The ever-changing Indie music scene has always had a lot to offer. C Varghese stumbles on to Peter Cat Recording Co. and the myriad tunes they have been playing with
While he sits and stares, and girls he can’t explain, oh here she comes, on ten white horses, made of string and clay, the flowers in his fingers, wilt away — crooned Suryakant Sawhney vocalist, songwriter, guitar player in his now trademark detached, world-weary manner; while vivid video clips flashing the Hard Rock Café (HRC) insignia are played on a screen behind him. When unassuming looking members of the Delhi-based band Peter Cat Recording Co. (PCRC) took the stage, they did not ask for any attention; it was as if they snatched the focus right off our heads.
When PCRC released its debut album Sinema in 2011, music lovers took notice of how different this troupe was from the rest of the Indian music scene. Though PCRC is described as a gypsy-jazz cabaret group, it is quite to hard pin it down to one fixed genre. Several patrons here, at Hard Rock Café, Gurgaon, offered their own interpretation into PCRC’s genre.
While we got suggestions varying from ‘psychedelic rock band’ to ‘somewhat beatles-ish’, our own interpretations were based on some of their riffs which sounded like samples from 70s or 80s Bollywood to put our finger down on the PCRC as a group which creates chaotic, murky music. The funny thing is we're all sort of right. PCRC creates an entirely new sound that’s reminiscent of electro-swing at some parts. And this was very much visible here as their smooth, nostalgia inducing symphonies beckoned quite a few people to leave their seats and come up right next to the stage to bask in their aura.
PCRC is a group that came together in 2010, and its current members are Sawhney, the multi-talented Kartik Pillai who works the keyboards, electronics, tambourine, trumpet and sometimes guitar, while Rohan Kulshreshtha plays the bass and handles the electronics and the drummer, Karan Singh doubles up playing the harmonium at times. At the moment, all of them have their own solo projects or musical endeavours in the pipeline but the ultimate mix of all their different sounds is what gives PCRC their distinctive sound.
Sawhney, who also takes over the keyboards occasionally, gave voice to his thoughts, “PCRC is the amalgamation of our individual visions. Me and Rohan, initiated this venture when we were in college together.” Sawhney believes that he is still in the learning process and does not believe that he is an established musician as of now. “The day people listen to my music and actually think; then work their way towards a better future for themselves, that is when I would say that I have accomplished something as a musician,” he said, enlightening us with his simple ideology.
Even though they looked fatigue-ridden as anything, PCRC performed onstage for more than the designated two hours ending with a lively instrumental ballad. A bunch of unassuming looking musicians. But when they take to the stage they don’t ask for any attention. They snatch your attention right from the beginning.