj kompoziciji dalo mi je uvid kako i na koji način se jedna priča može nastavit na drugu priču i tako činiti jednu cjelinu i kontinuitet.

To je i mene osobno ponukalo da sebe nazivam konceptualnim umjetnikom i u mojoj glazbenoj mašti ja se upravo tako ponašam i tako kreiram, komponiram i skladam.

Svjestan da posao sa audio alatima više pripada produkcijskom nego autorskom radu, potpuno sam opušten i granice kreativnosti su neizmjerne, makar u mojoj glavi i razumu.

Po dobivenim razultatima i plodovima mog stvaranja moj rad bi se mogao najviše dopasti fanovima grupa poput Rammstein, KMFDM, Die Krupps, Laibach, Gravity Kills, Fear Factory, Apoptygma Berzerk, Ministry, Circle of Dust, Celldweller, Arglye Park...
Dakle ljubiteljima eletro/industrial/metal zvukovlja. S tim sam potpuno zadovoljan i kad pogledam širu sliku i sve umjetnike i grupe te stilove koji su na mene izvršili utjecaj svjestan sam da sam sve ovo učinio potpuno spontano i da je u bilo kojem trenutku moja glazba mogla biti i više metal, i možda space rock ili možda hard rock sa prog rock elementima. Sve te stilove volim i aktivno slušam. Također sam veliki obožavtelj funk i disco zvuka 70-tih.
Funkadelic, Isaac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield...
S druge strane osim hard rock i metal glazbe volim i alternativne stilove, indie rock i grunge te posebno punk i new wave. Cijenim rap i hip hop, ali ti stilovi na mene nisu imali nikakav utjecaj. Volim jazz, jazz rock i fusion. Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, Billy Cobham, Return to Forever, Spyro Gyra, Al Di Meola te Pat Metheney su moj gotovo svakodnevni glazbeni izbor.

Tako i moja vlastita produkcija možda nije za svako uho. Vjerovatno je za nečije uši to sve itekako. previše. Premda zaista volim heavy metal i jedan veliki dio života sam se indetificirao kao metalhead, odavno sam prihvatio činjenicu da sam veliki ljubitelj suvremene glazbe i da me zanimaju različiti stilovi, moje uši to sve mogu upiti. I ponosan sam na svoje audiofilsko znanje. Volim glazbu i volim to što radim i stvaram.


Na ovoj kompilaciji se nalazi točno 100 skladbi. Sve su instrumentali. Obuhvatio sam skladbe iz oba dva moja glazbena pothvata, dakle tu su pjesme koje produciram kao EffaTha i kao The ProjekT KaTholiban.

Glazba je upravo takva kakvom sam je i opisao. Moram napomenuti da osim što me pogoni čista želja za stvaranjem i kreacijom, te izuzetna ljubav prema glazbi, ja nemam nikakvih glazbenih ambicija.


Imam umalo 52 godine života iza sebe, imam predivno dijete, mog sina koji se zove Jona i koji je moja prva i jedina prava ljubav i ništa nije usporedivo s tom činjenicom. Rastavljen sam ali u dobrim odnosima sa bivšom suprugom Irenom. U privatnom životu postoje stvari koje mogu ispunjavati čovjekovu dušu. Vjernik sam, katolik i kršćanski glazbenik. Svoju glazbu na internetu uglavnom nudim besplatno i to na servisu Bandcamp. Tu se osječam ugodno i rado se služim uslugama koje taj glazbeni servis nudi.
Moja glazba je dakle i moj vlastiti pogled na umjetnost i na život. U našim životima i privatnosti nismo uvijek u potpunosti slobodni.
Ja sam u stvaranju glazbe pronašao slobodu, u svom predivnom sinu čudo života, a u Bogu ljubav.
Treba mi malo više strpljenja. U Hrvatskoj postoji narodna izreka:
" Strpljen - Spašen".
Tako dakle neka i bude. Molim se Gospodinu Isusu Kristu da mi dadne snage i vjere u mojoj bolesti i da kontrakcije u mojim kukovima popuste, rane od ležanja u bolnici nakon infarkta endokarda zarastu, a ruke, noge i mišići ojačaju. Bogu je sve moguće. Pa čak i da mene potpuno samoukog pretvori u malog glazbenog producenta. Moja glazba je moj potpis. Možda kad malo bolje razmislim ipak imam nekih malih ambicija, možda nekad netko odluči da moju glazbu upotrijebi u nekom filmu. To bi bio ne samo osobni uspjeh jer nekih prevelikih ambicija zaista nemam, nego samo radost i spoznaja da moj rad ima neku vrijednost.
Ništa više od toga. Manje od toga naravno imam, i sretan sam.
Marin Katava EffaTha