Acoustically yours

Singer-songwriter Prateek Kuhad, who is all set to perform in the city, talks about being an indie musician in India and abroad.

Singer-songwriter Prateek Kuhad, with his mellow tunes and soulful lyrics, became a known face in the Indian independent music scene in January 2015, with the launch of his first album, Tokens and Charms. Since then, the singer has gone on to play in cities like Singapore, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, where he was the only Indian playing at Bigsound 2016. He has also written and sung a song for Karan Johar’s upcoming film Bar Bar Dekho. In short, there has been no looking back for the artiste, who confesses that it had initially been his intention to keep music just on the side.

“I have always been passionate about music but, up until three years ago, I was pretty sure that I would keep it on the side. I used to do shows in New York while I was studying there in NYU (New York University). After college, I decided to take a year off to try my hand at music. That year has turned into three and I’m still performing. I’ll keep singing as long as people want to listen to my songs,” he confesses.

The artiste is now in the city preparing for his upcoming concert in the city, which will take place on September 24. Aside from being excited to try out a whole new set, the singer is also excited about the venue itself. “I’m mixing up some of my older numbers with some new songs that I have not played before to suss out the audience reaction. The set will also have a lot of piano music on an acoustic piano since I have been writing more and more piano-based songs since late last year. I’m also looking forward to playing at a proper auditorium, since that’s not something that indie singers here can do,” he says.

Although he is branching out into piano music from his heavily guitar-based songs, Prateek intends to stay true to his acoustic format, even if the competition from EDM and dance music is at an all time high. “Yes, there is a craze for these types of songs right now, but the world still loves singers like Adele and Taylor Swift and their songs follow a largely acoustic format. If a song is good, it’ll do well, whatever the genre,” says the singer, confidently.

Having played both abroad and in India, Prateek feels that he is in a position to compare the indie music scene in the two countries. While the singer wishes that there was more government and audience backing for independent singers in India, he also concedes that it is easier to make independent music in India, since there is far less competition. “The indie music scene abroad is not as new as it is in India, so there is a lot more competition and it takes a lot more grit to actually break into the industry. You also have to supply your own sound gear at most venues in places like the U.S., which the venues provide in India,” he says. “Having said that, I also think that the Indian government should back singers more, because, as things stand, there are a lot of very talented musicians who are too afraid to go into music because they don’t think that they’ll be able to sustain themselves,” he adds.

While performing abroad, though, the singer was surprised to find fans in foreign lands. “I’ve been really lucky to have at least a couple of fans present at most of my concerts,” says the singer. “In Melbourne, there was a whole bunch of fans from India, so I sang some of my Hindi numbers. In Sydney also, there were a couple of fans who requested me to sing Tune Kaha, so I added it to my English set. I’m not particular about what language I sing in though. For me, my songs are my songs, regardless of language,” he signs off.

Prateek Kuhad will be performing on September 24, 8 pm onwards, at Sophia Bhabha Hall, Cumballa Hill, Mumbai