Fresh from promoting his debut album on a u.k tour, Peter Cat has kindly used some free time to answer our questions before he goes out to play more shows.
Who are you, what do you play and where are you from?
My name is Peter Cat. I have played guitar for a long time and various keyboard instruments for less of a long time. I am from a town called Cambuslang which has dubious distinction of being the largest village in Scotland. It is famous for its wells, witches, and love of MD2020.
What sort of music do you make?
Someone more eloquent than me described it as "irreverent and smart pop music in the mold of Neil Hannon, Jarvis Cocker, Luke Haines, with a sprinkling of Scott Walker.” He also said I “cast a wry eye over the world, and is then moved to make music to match”. Is having wry eyes a good thing? Should I get them checked?
What are your influences?
In no particular order: my painfully isolated and socially anxious teenage years; the gradual alleviation of that anxiety throughout my twenties through generous yet ultimately responsible drug use; The Divine Comedy; Kate Bush; recurring nightmares of dystopian societal breakdown; K-Pop; Rufus Wainwright; nineties excess; Slint; the bass tone on Scott Walker’s ‘The Old Man’s Back Again’; Battlestar Galactica.
What is the song writing process like for you?
The music will emerge first, and it’ll suggest a certain emotion or combination of emotions, which will in turn trigger memories of particular people, or events. With that comes a song title, which I’ll mentally save to the music, half like an anchor, half like a post-it note, reminding me of what the song will eventually be about. Then, in about two weeks’ time, I’ll down a bottle of cheap supermarket wine to numb the pain then hammer out the bloody words. With lyric writing, I’m still influenced by the format of the Romantic poetry I studied in high school. Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote “conversation poems” where he would begin by dwelling on something really mundane, like an icicle or his baby sleeping, and would gradually expand the scope of the image until he was dealing with abstract universal concepts, while still toying with that initial imagery. I think that method of approaching writing has really stayed with me.
Do you have anything new in the works?
I’m heading into The Green Door Studio in Glasgow next month for the last stint of recording for what will be my debut LP. It’ll be called ‘The Saccharine Underground’ and features some wonderful contributions from current and former members of The Cosmic Dead, Catholic Action and Halfrican. I’m hoping to have that out via a friendly/sympathetic/fiscally irresponsible record label early next year.
Was there any record labels you loved or still do?
Growing up as a noughts indie kid, Domino was always the label of choice. Franz Ferdinand, Animal Collective, all of that. I have a real soft spot for Fire Records. They’ve released stuff by a lot of beautiful weirdos like Jane Weaver and Bobby Conn, and they brought out Pulp’s early albums before they got big. Cherry Red too. Arbutus Records in Montreal are also great; they released Grimes’ first LP and are the home of Sean Nicholas Savage who is another complete oddball.
What would your dream gig be?
In Barcelona there’s this place they call The Bunkers, which is a pre-Civil War anti-aircraft battery site…it’s in ruins, and way up the top of this hill, that you can’t get to with any form of transport. You have to go on foot, push through this fence and evade an ornery old security guy. But once you’re up there, you have this unbelievable 360º view of the city, and you can hang out in these crumbling old turrets. To play a gig up there would be pretty wild. I’d have Jarvis Cocker, Janelle Monae, Thundercat, John Grant, Pharmakon, Slint. Then Holly Herndon for a really cerebral rave afterwards. Come to think of it, that’s basically Primavera, isn’t it…
Any local venues or bands you would recommend?
The Blue Arrow Jazz Club in Glasgow is certainly on the up. It’s programmed by 432 Presents who are the same folk who run the Hug & Pint. There’s always rad stuff going on at Glasgow Autonomous Space in the south side too. They give the space over free of charge to progressively-minded folk to run community events and raise money for charity.
Band-wise, I’m going to be shamelessly nepotistic and promote people I know personally! I play in a band called Lane Go-Go, which is the project of Peter Cat’s guitarist & synth player Lane. She recently released her first EP called ‘dora, nora, Perry & Mel’ and it’s a fabulous stroll down an ornamental, chamber-pop boulevard.
My partner also releases music as aortarota, which roughly translated from the original Spanish means ‘broken heart’. She’ll probably kill me for saying that. She makes super twisty and tempestuous guitar and vocal music, with hints of Fiona Apple, bits of The Cure in there too. Check out her tune ‘abyss’.
Any up coming gigs?
I’m playing solo shows on Friday 30th August in Carlisle, then Sunday 1st and Monday 2nd September (both in Glasgow). Then there are a few full band shows…Glasgow on 21st September, Newcastle on 22nd and Glasgow again on the 29th. Beyond that, there’s a tour slowly but surely shaping up for October/November, which will take in London, Brighton, Cambridge, Windsor, Leeds, Halifax, Hull, Manchester and Edinburgh (and possibly more). Watch this space. Or any other.
Anything you would like to add?
If you ever find yourself in Aberdeen and are looking for a wild night on the tiles, I highly recommend that you seek out Gav of Ice Cream For Crow Records, who will show you one. He has the keys to the city (all the good bits anyway).
Peter Cat is one of those exceptional artists who had my undivided attention as a solo performer and can get a crowd dancing when playing with a full band.
Be sure to try and catch his live set if he plays near you.
For more Peter Cat see links below
website – https://www.petercat.co.uk/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/petercatband/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/petercatband
Bandcamp - https://petercatband.bandcamp.com
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