Singer-songwriter Prateek Kuhad: 'I am a better musician now than I was five years ago'

Prateek Kuhad's third studio album 'The Way That Lovers Do' released earlier this year. He will be touring across India through November.

Ever since Covid travel restrictions relaxed, Prateek Kuhad hasn't spent more than two or three months in the same place. The singer-songwriter has been experiencing the sort of nomadic life which comes with touring for concerts and recording tracks in studios in different parts of the world.

When he isn’t touring, he could be in Delhi, Mumbai or New York. His family home is in Jaipur, and sometimes, Kuhad visits his hometown but home is an alien concept to him.

“I want a sense of home and I don’t have that at all at this point,” he says with a shrug of his shoulders. It worries him at times. “I do really want to have a family. I want to have my own home and I can if I want to but it’s pointless because I am never anywhere longer than two-three months,” he states.

That aside, the pop musician hailed by Rolling Stone India as “one of the country’s leading singer-songwriters”, is self-confessedly in “a really good place”.

The first half of the year saw him release his third studio album The Way That Lovers Do, followed by a 20-city tour in the US. In October, he toured the UK and Europe as part of the global showcase, and tonight (October 29, 2022), he kicks off his biggest India tour ever with a concert in Mumbai. Over the course of November and mid-December, he will be touring cities such as Delhi, Chandigarh, Pune, Guwahati, Surat, Lucknow, Kolkata and Panjim, among others.

After the restlessness and uncertainty of the pandemic months, Kuhad is making the most of this time. He is raring and roaring to go. “The pandemic was just a really frustrating time because everything was so slow and I am generally a person with very high urgency. If I want something done, I want it done yesterday! Even if it is something like going on a tour, or bringing out an album or buying furniture for the house - I want to do it now, and in the pandemic, nothing could happen ‘now’. If you wanted to order something online, it would take two weeks to deliver. It was frustrating for me, because of the way I am,” says the 32-year-old.

The pandemic was also a time of great productivity for many artists, but Kuhad isn’t one of them. “I was terribly uninspired,” he says, adding that he needs to feel really free and relaxed to be able to write. Also, one needs experiences and with life coming to a standstill at that point, there was no stimulus for his brain.

“I am both an introvert and extrovert,” he shares, adding that although he really likes meeting new people, he also requires his time off. “That’s when I go into my shell and generally end up writing a lot. I write songs on my days off during tours when I am in my hotel room all day. I sleep, go to the spa and in the few hours I get, I just play my guitar and write. If I’m at home for a couple of weeks and I have just come off tour, I am fresh with ideas. It’s so instinctive. There are emotional ups and downs every day. Your brain changes and you come back and have a different perspective towards writing, towards music and towards life,” he muses.

Once that period was over, the singer suddenly found himself in the thick of things again. There was an album to promote and tours to go on. “I have spent a lot of time doing nothing in life in general. I don’t do stuff till I think it is something I really want to do, so I’d rather be free than do something useless and it feels good to be busy now. Suddenly the future is clear again and you can plan for the year ahead. I love doing all of that,” he shares.

Kuhad's US tour was sold-out. And the UK and Europe tours were well-received, with fans vibing to older tracks like 'Kasoor' and 'cold/mess' but also ready to listen to his newer songs. “Some of the singles from the new album such as 'CO2', 'All I Need' and 'Just a Word' are really popular. When I sing them, I can see the fans in the front singing along and vibing with them,” he says.

With the new album, Kuhad wanted to push his own boundaries. “It is less personal than 'cold/mess' which was fresh off a break-up. The Way That Lovers Do is a lot more about music,” he says.

Over the years, there has been an evolution as an artist and Kuhad recognises it. “I’m a much better musician now than I was five years ago. I know production better. I know my instruments better. I have control over my voice and I am more skilled as a songwriter. So with this album, I wanted to push my boundaries in terms of what I can do,” he adds.

If there is pressure to deliver, Kuhad doesn’t like to think about it. The musician whose track 'cold/mess' featured on former US President Barack Obama’s 2019 Songs of the Year playlist, shares that he went through a phase in his life when he felt really insecure.

“I was a mess mentally. That phase lasted around six-eight months until I did a full 180-turn on it,” he says. The turn came with the realisation that he has already achieved what he set out to do. He continues, “Growing up, all I wanted to do in future was to be able to pay my rent, make music and have enough money for a decent lifestyle. Becoming financially stable happened pretty early on and after that, I wanted everything and then I realised I have already overshot everything I wanted. So I went back to the basics of what I like doing. I like writing songs. I like being in the studio. I like performing at shows and I am already doing all of that, so why should I worry?”

Kuhad’s also become a lot more comfortable being on the stage and playing in front of thousands of people. “I think my personality is really conflicted in the sense that I am extremely extroverted when it comes to being in the company of people I know. With my close friends, I am very loud. I talk a lot, crack a lot of jokes and I am very expressive. Put me in an alien situation and I shut down completely. That used to happen a lot earlier. Over the years, I got used to it because I was put in those situations so much. I have just had social skills beaten into me!” he laughs.

But that’s also something he is glad about because it has made him the person he is today. “I enjoy doing interviews today because they are more like conversations. I get to reflect on my life and learn about myself at times. Hopefully, I share something of value as well,” he concludes.