Catalyst
Catalyst is designed to help songwriters dream, develop and release their art into the world. I offer experience as a musician/producer to help songs come to life.
With the help of a very dedicated and talented team of musicians and state of the art recording equipment, we are able to assemble a professional studio environment,
anywhere.
Meet the Team
For when The song needs the power of a band
Engineer
August Ogren
August has engineered, mixed, and produced an eclectic list of artists over the years. Currently based in Dublin, Ireland, August studied audio engineering in Chicago, where he helped form the band The Oarsman. After lots of US and Canadian tours, August stopped touring and built The Petting Zoo Recording Studio in Minneapolis, Minnesota where he worked out of for 5 years. As of 2019, August moved into the state-of-the-art Terrarium Recording Studios (Tame Impala, Brian Setzer, Cory Wong, Andrew Bird, Fall out Boy and more). Most recently, finished working with Verve Records artist Ondara on his new album set to release soon.
In January 2021 August joined Worlds End Management based out of Los Angeles. Since then, discovered and helped sign Irish band Rowan to the label Beverly Martel.
Drummer
Davie Ryan
Davie is a drummer with extensive experience both nationally and internationally as a touring & recording musician, producer, and educator in a range of diverse genres including pop, jazz, folk, rock, world and traditional music. He has wide-ranging expertise as a recording artist and has worked with many renowned studio producers both in Ireland and abroad. Davie has his own recording studio (Under The Umbrella) in Cork City, Ireland where he provides both remote and in-person recording/production.
Session and touring work includes Ariel Posen / Cat Stevens / Jack O’ Rourke / Talos / Marlene Enright / Niall McCabe / Donal Lunny / Padraig Rynne / Mary Coughlan / Paul Dunlea / John Blek / Notify / Mick Flannery / Gemma Sugrue / The Hard Ground / Rubyhorse / Ian Date /
Producer/Guitar/Pedal steel
Kealan Kenny
A highly experienced musician, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist, Kealan Kenny has a lengthy list of credits under his belt.As a musician and session player, he has collaborated with over seventy artists/bands. As a touring musician, he has graced the stages of such esteemed venues as the Royal Albert Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall (London) and Pianos (New York City). Having gone on countless European & Irish tours with different artists, and an impressive catalogue of support tours (Chic, Kaiser Chiefs, James Blunt, Imelda May, The Average White band) Kealan continues to pay his dues as a working musician.Kealan also has an impressive formal education in music (including a BA degree in Popular Music and a first-class Honors MA degree in Performance, both from the Cork School of Music) as well as, via his studio, expert knowledge in producing, mixing and generating a constructive and confident workflow.
Bass/Double Bass
Michael Riordan
Michael Riordan is a bass player/multi-instrumentalist and musical director from Cork City, Ireland. Specialising in Upright and Electric bass but also providing keys, guitar, vocals, strings and percussion duties, Riordan has worked with many of the greats in Irish traditional music (Pádraig Rynne, Tara Breen, Pax Ó Faoláin et al.), jazz (Paul Boothe, Ian Date, Ryan Quigley, Paul Dunlea et al.), folk music (Sarah Hickey, Actor Actor, Ray Barron et al.) aswell as pop music.Riordan has a lot of experience with Musical Theatre, having worked extensively under MD David Hayes (Riverdance, Gavin James, The Coronas et al.), most notably in the Bórd Gais Energy Theatre’s 2021/22 production of West Side Story. Currently studying for a BA in Popular Music at the MTU Cork School of Music, Riordan divides his time between studying, gigging around the country and abroad as well as recording.
Keys/Synths
Rory Mcarthy
Rory McCarthy is a piano player and keyboardist from Cork. From a young age, he studied piano in Cork School of Music. In 2012 he graduated from UCC with BA hons in Maths-Music and 2022 he completed his MA in music performance in Cork School of Music with a first class honours. Rory has worked consistently since 2012 as a session player for a number of well established Irish musicians. Brian Deady, John Blek, Marc O Reilly, Niall McCabe, Pa Sheehy to name a few. His music has taken him to studios in Nashville and Memphis and tours across the UK and Europe. As well as this, Rory also works as a composer for screen and stage productions, including Screen Ireland Short Films.
Why choose Catalyst?
I have developed a system of working with songwriters, that tailors the recording process to each unique artists vision.
Any genre, any style.
Maybe you want an acoustic organic track?
Maybe you want a live band sound, or a tight pop production?
Catalyst provides the framework to take a song from an idea to a professional recording.
We are all musicians and understand the costs of recording, so we offer competitive artist friendly rates..
Just get in touch
SAL
“I've never felt as included and relaxed in a studio setting. I watched my song come to life, in a way I could never have imagined possible"
Sarah Hickey
"Such a beautiful way of recording. I've done a whole album with the guys, and I can't express how happy I am with these songs. The whole experience is incredible."
Ruairi De Leastar
"Kealan takes a song and sees it in a way no one I've ever met can. I trust him, and I trust catalyst, I genuinely can't recommend this process enough to other songwriters"
Beka Ruane
Working with Catalyst was an absolute pleasure. Every team member was professional, easy to deal with and incredibly talented. The end product was beyond my expectations and I will continue to call on this team, time and time again.
Steven Falvey
“The crew at Catalyst are highly experienced, considerate and tasteful. They really care about your wants and needs and they will create your music to an industry standard. They will offer you great advice and give constructive criticism to make your song be the best it can be without breaking down the integrity of what you have created. All at a very competitive price point, the professional service they offer is second to none.”
Shauna Lee
Recording my four song E.P with professional musicians and engineers in a comfortable environment was a great experience. We were able to work together in a relaxed atmosphere, which allowed us to focus on the music and create something special. The cost was also very reasonable for high quality tracks.