He described it as a flow state he's constantly chasing.

"It's the most beautiful form of meditation I've found in life."

The Far South Coast musician hails from 'The Murrah' in the Bega Valley. From a young age, Sats got hooked on bass and guitar and hasn't put the instruments down since.

Even after a stint in the corporate world that took him to work in the Netherlands, he still managed to find his way back to his humble hometown.

"I wanted to get out of here as soon as I could after high school, thinking I'm never coming back to this one horse town, but here we are," he said.

It was at the Murrah Hall Sats "really discovered and fell in love with music", inspired by rock and roll bands he saw performing on stage.

His bus stop on the way to Narooma High School was positioned right outside the hall. It was where his daydreams would take him.

His mother - filmmaker Hiromi Matsuoka - was a classically trained musician as a child and so raised her son listening to a diverse array of music, from classical, to jazz, and world.

He gravitated towards '90s grunge though, the music of his childhood, which expanded into world of metal and heavy metal "with bands like Tool".

Sats doesn't remember the first time he came to the Murrah Hall, but reckons he would have been about six or seven.

"I just remember being awestruck by what was going on, I don't necessarily remember the music.

"I spent a lot of time here", he told Australian Community Media journalist Ellouise Bailey over two cups of black tea in the small kitchen out the back of the hall.

In his early twenties Sats lived in Newtown, an iconic part of Sydney - long know for its grunge music scene and struggling artists. Nowadays, it's costly and fairly gentrified and a lot of the musos have moved further west, chasing cheaper rents.

Sats moved to Sydney to "try to be a rock star, which didn't go so well", but holds extremely fond memories of that time in his life.

When he moved back to the Bega Valley in 2012 he joined the Murrah Hall Committee and was actively involved for six years. It was around that time he worked out he'd be "happiest working in the arts".

RECENT NEWS:

While doing a lot of work with the hall committee he also launched a film and photography business "as a way to work in a creative sense, but not have to compromise on the music".

He worked for local clients, weddings, portraits, business packages, and some editorial. But music was where his heart was.

On the music front it took him a while to make contacts.

"I mean I knew a lot of people but the world had changed and I hadn't really been a musician on the South Coast at that point."

Being on the hall committee changed though - and he soon started a band called Laika's Howl.

He described their sound as "very heavy, loud, progressive rock music" and so "incredibly not commercial".

"I was well aware that while it was very creatively fulfilling, it wasn't gonna be the type of band that we were ever going to make money," he said.

After six very dedicated years with the hall committee Sats stepped back a bit and began looking for the next challenge.

In 2019 his dream job came about when he landed a role as a regional music officer with a Music NSW program dedicated to "creating a more seamless industry".

"It was an opportunity to really just go all in with music."

He said for him the timing was "fortuitous" because he landed the role six months before the fires and it then helped him deal with the onslaught of COVID on the music industry.

"It was terrible for the industry, I was one of the very few people to have a job.

"Most of my friends weren't able to work because they relied on gigs.

"It was heartbreaking because I would have my friends call me like 'I can't pay my rent this week'," he said.

For Music NSW, the timing of the project was a little odd considering the music industry was largely shut down during the time, but Sats said it gave musicians the time to hone in on their business skills.

"A lot of people needed to know how to navigate the new streaming industry, better marketing skills, better understanding of social media," he said.

The program was expanded in 2021 to include more regional music officers, but has since come to an end.

Sats said the music industry had made a comeback since pandemic lockdowns doomed the live gig scene, but the industry on the Far South Coast was still struggling.

"I still see so many cancelled gigs, if you've got five people in your band and one person gets COVID you can't work. Or venue personnel all get COVID and suddenly there's no staff."

He said the rental housing market shortage and rising costs of living in the area had not helped either.

"I know businesses who have staff sleeping on their couch because they can't find a house but [the businesses] can't afford to lose the staff."

Pair that with an ageing population who are still hesitant to come to gigs - "it still affects numbers".

"The light at end of tunnel is that at least it's not as bad as it was 12 months ago," he said.

Sats was confident as long as the industry kept moving forward and grew business skills, "we will come out as a more professional industry".

These days Sats has been focused on his two bands - The Scaramouche and Howlin Mitch and the Habaneros.

He has been volunteering with the Far South Coast Film Festival, helping on the Cobargo Folk Festival selection panel, and has another role helping music businesses navigate the industry in the pipeline.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:

Bookmark www.begadistrictnews.com.au

Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters

Follow us on Twitter: @Bega_News

Follow us on Instagram: @begadistrictnews