“IT WAS LITERALLY one of the happiest moments of my life.” It ’s not easy to get anything remotely hyperbolic out of Prateek Kuhad. And yet, there it is. A couple of years ago, the New Delhi/Jaipur singer-songwriter might have underplayed a lot of his achievements, but since the release of his EP cold/mess in mid-2018, things have changed. Well, slightly.
In fact, the release of the soul-burrowing, despairing yet moody EP is exactly what Kuhad is talking about. “Even before it got any recognition or before anything happened, just the fact that it was finally out made me feel so great,” he says as he sits down to lunch in his room at a five-star hotel in Mumbai. Later on, in our 90-minute chat, he’s talking about his voice and how he never thinks about how he sings. He feels that people ended up liking his voice because of his often crestfallen, emo songwriting. “I think the songs are good and I don’t do a terrible job of executing it,” Kuhad says, showing a glimpse of how he can still be quite self-critical for someone who’s headlining festivals in India (Vh1 Supersonic in Pune on February 7th), selling out shows in India, the U.S. and Europe and ended up on former U.S. President Barack Obama’s annual favorite music of 2019.
He says, “I’m generally a very wary and cynical person.” We’re talking about his recent Supermoon tour that reportedly sold over 30,000 tickets across 11 cities and how he eventually began enjoying being on stage for the first time. “It almost scared me for a while, like, ‘why am I liking this? Am I changing too much?’”
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Denne historien er fra February 2020-utgaven av RollingStone India.
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Akshath Plots India Tour on the Back of Hit Song 'Nadaaniyan'
Mumbai artist's breezy love song took over streaming charts and short-video platforms
Aksh Baghla and 10CM Swap Languages in 'Spring Snow' Hindi Version
The Indian pop artist got the South Korean indie-pop artist to sing in Hindi on his hit song from the 'Lovely Runner, Part 8' soundtrack
Sukha Talks New EP '2003' and the Success of '8 Asle'
The Toronto-based Punjabi artist also looks back at hits like 'Sangdi' and the EP 'Undisputed'
Masrat Un Nisa on Channeling Raj Begum in Upcoming Film 'Songs of Paradise'
Inspired by the legendary Kashmiri voice Raj Begum, the singer talks about working with filmmaker Danish Renzu, who has also called on her for songs with his label Renzu Music
How Daira's 'Jaadoo Bastar' Tapped Into Chhattisgarh Tribal Stories
Mumbai rock band teamed up with artists including Lakheshwar Khudaram and Hindi lyricist Alok Ranjan Srivastava for five songs and a documentary that goes behind the scenes of the project
Peekay Embraces Djent on 'Merciless' and Plots an L.A. Move
The Hyderabad artist worked with guitarist Jonathan Edward and prog band Skyharbor's Keshav Dhar on the track
The Derelicts Take a 'Highway Drive' on Euphoric New Song
The Kochi disco-pop/electronica band introduce a science fiction-informed storyline for their first release since 2018
Sudan on How 'Happy Accidents' Led To His Genre-Defying Debut Album
Mumbai-based producer and multiinstrumentalist launched 'Sudan?' in August with a collab-heavy list of guests including Tejas, Frizzell D'Souza and more
Zubin Mehta Talks Symphony Orchestra of India Concerts
The Mumbai-born conductor leads a slightly offbeat selection for the SOI Autumn 2024 Season, taking place on Aug. 17 and 18, followed by Aug. 24 and 25
Ameya Saraf: 'I Wanted to Do Music for Life the First Time I Picked Up a Guitar'
Los Angeles-based Indian composer and producer worked his way from the rock scene to assisting pop artist Arjun Kanungo at the latter's Promethean Studio in Mumbai