Peter Katis

Peter Katis
Peter Katis
	Katis in 2016
Background information
Born	April 1966 (age 59); New York City, United States
Genres	Alternative rock, indie rock
Occupation(s)	Record producer, audio engineer, mixer, musician
Years active	1990–present
Website	Tarquin Studios

Peter Katis is a Grammy Award-winning record producer, audio engineer, mixer, and musician.

Katis is best known for working with alternative and indie rock bands. He works primarily out of his own residential studio, Tarquin Studios, in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Personal life

Katis was born in New York City in April 1966 to Dr. Lauma Katis and Dr. James Katis, both psychiatrists. He grew up in Connecticut and attended New Canaan Country School and Greenwich High School. He earned a degree in Visual Arts from the University of Vermont. Katis lives in Fairfield, Connecticut, with his wife, Ann Risen Katis, and their son.

Music career

Peter Katis' music career began in the late 1980s with The Philistines Jr., an experimental pop band composed of Katis (vocals, guitar, keyboards), his brother Tarquin Katis (vocals, bass), and their friend Adam Pierce (drums). The band's first gig was an opening spot for Phish in front of a sparse crowd on the campus of the University of Vermont.^[1]

The Philistines Jr.'s early albums—Greenwich, CT (1991) and The Continuing Struggle of The Philistines Jr. (1993)—received critical acclaim and charted on college radio stations across North America. The band also received frequent airplay from John Peel on his BBC Radio 1 program. Upon hearing their first album, Peel telephoned the band “just to say how much he liked the record,” and invited them to record a Peel Session in London. They went on to record two more and toured the UK concurrently.^[2]

Later albums by The Philistines Jr. include The Sinking of the S.S. Danehower (1996), Analog vs. Digital—or—We Don't Get The Respect We Deserve in Today's Scientific Community (2000), If A Band Plays in the Woods...? (2010), If a Lot of Bands Play in the Woods...? (2011), and Help! (2019).

Music production career

While recording songs for his own band in an ad-hoc studio set up in his parents' basement, Katis realized he had an affinity for production. "My favorite part of being a musician was producing a record," said Katis.^[3]

By 1998, Katis' demand as a producer, audio engineer, and mixer was growing. He needed a dedicated production space. His solution was a 7,000-square-foot Victorian home in Bridgeport, Connecticut that could function as both a recording studio and a residence for musicians. Katis has since worked with dozens of artists (see Discography) at Tarquin Studios.^[4]

Notable collaborations include:

The National

Katis has worked with The National on all ten of their studio albums: Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers (2003), Cherry Tree (2004), Alligator (2005), Boxer (2007), High Violet (2010), Trouble Will Find Me (2013), Sleep Well Beast (2017), I Am Easy to Find (2019), First Two Pages of Frankenstein (2023), and Laugh Track (2023). Trouble Will Find Me received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Alternative Music Album. Sleep Well Beast received the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album.^[5]

Illustrating his close personal connection to the band, the cover of Boxer features a photo of The National playing at Katis' wedding reception.

Gang of Youths

Katis worked on The Positions (2015), Go Farther in Lightness (2017), and Angel in Realtime (2022) with the Australian band. His band, The Philistines Jr., opened for them on their 2018 U.S. tour.

Frightened Rabbit

Katis produced The Midnight Organ Fight (2008) and The Winter of Mixed Drinks (2010) for the Scottish band. The 10th-anniversary tribute album, Tiny Changes: A Celebration of Frightened Rabbit's The Midnight Organ Fight (2019) included a cover of "Bright Pink Bookmark" by The Philistines Jr. The release served not only as a celebration of the band's work but also as a tribute to Scott Hutchison's legacy. In addition, a portion of the proceeds from the album went to support Tiny Changes, a mental health charity established by Hutchison's family in his memory.^[6]^[7]

Interpol

Katis also has a long-standing relationship with Interpol. He recorded and mixed the band's critically acclaimed debut album Turn on the Bright Lights (2002),^[8] followed by Antics (2004). He also worked with lead singer Paul Banks on Julian Plenti is...Skyscraper (2009), Julian Plenti Lives... (2012), and Banks (2012).

Discography

Year	Title	Artist	Credits
1991	Greenwich, CT	The Philistines Jr.	Lyrics, Performer, Producer, Engineer, Mixing
1993	The Continuing Struggle of The Philistines Jr.	The Philistines Jr.	Lyrics, Performer, Producer, Engineer, Mixing
1994	When the Doves Cry: The Music of Prince	Bob Belden	Assistant Engineer
1995	Thumper		Engineer, Audio Engineer
	The True Story	James Kochalka Superstar	Producer, Engineer
	The Sinking of the S.S. Danehower	The Philistines Jr.	Lyrics, Performer, Producer, Engineer, Mixing
	Bingham's Hole	The Mommyheads	Producer
	1st Bubble Core Records Sampler		Engineer
1996	Resonance Found at the Core of a Bubble		Engineer
	Happiest Guys in the World	Happiest Guys in the World	Engineer, Mixing
	After School Special		Engineer
	100% Hockey...and Other Stuff	The Zambonis	Engineer, Illustrations, Artwork
1997	Show & Tell: A Stormy Remembrance of TV Themes		Engineer
	Pop Pie		Producer, Engineer
	Play-Off Fever!	The Zambonis	Engineer
	Monkey vs. Robot	James Kochalka Superstar	Producer, Engineer, Various Instruments, Vocals (Background), Layout Design
	Half Empty	Michael Shelley	Producer, Engineer, Mixing
	Dylan Group & H.I.M.	The Dylan Group	Engineer
	Cradle the Balls	Satanicide
1998	Welcome to the Jungle	Jim Rome	Composer
	Too Many Movies	Michael Shelley	Engineer
	The True Meaning of Boodleybaye	Mice Parade	Engineer
	Survival of the Illest: Live from 125 NYC		Digital Editing
	Heartdrops	The Heartdrops	Engineer
	Dreams Gone Sour	The Absolute Zeros	Producer, Recorder
	Deserter's Songs	Mercury Rev	Engineer
	After the Morning	Katie McMahon	Engineer
1999	Ramda	Mice Parade	Engineer
	More Adventures in Lying Down	The Dylan Group	Engineer
	Enemy Hogs	Oneida	Engineer, Mixing
2000	Ur-Klang Search	The Dylan Group	Engineer
	Steel Rod	Oneida	Mixing
	Put-Outs Sing the Hits	Put-Outs	Mixing
	Now Is the Time: Live at the Knitting Factory	Alex Blake	Engineer, Pre-Mastering Engineer
	Kiss Without Makeup	Franklin Bruno	Engineer, Mixing
	Eat Crow	Pants	Producer, Engineer, Mastering, Various Instruments, Layout Design
	Come on Everybody Let's Rock	Oneida	Mixing
2001	The Operating Theater	Brian Dewan	Engineer, Mixing
	The Ghost of Fashion	Clem Snide	Mixing
	Mokoondi	Mice Parade	Engineer, Mixing, Overdub Engineer
	I Blame You	Michael Shelley	Mixing, Recorder
	Elza	Elza	Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Instrumentation
	Don't Trust Whitey	James Kochalka Superstar	Producer, Mixing, Mastering, Recording
	Anthem of the Moon	Oneida	Engineer, Mixing
	Analog vs. Digital	The Philistines Jr.	Producer, Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards, Artwork, Composer
	All Is Dream	Mercury Rev	Engineer
2002	Turn on the Bright Lights	Interpol	Engineer, Mixing
	Pushbutton Parfait	Raymond Scott Orchestrette	Engineer, Mastering
	On a Wire	The Get Up Kids	Engineer, Mixing
	MTV Road Rules: Don't Make Me Pull This Thing Over, Vol. 1		Mixing
	Interpol	Interpol	Engineer, Mixing
	For the Kids [Nettwerk compilation]		Producer, Engineer, Vocals (Background), Instrumentation
	Each One Teach One	Oneida	Engineer, Mixing
	Atheists, Reconsider	Liars / Oneida	Engineer
	All Roads Lead to Salzburg	Mice Parade	Engineer, Mixing, Overdubs
2003	Yes New York		Engineer
	Wild Card	Jim Allen	Engineer
	The Instinct	Denali	Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Mastering
	Stars at Noon	Sea Ray	Engineer, Mixing
	Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers	The National	Producer, Engineer, Mixing
	Maybe This Christmas Too?		Producer, Engineer, Mixing
	Keep It Together	Guster	Recording
	Heather	Satanicide	Engineer, Audio Engineer
	A Winter's Night: The Best of Nettwerk Christmas Albums		Producer, Engineer, Mixing
2004	The O.C. Mix 2		Engineer
	My Body: The Pistol	Les Baton Rouge	Producer, Engineer
	Matador at Fifteen		Engineer
	Mamacita, Donde Esta Santa Claus?	Guster	Mixing, Producer, Recording
	Lightning and the Sun	Katy Mae	Engineer, Keyboards
	Life of the Party	Longwave	Mixing
	Fine Lines	Robbers on High Street	Engineer
	Cherry Tree	The National	Engineer
	Antics	Interpol	Engineer, Audio Engineer, Mixing
	Aghast Agape	The Prosaics	Producer, Engineer, Audio Engineer, Audio Production
2005	Trilateral Commission	Jimi Tunnell	Assistant Engineer
	Tree City	Robbers on High Street	Producer, Engineer, Mixing
	The Loyal	Tiger Lou	Mixing
	The Loving Sounds of Static	Mobius Band	Producer, Mixing
	The Golden Republic	The Golden Republic	Producer, Engineer, Audio Engineer, Audio Production
	Our Most Beloved	James Kochalka Superstar	Producer, Main Personnel
	Nights Wave	Mice Parade	Mixing, Overdubs
	Hanukkah Rocks	The LeeVees	Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Guitar, Instrumentation
	DoublePlays: All Is Dream/Deserter's Songs	Mercury Rev	Engineer
	City vs. Country	Mobius Band	Engineer, Mixing, Audio Production
	Bem-Vinda Vontade	Mice Parade	Engineer, Audio Engineer, Mixing, Overdubs
	Alligator	The National	Producer, Engineer, Audio Engineer, Mixing, Audio Production, Vocals
2006	Tremors	Humanzi	Producer, Mixing
	Spread Your Evil Wings and Fly	James Kochalka Superstar	Composer
	Peoples	HiM	Engineer
	How Do You Spell Channukkahh?	The Leevees	Fender Rhodes, Guitar, Mixing, Producer, Recording, Vocals (Background)
	Hockey Monkey	James Kochalka Superstar	Composer, Producer
	Gravity Won't Get You High	The Grates	Mixing
	Diet Pills & Magazines	Humanzi	Mixing
	Catastrophe Keeps Us Together	Rainer Maria	Producer, Engineer, Mixing
	19-20-20	The Grates	Mixing
2007	One Man Wrecking Machine	Guster	Recording
	Mice Parade	Mice Parade	Assistant Engineer
	Marginalia	Nurse & Soldier	Producer, Engineer, Mixing
	I'll Follow You	Oakley Hall	Engineer, Mixing
	Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters	The Twilight Sad	Mixing
	Boxer	The National	Producer, Engineer, Mixing
	Anjula	Anjula Prasad	Mixing
2008	Up with the Sun	Titles	ARP Synthesizer
	The Midnight Organ Fight	Frightened Rabbit	Producer, Engineer, Mixing
	Teeth Lost, Hearts Won	The Grates	Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Guitar, Keyboards
	Summer Palace	Sunny Day Sets Fire	Producer, Mixing
	Secrets Are Sinister	Longwave	Producer, Engineer, Audio Engineer, Mixing
	Re-Arrange Us	Mates of State	Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Guitar, Vocals (Background), Bass
	Heavenly Bender	Sam Champion	Mixing
	Fight on the Ice	The Zambonis	Composer
	Elephant Shell	Tokyo Police Club	Producer, Mixing
	DeLeon	DeLeon	Engineer
	5 Zusammen Verschwinden	Karpatenhund	Mixing
2009	Up End Atom: A Tribute to Atom & His Package		Producer, Engineer
	These Four Walls	We Were Promised Jetpacks	Producer, Various Instruments, Engineer, Mixing, Instrumentation
	Strict Joy	The Swell Season	Producer, ARP Synthesizer, Percussion, Performer, Featured Artist
	Silver Starling	Silver Starling	Mixing
	Reservoir	Fanfarlo	Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Instrumentation
	Love, Hate and Then There's You	The Von Bondies	Engineer, Audio Engineer
	Julian Plenti Is...Skyscraper	Paul Banks	Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Additional Music
	Dark Was the Night: Red Hot Compilation		Engineer, Mixing
	Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy	Mark Mulcahy	Producer
2010	What It Means to Be Left-Handed	Mice Parade	Engineer, Mixing
	The Winter of Mixed Drinks	Frightened Rabbit	Additional Production, Engineer, Mixing, Instrumentation
	Sleep Mountain	The Kissaway Trail	Producer, Mixing
	Let's Go Coconuts!	The Macaroons	Engineer
	If a Band Plays In the Woods...?	The Philistines Jr.	Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Vocals, Artwork, Instrumentation
	How to Train Your Dragon: Music from the Motion Picture	John Powell	Drum Engineering, Percussion Engineer
	High Violet	The National	Producer, Engineer, Mixing
	Going the Distance		Producer
	Go	Jónsi	Producer, Engineer
	Everything Under the Sun	Jukebox the Ghost	Producer, Engineer, Mixing
	Easy Wonderful	Guster	Engineer, Mixing
2011	We Bought a Zoo [Original Soundtrack]	Jónsi	Producer
	Prisoner	The Jezabels	Mixing
	Outside	Tapes 'n Tapes	Additional Production, Engineer, Mixing
	Mountaintops	Mates of State	Engineer
	In the Pit of the Stomach	We Were Promised Jetpacks	Additional Production, Mixing
	Fire Needs Air	Dazzled Kid	Mixing
	Deserter's Songs: Instrumental	Mercury Rev	Engineer, Mixing
2012	Traveler	Trey Anastasio	Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Vocals, String Arrangements, Instrumentation
	Tramp	Sharon Van Etten	Engineer, Mixing
	Shallow Bed	Dry the River	Producer, Engineer, Mixing
	Live: England vs. France	Mice Parade	Mixing
	Julian Plenti Lives	Paul Banks	Producer, Mixing, Instrumentation
	Five Minute Major (In D Minor)	The Zambonis	Engineer, Mixing
	Epic Stadium Anthems		Engineer, Mixing Engineer, Producer
	Circles Around the Sun	Dispatch	Producer, Engineer
	Banks	Paul Banks	Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Instrumentation
	Animal Joy	Shearwater	Guest Artist, Producer, Engineer, Mixing
2013	Trouble Will Find Me	The National	Mixing
	The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack		Mixing
	Let's Be Still	The Head and the Heart	Additional Production, Engineer, Mixing, Instrumentation
	Hummingbird	Local Natives	Mixing
	Chop Chop	Bell X1	Producer, Engineer, Mixing
	Breach	The Kissaway Trail	Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Guitar, Synthesizer
2014	Youth Culture Forever	PAWS	Mixing
	Ruckers Hill	Husky	Mixing
	Nobody Wants to Be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave	The Twilight Sad	Additional Production, Mixing
	Honeyblood	Honeyblood	Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Electronic Percussion
	Augustines	Augustines	Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Instrumentation
2015	You're Going to Make It	Mates of State	Mixing
	Then Came the Morning	The Lone Bellow	Mixing
	The Positions	Gang of Youths	Mixing
	Jackrabbit	San Fermin	Producer, Engineer, Mixing
	B'lieve I'm Goin Down...	Kurt Vile	Mixing
	After It All	Delta Rae	Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Instrumentation
2016	This Is Your Life	Augustines	Producer, Mixing
	Synthia	The Jezabels	Mixing
	Omega/Whatever	Avers	Mixing
	It's Not About the Witches	T.O.L.D.	Mixing
	Everything and Nothing	Hammock	Mixing
	Arms	Bell X1	Mixing
	And Then Like Lions	Blind Pilot	Mixing
	Wild Rivers	Wild Rivers
2017	There Is No Love In Fluorescent Light	Stars	Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Instrumentation
	The World We Built	The Wild Reeds	Producer, Engineer, Mixing
	So Numb	Sannhet	Producer, Engineer, Mixing
	Sleep Well Beast	The National	Producer, Mixing
	Only the Lonely	Colony House	Additional Production, Engineer, Mixing
	Near to the Wild Heart of Life	Japandroids	Additional Production, Mixing
	Mystified	Scarborough	Producer
	Mysterium	Hammock	Mixing
	Go Farther in Lightness	Gang of Youths	Mixing
2018	On The Corner Where You Live	The Paper Kites	Producer, Engineer, Mixing
	Lost Friends	Middle Kids	Mixing
	Bottle It In	Kurt Vile	Additional Production, Engineer, Mixing
	Before the Sun Goes Down	The New Respects	Mixing
2019	Tiny Changes: A Celebration of Frightened Rabbit's The Midnight Organ Fight		Engineer, Guitar, Keyboards, Mixing, Producer, Recording
	The Blue EP	Death Cab for Cutie	Engineer, Mixing, Producer
	Ruthless	The Moth & the Flame	Producer, Performer, Engineer, Mixing
	Problems	The Get Up Kids	Producer, Engineer, Mixing
	Natural, Everyday Degradation	Remo Drive	Engineer, Mixing
	Help!	The Philistines Jr.	Lyrics, Performer, Producer, Engineer, Mixing
	I Am Easy to Find	The National	Mixing
	Bobbie Gentry's the Delta Sweete Revisited	Mercury Rev	Mixing
2020	Before Everything Got Real	LULLANAS	Producer
	Cormorant I & II	San Fermin	Mixing
	Fish Pond Fish	Darlingside	Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Keyboards
	Half Moon Light	The Lone Bellow	Mixing
	Highway Honey	LULLANAS	Producer
	Local Honey	Brian Fallon	Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Keyboards, Programming
	Memphis	LULLANAS	Producer
2021	Weatherman	Wild Rivers	Producer
2022	The Unraveling of Puptheband	PUP	Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Keyboards
	Angel in Realtime	Gang of Youths	Producer, Mixing
	Sidelines	Wild Rivers	Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Instrumentation, Additional Production, Keyboards, Programming
2023	Eat Your Young	Hozier	Mixing
	First Two Pages of Frankenstein	The National	Engineer
	History Books	The Gaslight Anthem	Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Keyboards
	Laugh Track	The National	Engineer, Additional Production
	Resound NYC	Moby	Mixing
	The Big Mess	Tanlines	Mixing, Keyboards, Additional Production
	Unreal Unearth	Hozier	Mixing, Engineer
2024	Born Horses	Mercury Rev	Mixing
	Plastic: The Album	Cindertalk / Scott Guild / Stranger Cat	Co-Producer, Mixing Engineer
	Rome	The National	Mixing
	Thoughts and Observations	The Coronas	Mixing
	Softly Softly	Tall Heights	Mixing
2025	Dark Dark Bright	Nick and June	Producer, Mixing
	Every Time I Feel Afraid	Carriers	Mixing
	When Youth Fades Away	Somebody's Child
	Ghost Walker	James Kochalka Superstar

References

^ "Peter Katis and Phish: "You Can Have Fun Without Being Silly"". Jambands.com. Archived from the original on 14 September 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
^ "The Philistines Jr". Tarquinrecords.com. Archived from the original on 2 March 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
^ "Pater Katis on the Magic of Tarquin Studios - Take Magazine". thetakemagazine.com. 6 November 2017. Archived from the original on 2 March 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
^ "Tarquin Studios". Tarquinrecords.com. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
^ "The National Win Best Alt. Music Album". grammy.com. 28 January 2018. Archived from the original on 2 March 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
^ "Various Artists: Tiny Changes: A Celebration of Frightened Rabbit's 'The Midnight Organ Fight'". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
^ "Exclusive: Frightened Rabbit's Grant Hutchison Shares Tiny Changes Album Notes". Pastemagazine.com. 10 July 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
^ "Interpol: Turn On the Bright Lights Album Review - Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. Archived from the original on 24 August 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2018.

External links

Tarquin Studios website

[1] "Peter Katis and Phish: "You Can Have Fun Without Being Silly"". Jambands.com. Archived from the original on 14 September 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2018.

[2] "The Philistines Jr". Tarquinrecords.com. Archived from the original on 2 March 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2018.

[3] "Pater Katis on the Magic of Tarquin Studios - Take Magazine". thetakemagazine.com. 6 November 2017. Archived from the original on 2 March 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2018.

[4] "Tarquin Studios". Tarquinrecords.com. Retrieved 24 January 2021.

[5] "The National Win Best Alt. Music Album". grammy.com. 28 January 2018. Archived from the original on 2 March 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2018.

[6] "Various Artists: Tiny Changes: A Celebration of Frightened Rabbit's 'The Midnight Organ Fight'". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 24 January 2021.

[7] "Exclusive: Frightened Rabbit's Grant Hutchison Shares Tiny Changes Album Notes". Pastemagazine.com. 10 July 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2021.

[8] "Interpol: Turn On the Bright Lights Album Review - Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. Archived from the original on 24 August 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2018.

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