The Magus

Nicholas

The Magus: Expanded Edition

Melon Dating Simulator!! (live at The Old Hairdresser's, Glasgow)

“Starchamber” is the shape-shifting, theatrical title track from Peter Cat’s forthcoming second LP—a darkly glittering art-pop fever dream that explores guilt, transcendence, and the surreal spaces we create to process our inner lives.

Starchamber

Kiss The Ring

Glasgow’s genre-blurring songwriter Peter Cat shares ‘The Power Of Positive Thinking’ - a surreal, cinematic glimpse into a post-apocalyptic near future.
Upcoming second album, Starchamber, set for release on 21st November via Trapped Animal Records. 

“An adventurous, left-field songsmith” – Tom Robinson, BBC6 Music
“Weird and wonderful” - Charlie Ashcroft, Record Collector Magazine
“If you like your pop music veering on the theatrical side, with weapons-grade hooks, and a big old dose of weird thrown in the mix for good measure, then this could be just what you need.” – I Stood Up & Said Yeah
“... an intricate, theatrical cross-genre exploration” - The Skinny


Following recent sun-drenched single ‘Mango Season’ and the swirling dark energy of ‘Instrumentality’, Glasgow’s genre-blurring oddball Peter Cat is back with ‘The Power Of Positive Thinking’, the final taste of his forthcoming second album, Starchamber, set for release on 21st November via Trapped Animal Records. 

A track that was initially home-recorded in demo form back in 2019, ‘The Power Of Positive Thinking’ has now been built upon and developed into the captivating, cinematic soundscape you hear today. Initially only having the chorus to work with, more lyrics and meaning have now been added to create further context to the song’s meaning. Peter Cat explains:

“All I had for years was that chorus hook on its own – and nothing else! So to whip it into a full song, I had to work backwards and sort of fashion some kind of narrative sense out of the thing, after the fact, which is the opposite to how I usually work. I had to decide what it was I, or we, were supposed to be feeling 'positive' about...”

Despite its theatrical uplifting energy, however, the track actually offers a rather terrifying glimpse into a post-apocalyptic near-future. As swooning vocals soar above a bed of analog synths and a wandering bassline, an eerily surreal narrative is created:

“I think I was reading about hosepipe bans in the news at the time and it all just sort of escalated from there. It's an interesting counterpoint to the rest of the songs on the record, which are about facing up to and transcending guilt… this one ended up being about that very human temptation to just stick your head in the sand when things are going wrong, pretend that everything's fine and dandy when the world around you is clearly burning. Suddenly that chorus doesn't sound so cheerful after all!"

Peter Cat, the Glasgow-based project of songwriter Graham Gillespie, has built a cult reputation for outsider pop and theatrical art rock, and now, with ‘The Power Of Positive Thinking’, he once again proves his ability to create truly unique, strangely immersive soundscapes. As the song unfolds with a cinematic drama and sweeping grandeur, Gillespie succeeds in juxtaposing a poignant sense of urgency with his trademark playful caustic wit. 

The Power of Positive Thinking

Is That All There Is To a House on Fire?

Down From The Mountain

Glasgow’s genre-blurring oddball Peter Cat is back, serving up a deliciously hazy slice of electronic pop with ‘Mango Season’ - the first taste of his forthcoming second LP, Starchamber.

But scratch the surface and there’s something darker lurking underneath.

As ever with Peter Cat, the devil’s in the lyrics - a searching, self-aware exploration of anxiety, existential dread, and the strange contradictions of modern life. Behind the beat, he’s asking the big questions: “What keeps us moving forward? What’s the point of any of this?”

“The idea for the song germinated back in 2022, when the world suddenly started to feel more dangerous. In 2025, it feels much more so. Many of us feel this persistent anxiety around all of the horror and aggression that seems to be ramping up in the world on a daily basis, and that morphs into a strange sort of guilt when you feel like there’s very little you can do, as an individual, to stop or change any of that…. Your thoughts get intrusive, and you end up really questioning the point of what you do. What good is making music, writing songs and playing them to people, while the world is going to shit? Ultimately, all you’re left with is to do it for love - love for your craft, and love for others around you. But the jury’s still out on whether love on its own is enough. Hence the ‘love is the reason’ mantra in the chorus: if you turn your brain off you can just bop along and enjoy it, but for me at least, it’s coming from this much darker and more unresolved place.”

Despite its dancefloor leanings, ‘Mango Season’ is more than just a summer jam - it’s a bittersweet anthem for uncertain times, hypnotic, thoughtful, and deeply human.


All golden-hour glow and sticky summer energy, ‘Mango Season’ pulses with an infectious house-inspired groove, analogue synth textures, and a sampled vocal hook that burrows straight into your brain. It’s breezy, bold, and made for sun-drenched city streets. There’s even sampled birdsong.

Mango Season

Old Goat

Execution

Following recent sun-drenched single ‘Mango Season’, Glasgow’s genre-blurring
oddball Peter Cat is back with the swirling, dark energy of ‘Instrumentality’ - the
final taste of his forthcoming second album, Starchamber, set for release on 14th
November via Trapped Animal Records.
Reflecting on the common urge to surrender parts of ourselves when love takes
over, it’s a driving anthem propelled by a fizzing, synth-driven musicality and
rousing, eerie allure. As Cat’s distinctive deep drawl takes centre stage, it offers an
instant earworm that will captivate the senses on first listen.
“It’s ultimately about getting so close to someone that your own edges become
blurred, so that it’s not clear where you end and they begin. The refrain in the
chorus – ‘I just want to be useful/I just wanted to be of use’ – is getting at the sort of
death-drive attraction we all have towards surrendering our own individual identity
up to a more purposeful, unifying whole, whether that be another person or
relationship, or some higher purpose or goal you’re striving for…”

So much more than your typical ‘love song’, ‘Instrumentality’ takes a deep dive into
all-encompassing emotion and the potential damage that can be caused if we let
our feelings take hold. Also drawing inspiration from Neon Genesis Evangelion (a
classic Japanese anime where a group of teenagers pilot giant robots so they could
battle the enemies of humanity), it showcases Peter Cat’s penchant for existential
contemplations.
“Saving humanity seemed to make those poor kids in the show very depressed.
Plus, the bad guys’ masterplan is the forced evolution of humanity beyond the
individual, into a transcendent, collective whole (it also involves all human beings
getting turned into orange goop). The name they have for this is the ‘Human
Instrumentality Project’... So you can see what we did there.”
Interweaving his trademark intricate musical and lyrical layers, Peter Cat once again
proves his ability to create truly unique, strangely uplifting, soundscapes.

INSTRUMENTALITY.

Peter Cat is the musical alias of Glasgow-based songwriter and performer Graham Gillespie. Known for his caustic wit, cinematic vision, and ever-shifting soundworlds, he’s a cult favourite among fans of outsider pop and theatrical art-rock. His 2020 debut The Saccharine Underground was released on vinyl by MoFi Records and distributed via Last Night From Glasgow, followed by 2022’s The Magus EP—home to minor cult hit “Melon Dating Simulator!!”.


Now, with Trapped Animal behind him and a full-length album on the horizon, Peter Cat is ready to bring his warped vision to a wider audience. Expect the unexpected.

Popular tracks by Peter Cat