MUMBAI: The idea of watching a music video with the camera trailing a drunk guy for over six minutes might not have the necessary ingredients to ensnare viewers into appreciating what it stands for. But add The Great Wall of China, astounding after-effects, a drone and a waltzy original composition to the mix, and the video receives a completely refreshing makeover. Delhi-based psychedelic rock band Peter Cat Recording Co. released the video for ‘I’m Home’ – off the 2015 album ‘Climax’ – last week, featuring the band’s frontman Suryakant Sawhney as the Grim Reaper.
Edited and directed by Sawhney himself, the vocalist believes there are three forms of expression: one that allows you to escape reality, another allows you to explore the darker aspects of life, and the third – as Sawhney executes through ‘I’m Home’ – includes translating whatever unfolds to its genuine self. The song, released with the album in 2015, allowed the musician to envision himself walking through the clouds while the breeze hit the face. Half a decade since its inception, Peter Cat Recording Co. (pcrc) released the album ‘Climax’ in a year, that Sawhney recollects as ‘too chaotic’.
“No plans were initiated for videos to any of the album compositions. I was in China with my friend, and since The Great Wall of China continues to remain the most relevant place for any tourist, we decided to have a look at it,” said Sawhney a.k.a Lifafa (his electronic project), who continues his venture to find his own space as a musician. “There is a lot of confusion in my head.”
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The imperfections and the unsettling thoughts, to a certain extent, acted as major motivators behind the execution of the video for ‘I’m Home’. Shot with an iPhone, the slow-motion video features Sawhney in a formal attire, finding his way to somewhere. One of the video’s surreal moments arrives just after two and a half minutes when the figure seems to walk down the clouds – supported by the soaring guitar solo from the track – further pushing his search for someone.
The video ends with the figure (Sawhney) pulling the woman from a crematorium service, leading to several interpretations of its own. “That’s the beauty of it,” explained Sawhney. “For some, the woman has committed suicide, and for them the video carries a completely different storyline. In fact, some also believed – and it’s unfortunate – that the video speaks about ‘sati’ system.”
Conceptualising and executing music videos would continue to be a part of Sawhney’s growth as an artist who focuses on stepping into film-making as natural progression of his talent, however achieving the same in a budget of five grand does sound a bit too ambitious to repeat. “In this case, I happened to be in China, and I am well-crafted when it comes to visual software. We borrowed a drone for a shot captured back home (in Delhi),” informed Sawhney. The entire video took two days to be shot (The Great Wall of China was shot in August, and the Hauz Khas village was shot in January), and the usage of softwares like Adobe Premiere and Adobe After Effects effectively transformed a usual generic ‘indie’ music expression to a beautifully poetic experience.
The DIY approach surely isn’t the first-of-its-kind for the alternative music scene, nor is it the first in this month so far.With Your Chin’s DIY approach for the single ‘Fighting The Sumo’ and Sawhney’s latest effort, the musicians have figured out ways to express the art in low-budget constraints. But would this lead to a trend? “Music or any element of music cannot revolutionise anything just by one song,” answered Sawhney.
The frontman, who intends to think more about his space and environment henceforth, finds the music scene in India too reliant on factors that often escape beyond the visionary’s (or the artist) controls. “I intend to simultaneously hold international element because pcrc’s sound justifies the requirement, and also share my art (through other channels) to someone with people existing in India,”said Sawhney. “Musicians in India have the ability to create some top
quality videos and compositions, but they need to ask tough questions to the ones managing the scene. Saying ‘art is a reflection of my space’ sounds good and blah, but what are we (musicians) doing here?”laments the producer / composer, currently touring Europe with the electronic project Lifafa.
“Sometimes, lesser money is good. If someone had invested lakhs for the execution of the ‘I’m Home’ video, I’d have still chosen the same approach of minimum budget and maximum expression. We plan to shoot another video for ‘Copulations’ from the same album, and we’d ensure the magnitude of genuine expression wouldn’t be compromised.”
Music videos offer an additional effective element to any composition, and Peter Cat Recording Co. acknowledged the very reality with the trippy visual for 2013 release ‘Love Demons’, before continuing the practice with ‘I’m Home’ through the DIY approach.
