Lifafa Songs: Best Tracks From the PCRC Frontman

The best Lifafa songs and albums, from Jaago and Nikamma to Superpower 2020, Suryakant Sawhney's solo electronic project.

Key facts

Profile: Lifafa is the solo project of Suryakant Sawhney, the Delhi-based singer and producer who fronts Peter Cat Recording Co.
Discography: The self-titled album in 2013, the In Hi Ko EP in 2014, Jaago in 2019 and Superpower 2020, released via Bandcamp on 21 May 2021.
Jaago: Came out on 1 January 2019, eight self-released songs running a little over half an hour, all sung, written, composed and produced by Sawhney.
Name: He chose the name because, though it is an Indian word, it could easily be said by someone who is not Indian, and it also refers to the envelope of a sound in electronic music.
Collaboration: In 2020 he made Ghar, a seven-track album with Raw Mango.

Lifafa songs are the solo work of Suryakant Sawhney, frontman of Delhi band Peter Cat Recording Co., and the essential ones are Jaago, Nikamma, Din Raat and Ek Nagma from the 2019 album Jaago, plus Wahin Ka Wahin, Laash and Irradon from Superpower 2020. Lifafa pairs Sawhney's old-fashioned baritone crooning with electronic soundscapes built from synths and samples, as Scroll described it. His catalogue runs from a self-titled 2013 album to the 2019 breakout Jaago and the 2021 Bandcamp release Superpower 2020. Here are the songs and albums to know, and how the project grew.

More facts about Lifafa

Lifafa is the solo project of Suryakant Sawhney, the Delhi-based singer and producer who fronts Peter Cat Recording Co. (Rolling Stone India).
Releases include the self-titled album in 2013, the In Hi Ko EP in 2014, Jaago in 2019 and Superpower 2020, released via Bandcamp on 21 May 2021 (Rolling Stone India).
Jaago came out on 1 January 2019: eight self-released songs running a little over half an hour, all sung, written, composed and produced by Sawhney (Scroll).
He chose the name because, though it is an Indian word, it could easily be said by someone who is not Indian, and it also refers to the envelope of a sound in electronic music (Scroll).
In 2020 he made Ghar, a seven-track album with Raw Mango (Indulge Express).

Who is Lifafa

Lifafa is Suryakant Samson Sawhney (Wikipedia), the voice of Peter Cat Recording Co., the band he formed with drummer Karan Singh (Scroll). He was 31 when Scroll interviewed him in January 2019. He grew up on his mother's bhajans and the songs of Mohammed Rafi and Mukesh, and counts Guru Dutt, Hemant Kumar and Sam Cooke among his influences. He studied animation in San Francisco.

Sawhney told Scroll that before making his first electronic album he had heard only five or six electronic artists, among them Burial and James Blake. The project, he said, happened practically overnight. For the band side of his story, read our guide to Peter Cat Recording Co. members, and for the city that shaped both, our Delhi indie scene guide.

Lifafa albums in order

Lifafa (2013): the self-titled debut, built from white noise, field recordings and chopped-up voices (Scroll).
In Hi Ko (2014): a four-track EP, later taken off the internet (Rolling Stone India).
Jaago (2019): the eight-song breakout album (Scroll).
Ghar: Sounds of Raw Mango (2020): a seven-track collaboration with Raw Mango (Indulge Express).
Superpower 2020 (2021): an eight-track album released on Bandcamp (Rolling Stone India).

1. Jaago

The title track opens the album with a long harmonium and vocal prologue, according to Wild City, which said the record moves like a day turning into night. Rolling Stone India noted that Sawhney addressed his country on this song, a theme he returned to on Superpower 2020 (Rolling Stone India).

2. Nikamma

The fourth track on Jaago, whose full tracklist on Bandcamp runs Jaago, Chaku Chidiya, Mere Saath, Nikamma, Candy, Din Raat, Ek Nagma and MJRH. Nikamma has an official video on Lifafa's YouTube channel.

3. Din Raat

Wild City picked Din Raat as one of the more danceable, disco-leaning tracks that come in the second half of Jaago (Wild City).

4. Ek Nagma

Paired by Wild City with Din Raat as the album's disco-ready peak, before Jaago closes on another harmonium-laden passage (Wild City).

5. Wahin Ka Wahin

The opener of Superpower 2020 brings harmonium and chopped-up beats, and includes the line that in your country, love is a crime, per Rolling Stone India. The magazine said its defiance recalls Shaheen Bagh, where Lifafa was listed to perform with Artists Against Communalism (Wild City).

6. Laash

Rolling Stone India called Laash a comforting, lover-boy song that toys with sweet lines for a beloved until it turns bizarre, and the album was launched with its video (Rolling Stone India).

7. Mann Ki Baat

Sawhney plays with metaphors for propaganda over simple beats and a booming rhythm on this track (Rolling Stone India).

8. Bewafa Hai Ghadi

An ornate, sombre song on Superpower 2020 that Rolling Stone India read as a moment of surrender (Rolling Stone India).

9. Irradon

Originally on In Hi Ko and long a live staple, Irradon returned on Superpower 2020 in a new version made with producer D80, aka Anubhav Sharma (Rolling Stone India). Wild City had earlier named In Hi Ko and Tofah as the EP's brighter tracks (Wild City).

10. Acche Din

The penultimate track of Superpower 2020, described by Rolling Stone India as having a light-headed, bhajan-like intonation (Rolling Stone India).

The Mandir controversy

Superpower 2020 originally closed with Mandir, which featured Hashback Hashish. The song was taken down after assault allegations against Hashish, as reported by The Quint.

How Jaago was made

Sawhney told Scroll that he builds synths out of almost anything, from a second of Mozart to a second of traffic, in his one-man studio in Delhi. After In Hi Ko he spent a couple of years playing club shows in Berlin, which pushed him to make music for clubs. He said making niche music that only a certain class of people understood felt strange, so with Jaago he set out to write Hindi songs of radio-friendly length because he wanted to make something for India. Wild City said Jaago had been almost five years in the making (Wild City).

Superpower 2020 and its message

Sawhney worked on Superpower 2020 for more than two years. In his release statement he wrote that the album is not about a country but about an experiment called India and all of its people, and that finishing it was difficult both personally and technically (Rolling Stone India). The magazine said the album moves away from the acid house and old Bollywood sound of Jaago towards weirder but socially conscious ideas. For more producers working in the same space, see our list of Indian electronic music producers.

Where to start with Lifafa

Start with Jaago as a full album, since Wild City described it as built like a live set that rises and falls (Wild City). Then move to Laash and Wahin Ka Wahin for the Superpower 2020 era.

FAQ

Who is Lifafa

Lifafa is the solo electronic project of Suryakant Sawhney, the Delhi singer and producer who fronts Peter Cat Recording Co. (Rolling Stone India).

What is Lifafa's real name

His name is Suryakant Samson Sawhney (Wikipedia).

Is Lifafa part of Peter Cat Recording Co

Yes. Sawhney is the frontman of Peter Cat Recording Co., and Lifafa is his separate solo project (Scroll).

What does Lifafa mean

Sawhney said the name refers to the envelope in electronic music, the way a sound rises and decays over time (Scroll).

What are the best Lifafa songs

Popular starting points are Jaago, Nikamma, Din Raat and Ek Nagma from Jaago, and Laash and Wahin Ka Wahin from Superpower 2020 (Wild City, Rolling Stone India).