Gig Preview: Peter Cat Recording Co in New Delhi

Peter Cat Recording Co. in Pune in 2012. Photo: Monisha Ajgaonkar

There’s been a lot of activity among members of Delhi psychedelic rock band Peter Cat Recording Co. [PCRC] ”“ from frontman Suryakant Sawhney launching his solo project Lifafa’s EP In Hi Ko to drummer Karan Singh and guitarist Kartik Pillai forming an experimental rock band Begum. Bassist Rohan Kulshreshtha has also been busy working on producing gigs and festivals in and around Delhi. Says the bassist, “We keep jamming and all, but haven’t got a gig.” PCRC last played in Delhi five months ago at the Holiguns Festival.

PCRC, who released their debut album Sinema in 2011 and a B-sides/outtakes album Wall of Want in 2012, have been working on new material for their second album. Kulshreshtha adds that they will perform new material at their gig this week at restaurant-venue Barrels in New Delhi, the band’s first gig since they played at the Holiguns Festival in March. While they’ve previously played new songs such as “Memorybox” at the Ziro Festival of Music last year and Sawhney gave listeners in Amsterdam a taste of a song called “Flies” as part of his Lifafa Europe tour, Kulshreshtha says they’re yet to finalize song titles. The bassist, however, says about new material, “It’s much more stringy, big band music. It’s less traditional band music and has stuff like trumpets and samples.” The band’s keyboardist and guitarist Pillai also learnt how to play the trumpet last year, which he is adding to PCRC tracks.

The band is currently recording material, but prefer a home studio setup to regular recording rooms. Says Kulshreshtha, “We’re not looking for a studio. We’re recording in big, nice rooms to make it sound the way we want.” Following their Delhi gigs, members of PCRC hope to bring all their side projects to stage on one night including Lifafa, Begum and Pillai’s electronic project Jamblu. Says Kulshreshtha, “That way, wherever we go, we take up the entire night and play everything from lo-fi to electronica.”

Peter Cat Recording Co., The Psychai Shop, Karam Kandi Project perform on August 9th at Barrels, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. Event details here. Entry: Free

Watch PCRC perform “Memorybox” at Ziro Festival of Music 2013