To learn more about Peter’s work as a keynote speaker and facilitator, click here.
“Part of what I wanted to do with this new music is to not have it be just about my story. It’s in there – it’s all in there – but I think that my older approach to writing was about holding on rather than letting go.This music feels like letting go to me. And I hope that when people hear it, they can hear their own story in it and that maybe it can help them feel like letting go too.”
Not to suggest that everyone needs to fall off a cliff to discover a renewed direction in life and art, but, as it turns out, it did work for Peter Katz. The accidental drop was his twisted and not a little bit painful road to making his startling new album, City of Our Lives. Rhythmically inclined, streaked with gossamer synths and sensitively attuned to the most progressive and emotive reaches of recent 21st-century pop music, the album has a definite feel on the whole of an ecstatic free fall into the unknown. And that’s the point.
Produced by JUNO nominated Derek Hoffman, City of our Lives is a collection of new songs – like you’ve never heard from Peter before – including “Paper Thin”, “Like We Used To Be”, “KMOTM”, “Take Mine” and “I Will Never Leave You.”
“There’s so much that I’ve put into the lyrics and I’m so proud of every single word, but this time around I wanted the music to exist in such a way that you can just have an experience with it musically without having to work too hard to find your way in. To feel it in your body first, get you moving before it gets you thinking. That’s exciting to me. That I can make something where, hopefully, the experience of it is made of authentic stuff from inside me, but it’s made in a way that you can just enjoy it first and foremost”.
Peter’s acclaimed 2015 album We Are The Reckoning was hailed by CBC q Radio host Tom Power as “one of the most heartfelt, beautiful and vulnerable records of the year.” Toronto audiences agreed, crowning Katz as Best Male Vocalist in that year’s NOW Magazine reader’s poll. The albums lead single ‘Brother’, a duet with Royal Wood, was a certifiable hit, reaching #3 on the national public radio charts. The accompanying video reached more than a quarter million viewers in its first week of release alone. In 2017, the album was re-released in French as “La somme de tous nos efforts” and the French version of ‘Brother’ (this time as a duet with francophone star Rémi Chassé) reached Top 10 with francophone audiences at commercial radio in Peter’s birth province of Quebec.
The JUNO Award and Canadian Screen Award nominee’s music has been featured on television and film including Lethal Weapon, Reign, Felicity, For Your Consideration, Hello Goodbye, Alias, Heartland, 88 as well as on CBC Television’s 2016 Rio Olympics / Paralympics coverage. His cover of Beyonce’s “Halo” has over 20 million views on YouTube; and his singles have amassed over 5 million plays across streaming platforms.
Peter has also emerged as one of Canada’s most in-demand speakers and facilitators, being called on to give his highly customized ‘Keynote Concerts’ in both English and French to hundreds of companies and organizations across various industries like Bell, Xerox, Royal Lepage, American Express, Mars, Trillium Health and Royal Bank, to name a few. A four-time TedX fellow, Peter’s impressive innovations in the virtual space have seen him perform to over 75,000 people virtually around the world, including being asked to address the House of Commons of Canada.
Press Quotes:
- “One of the most promising songwriters of our time” B.Y.E Magazine Germany
- “Paper Thin” is a silky, soft new track that revolves around Katz’ raspy, yet powerful vocals, floating atop synth lines and a soft beat.” – Indie 88
- “The song (I Will Never Leave You) is melodic and catchy” – Exclaim
- “He returns with an extremely pretty and very vulnerable single (Paper Thin) that offers insight to his upcoming album” – Alan Cross
- “Well-crafted pop of a high order (Like We Used To Be). Katz’s warm vocals are framed by lush production, and the catchy chorus doesn’t hurt.” – FYI Music News
- “The strength of the song (Like We Used To Be) – and that of the equally excellent ‘Paper Thin’ and ‘Book Of Truths’ – proves that you don’t need to compromise songwriting integrity in order to have mass appeal.” – RedGuitarMusic
- “This ambient rock-pop song of sorts by Peter Katz keeps us coming back for more. Originally a folk artist, this singer has clearly been moving in a new direction and ‘I Will Never Leave You’ is just the tip of the iceberg” – EatNorth.com
- “If talent alone ensures success, then Peter Katz will soon be a name on everyone’s lips” The Record
- “Try listening without getting goosebumps” London Free Press
Accolades and Quick Facts:
- JUNO-Award Nominee for Music DVD of the Year: Peter Katz – Live at The Music Gallery
- Canadian Screen Awards Nominee for ‘Achievement in Music: Best Original Song’ for ‘Where The Light Used To Be’ from the movie ’88’
- Winner of the Best Male Vocalist in the NOW Magazine Best-Of-Toronto reader’s poll (readership of ½ million)
- ‘Halo’ video at over 20 million views
- ‘Brother’ reached #3 on the CBC Radio 2 top 20
- Winner of the CBC Galaxie Rising Star Award
- Shared the stage with such notable artists as Glen Hansard, Paolo Nutini, LP, Joel Plaskett, Bahamas and Dan Mangan
