For Derek & The Cats, music isn’t static, their songs are shaped and reshaped by the cities they travel to and the audiences that respond in real time. As the band arrives in Hyderabad on their People to Meet, Places to See tour, the city becomes not just another performance stop but also a writing room.
“We love meeting new people and embracing ourselves in new cultures. People to Meet, Places to See was written when we did our first India tour last year,” shares pianist and producer Derek Mathias. Until now, Hyderabad has experienced the band through screens and streams, but the upcoming show changes that. “The live experience is the biggest selling point of Derek & The Cats. Getting the live experience to the fans of Hyderabad is something we are really looking forward to.”
Their first album was intimate — written in bedrooms and rehearsal spaces in Bengaluru. But once they began touring, something shifted. The places they performed in started to bleed into the music. The second album reflects that: different moods, cultures, and energies absorbed from the road.
One of the clearest examples is fan favourite Jonty Patel, a song that almost didn’t get its name. “I didn’t even like the name to be very honest,” Derek laughs. “But I was like, let me just call this song that and the reaction it got made it memorable. The name grew on me too. And that’s a good example of how we tried something and gave it space.”
This spirit of experimentation drives the band’s live shows, where ideas are tested in front of the audience. “At one show, we’ll try one person’s idea; we see how people react. Then at another show, we try someone else’s idea and see how people react. Usually when we have a clash, we try out both the ideas and let the audience decide,” Derek explains.
Musically, they’ve grown too. Jazz and funk have been long-time influences, but recently, house and techno have begun weaving into their sound. “They say you are what you eat — and in music, you make what you listen to,” he says. “Because some of us listen to a lot of house and techno, it’s coming out in our playing. We’re millennials, and we are children of this era.”
Even with varied influences, the band is not trying to become a version of someone else. “People say we’re influenced by Snarky Puppy or Vulfpeck, which we are,” Derek acknowledges. “But we’re not trying to be their part two. We’re trying to be Derek & The Cats part one.”
Now, as they walk into their first-ever Hyderabad show, maybe their next track may already be waiting in the crowd.
Tickets start at `499.
November 30, 9 pm onwards.
At EXT, Film Nagar.
Email: anshula.u@newindianexpress.com
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