Five years after his last English-language studio album, “We Are the Reckoning,” bilingual artist Peter Katz shall soon release his highly anticipated album, “City of Our Lives.” With JUNO-nominated producer Derek Hoffman (The Trews) at his side, this JUNO nominated Canadian singer-songwriter promises a collection of songs which shines an exciting new light on his talents, with an impressively honest perspective. Showcasing his new direction, Peter is sure to delight his fans with tunes that are rhythmically inclined, streaked with gossamer synths, and sensitively attuned to the most progressive and emotive reaches of recent 21st century pop music.
“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,” Katz explains. “This music feels like letting go to me. And I hope that when people hear it, they can hear their own story in it too and that maybe it can help them feel like letting go.”
The idea of “letting go” is one of which many of us find to be easier said than done. (I cannot help but immediately find “Let it Go” from the Disney movie, Frozen, stuck in my head anytime I think about things I need to let go of. Even Elsa doesn’t make the task easier.) The often-daunting process of letting one’s walls down is not easy, nor is letting go of the fears and worries we tend to conjure in our minds of what is to come of a relationship. Peter’s latest single, “KMOTM,” addresses this very process in a relatable and dance-worthy way.
“KMOTM came out of a place of missing human connection. I think I’ve always tried to be ‘good’ and ‘do the right thing’ in my life,” Peter shares. “To deal with every problem perfectly; not resort to vices or distractions, handle every situation ‘well,’ but there’s a danger of inauthenticity if you don’t allow for some of the cracks of the human experience to get in.”
Katz gets right to the most intimate reality of opening up with someone and is subtly direct about it along the way. “Don’t offer me some words you know / Go digging down inside your catacombs,” he sings, understandably alluding to a partner that the singer wants to hear the deepest truths about this person and not just what is on the surface. Furthermore, this is a willing give-and-take connection as he continues: “Be as hard as you can be / Get so raw you don’t believe / That you ever did this, but I’ll be your witness,” then admitting to his own struggles through the chorus: “Lay in my bed / Kiss me on the mouth / I’m stuck in my head / Kick me out / Hold me down / Come kiss me on the mouth.”
Passionate moments between two people are indeed raw and beautiful expressions of letting go. These lines ring true to those who can admit to being stuck in their heads when all one really wants is to let the walls down and openly be their authentic self. Peter vocalizes further in, “Give up / On everything that’s holding you / Just burn it in the sin and I’ll do it too,” impressing on this partner that he too is willing to be vulnerable and dive in together.
Set to music that undeniably makes one want to sway with the rhythm, Katz dares us to dance ourselves right out of our heads. “This song provides permission to connect with our messiness and darkness and be a bit more loving and accepting towards it. To feel free from the shame we often associate with feeling lonely, stuck, needy,” he adds. “It’s inviting you to process your feelings through your body instead of your head. Get up and dance on the same kitchen floor you may have been crying on a moment earlier.”
Jess has always enjoyed a wide range of music genres and eras. Connecting deeply with classical music, she played cello from grade school through high school, and although no longer actively playing, her affinity for finding an emotional connection to music is still strong. Residing in central PA, she is new to the Canadian music scene and enjoys listening to new artists as a way to break away from “the usual.” Jess is an avid yogi who often finds a sliver of peace while on the yoga mat with good music playing in the background.
