Portrait Of A Time

REPRESS OF THIS BEAUTIFUL GYPSY-JAZZ/PSYCHEDELIC FOLK/INDIAN ELECTRONIC LP BY NEW DELHI'S PETER CAT RECORDING CO A cat may have nine lives, but Peter Cat Recording Co. Has a multitude of dimensions. Formed in New Delhi around 2010 by the crooner Suryakant Sawhney, it's a group that's mutated over time, shedding members and accruing more, always evolving musically with each album: from gypsy jazz to psychedelic cabaret; ballroom waltzes to epic space disco; bossa supernova to uneasy listening. What's more they play jajj, which you've almost certainly never heard of. While Suryakant's crooning is spookily reminiscent of a hipster 50's Sinatra, it was more his intention to ape legendary Bollywood playback singers like Kishore Kumar, Mohammed Rafi and especially Hemant Kumar. There are diverse American influences in the mix too, including Sam Cooke, Etta James and even Tom Waits. Thrown together it becomes something unique that equates less to a listening experience and more to an out-of-body experience.