A mosaic of sounds comes to Hyderabad as Peter Cat Recording Co. gears up to stun with their genre-fluid music
You started with small rooftop shows in Delhi’s Hauz Khas Village. How did those early, self-organised gigs influence the way you plan and pace your live performances today?
Kartik: The rooftop shows were chaotic and intimate at the same time, I think they helped us realise the need for liquor and entertainment licenses, aside from that we've always been about presenting an arc in our setlists and I think you understand the pacing of your shows the more you play.
Your music brings together jazz phrasing, disco rhythms, cabaret textures, and Indian melodic elements. With distinct identities of the genres and in the band, what is the guiding principle and how collaborative is the process?
Kartik: The process for every song is different to be honest, sometimes people bring in skeletal ideas, sometimes it's just a riff that gets used 7 years later, sometimes it's rejected songs that all of sudden makes sense. It's a complete shot in the dark everytime and hopefully it works, I think that's what makes it exciting. The longer you stay together the more the collective conscience remembers and processes. The collaboration itself is a kind of being.
Suryakant, your vocal style is often compared to classic crooner traditions. Has your phrasing and tone developed over the years and in what ways?
Suryakant: Every year is a lesson in realizing I don’t know how to sing at all.
The trumpet parts play a strong role in shaping the band’s sound. How do you write parts that stand out while still serving the song?
Kartik: Sometimes it's immediate and sometimes the longer you play with a song the more parts and ideas show up. Turns out the simplest parts are the ones that usually sound the best.
After working together for more than a decade, has your rehearsal process changed? Do you handle creative differences differently now?
Kartik: I think it's always been somewhat the same, everyone tries to do the best they can for the song and beyond that there are skirmishes about how one wants to play or part and such. Rehearsals are mostly relaxed and nowadays we try to find time to jam as much as possible as well.
With several members contributing to writing and vocals, how do you decide when a song needs one clear voice and when it works better with shared perspectives?
Kartik: Usually whoever has written the song gets veto power, but at the same time all songs are usually a shared perspective.
After touring internationally, did performing abroad change the way you see your identity as a band?
Kartik: Not really, we've always been somewhat nonchalant about said identity. We're just 5 guys who love to make music, we don't want to be a part of any unnecessary posturing whether it be cultural or anything else for that matter.
What's exciting you about your upcoming performance in Hyderabad?
Kartik: We haven't been to Hyderabad in a very long time. We're just excited to see the change in landscape, we've also never played the Quake Arena, sounds like it'll be fun, (ever heard of that game 'Quake'? Epic FPS game). Anyway, We're just hoping for a good time.
Looking ahead, what's next? Are there particular influences or experiences guiding your direction right now?
Kartik: So much to come, start working on new music, a few festival gigs, this year we want to regroup a little so we are recharged for our next sessions.
