Peter Cat Recording Co. Delivers the Best Vibes
It’s always a joy to discover new artists or bands when listening to music. It’s an even bigger joy when the artist or band you come across opens you up to a completely different world of music you have yet to even dig into. As I wrote about recently, I have found myself listening to quite a bit of Ethiopian Jazz and that totally opened up a new world of music for me. However, a similar situation has happened again and I absolutely have to write about it.
My most recent find that has me absolutely bewitched is Peter Cat Recording Co., a band based out of Delhi, India. I honestly am not sure how I came across their music but I know the first song I heard was “Floated By” and I was immediately hooked. Naturally I decided to dive into their work as I had never heard of them before and was pleased to discover that they already had two full albums on Spotify for me to devour.
Although I listen to a good amount of music, I believe this is my first time listening to anything based out of India and this band has been such a welcome introduction. What would be best described as New Delhi Hemp Jazz, Peter Cat Recording Co. was started by lead vocalist, Suryakant Sawhney, after he was studying in San Francisco and had a spiritual experience that lead him to believe he could seriously pursue music. After returning to India for good, the band started to record material and later released some of their work on Bandcamp. The band continued to experiment with their sound to add more dimension and layers to their music.
The band later signed to the French label, Panache, and in 2018 released the album A Portrait of a Time: 2010-2016. In this album, you can really hear the different ways that they played with their sound and tried new techniques in order to really hone in on their style. Following their 2018 album release, the band quickly turned around and released a second full-length album in 2019 titled Bismillah. In Bismillah, you can tell that in just a short amount of time, the band really refined their sound and formed such a unique but pleasing mixture of genres.
What is so captivating about PCRC’s sound is how they blend their jazzy, almost Bill Withers-like, sound with Indian influences in a modern alternative/indie way. There also seems to be another layer of grooviness within the jazzy sound that is so pleasing to the ears. And although there are obvious jazz influences, their take on it makes me want to spend my time relaxing on a beach or by a beautiful tropical pool in a way that no other jazz group has. When listening to their music, you sort of feel an instant peace wash over you, but in a weird melancholy way that just makes sense. The deep vocals of Suryakant Sawhney help soothe you but also make you really want to listen to what he is saying where you quickly realize the lyrics force you to think. For example, in their song “I’m This” I found myself obsessed with the lyric “And who I am is not measured by what I become, but I know enough, I won't make the same mistakes” because it really makes you reflect, all the while accompanied by such a smooth and breezy melody.
Since this is my first look into any bands out of India, I honestly didn’t really know what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised with the large jazz influence and the way they mix traditional Indian themes into their modern sound that make it almost nostalgic, despite me never having any experience in India or Indian music. Now that I have been given a preview of Indian bands, I am really looking forward to discovering more of these modern bands that put their own take on Indian music and the culture.
OF COURSE the moment I come across this band, I discover that they are currently on a U.S. tour but unfortunately their show in my city is sold out. Nonetheless, I will definitely be keeping up with what else PCRC has in store. Please give the song below a listen and I guarantee that your day will instantly improve.
