Q&A: Katara Steps Into a New Era With “GLEE SHI,” “NUMB” and ‘EVELYN’
WRITTEN BY MATILIA
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Katara has spent the past six years figuring out just how many directions his music can go in. The Florida-based artist began making music as a producer in 2020 before gradually stepping into the role he occupies now, building songs around dark R&B and pop while leaving himself room to experiment beyond both genres. The majority of his work comes directly from his own life - particularly relationships, heartbreak, drug abuse and the difficult environments he’s had to navigate along the way.
The emotional honesty that he doesn’t stray away from sits at the center of songs like “NUMB,” where Katara leans further into the darker alternative sound he now plans to explore more intentionally. His recent single “GLEE SHI,” however, revealsanother side of him entirely.
Originally approached as an experiment outside his usual R&B lane, the song gave him the opportunity to make something simply because it was fun, ultimately showing him how naturally he could move between different sounds without losing the essence of his music.
Now, Katara is treating music less like a hobby and more like the career he wants to build, with four more singles planned in the coming months and a larger project already in the works. His forthcoming album, EVELYN, is currently planned for December and, according to Katara, will be his most vulnerable project yet.
In our conversation, he opened up about experimenting outside his comfort zone, learning to trust his instincts, finding the sound he wants to move forward with and why loving yourself first has become such an important lesson within both his life and his music.
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LIFE ON JUPITER: For anyone discovering you for the first time through this interview, who is Katara, and what do you want people to understand about you as an artist?
KATARA: For anyone who hasn’t followed my journey for the past six years, hi, my name is Katara. I’m an artist from Florida, and I mainly make music in the dark R&B/pop genre. Sometimes I do other genres.
I started making music in 2020, starting out as a producer and slowly transitioning to what I do now. I started making music based on real-life events and problems that happened in my life, mainly issues from my relationships, drug abuse and the toxic environment around me in general.
I make music mainly as a coping mechanism, but I see it as a chance for people to sing about the emotions they might not be able to put into words. For the people who yearn or mourn for the relationship they once had or want, or the people who had to deal with being cheated on or replaced, I believe that I can make that emotion come to life for you to sing with your heart.
When you originally reached out, you described “GLEE SHI” as something you’d never done before. What were you experimenting with on this song that felt new for you?
KATARA: When it came to “GLEE SHI,” to me it was an experiment of what other genres I could do. Seeing that my producer, Blaunx, made it inspired by Slayr and other artists, this was the first time I ever took a dive into that style.
For personal reasons, I never actually took the chance to make music for fun and say whatever I wanted in the style that I wanted. This single gave me a chance to breathe and make a fun song just for the hell of it, and I’m glad I took the opportunity.
What gave you the confidence to actually release “GLEE SHI” instead of treating the experiment as something you made once and moved on from?
KATARA: Honestly, this song was the first song outside of R&B where I told myself, “This would be perfect for performing live one day,” and didn’t give it a second thought.
There have been a few songs that I love, but I don’t know if I would ever perform them live, mainly older songs I never got to release. I also do what most artists do, and I listened to the song every single day, the whole day, seeing whether I would end up hating it eventually or not. I never did.
I’d say it’s one of the most “hyped” songs I’ve ever done.
When you first shared “GLEE SHI,” you mentioned wanting an opinion from someone outside your immediate circle. When you make something that pushes you outside your comfort zone, how easy is it for you to trust your own instincts before anyone else validates them?
KATARA: It’s very hard for me. The issue with me is that I always believe I can make something better, no matter how good the current or last song was. I’m a firm believer that if I were ever to hit the No. 1 charting song, I would still tell myself that I could make something better and that it didn’t deserve that spot. It’s like no matter what I express, I can never express it enough.
The only thing that pushes me outside of my comfort zone is the need for change. Only recently this year, I started treating my music as an actual business rather than a hobby, hence why I reached out to you guys.
I’ve always had my friends and other people give opinions on my music, whether it was good or bad. Thankfully, it’s mainly good (laughs). These past few months, though, I’ve fully realized that investing in myself is the most important thing ever and that music really is something I want to live off of.
Making enough money to support myself and the people I love by being vulnerable and having others relate to that vulnerability is the most beautiful idea to me. Change was needed, and I’m slowly pushing myself out of my bubble to see what I can do with this change.
You described “NUMB” as another side of your sound, even comparing its direction to artists like Chase Atlantic and Artemas. What draws you toward that darker alternative sound?
KATARA: The raw emotions that can be put into this style and genre are what draw me the most. For the people who love Chase Atlantic, Artemas, The Weeknd, PND and others, I feel that they will understand the emotional side of my sound the most.
Whether it’s about heartbreak, pointless sex or a love that could never be grasped, the roughest and most real side of my life has always been reflected in the dark alternative style. It’s actually the genre I decided to stick with from here on out.
“GLEE SHI” and “NUMB” show pretty different sides of you. When your music can move between sounds like that, what makes something still feel unmistakably like a Katara song to you?
KATARA: In my opinion, my vocals and emotions will always make a song “a Katara song.” If there are still people here from when I had my old artist name, they could tell you that I’m either boasting about my style or it’s just an emotional roller coaster.
I’m never shy to show off what I’m feeling, and sometimes I’ll even mix the two. In my personal life, I’m either sad and reminiscent or I’m the most overconfident man to exist. Sometimes I’m overconfident because I’m thinking too much about what’s happened before and vice versa.
I guess it’s one of those things where, if you listen to it, you’ll understand what I mean.
Looking back at the music you’ve released so far, what do “GLEE SHI” and “NUMB” reveal about where you are creatively right now that some of your earlier songs don’t?
KATARA: I believe they show that if I wanted to do diverse genres, I could do so effortlessly. I believe I’ve always shown that, but “GLEE SHI” and “NUMB” show it off the best.
Examples of diverse styles I’ve done would be songs like “This Is What She Wanted,” “SUPER SONIC STYLE,” “Earrings,” “Soul Tied,” “Invasive” and “I Can Fix It.”
I have a lot more fun and emotional songs in my Notes app and I believe each song will be somebody’s favorite.
Is there a sound you haven’t experimented with yet that you’d eventually like to step into?
KATARA: In my heart, I would love to do ’80s disco, EDM and 2000s swag someday. I already have plans for those songs in mind, but I feel that I still need to learn more about it before putting it into full throttle.
What are you working toward after these releases? Is there a larger project or idea beginning to take shape, or are you letting each song lead you toward whatever comes next?
KATARA: I’m currently working toward an album. This project is named EVELYN, and I’m hoping there will be no issues with my distributor so this can be released smoothly.
Personally, this is the biggest project because I am letting myself be the most vulnerable with a memory that I don’t think I’ll ever let go of. It’s helped me figure out my aesthetic, and it’s helped me figure out what my persona will actually be.
Hopefully, it will let me work with bigger heartbroken artists, but I leave that to fate.
Is there anything we haven’t asked about that you think belongs in the conversation?
KATARA: All I have to say for the people reading is this: always love yourself first. My music and emotions are the outcome of loving other people and putting them before me. Love is too great and too dangerous for you to put into others before yourself.
Take some time to yourself and marinate in your emotions so you can understand them and become a better person overall. Be kind to everyone no matter what, help others no matter what, stay blessed and keep blessing others. <3
I have four more singles planned, one for each month including this one, with EVELYN planned for release sometime in December. I hope you stick around to enjoy it.
