I have no stagecraft: Prateek

Prateek Kuhad doesn’t really need an introduction anymore. In the last couple of years, he has made a space for himself on social media with his soulful songs. Even with an ever-increasing number of new artistes coming out, he still doesn’t find other musicians a competition as he believes that social media has helped him build his fanbase.

As he gears up for his international tour; he is heading to the US for a month-long tour; he spoke about his plans for the year.

You’re going on tour next month...

Yes, it’s going to be my first official international tour. I have played abroad but not like this. I’ll be performing at New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Boston. It’s also the first time that I will be travelling with my band members, Dhruv Bhola (bassist) and Nikhil Vasudevan (drummer).

Which city are you most excited about?

I’m quite excited to play in New York. A few places have already been sold out so that builds the excitement factor too.

You’ve been making music for a few years but your fanbase grew a lot recently. Does this make you nervous to go on stage?

(Laughs) I’m honestly not a great performer. I have no stagecraft. A lot of artistes talk a lot, make the audience feel like at home. I’m quite awkward when it comes to that so it is challenging. Having said that, it’s come to a point where I have single shows now and clearly the people who attend are my fans. That’s less pressure as I know they won’t tune out as the
others.

Unlike many artistes, your music is quite different. What’s your music making process like?

It’s a combination of listening to a lot of music over the years. It’s also a mix of experiences, movies, books and so on.

So does writing lyrics come to naturally now?

Yes, it does. I don’t take too long to write a song either, which I’m started to think is a double-edged sword. I feel like because I know the craft of it, I have become lazy. All of them feel like it’s not good enough anymore.

What are your expectations from this year?

I’m quite confused actually. As I said earlier, songwriting has been easy but challenging as I am not too satisfied with them. I’m trying to figure that out. I’m also trying to shift focus and nail the performances. I want to take things to the next level, from sound to production.

Will we hear your songs in more movies now?

I need to read the script and understand it to write the songs. However, I feel that the film industry is unprofessional, from the legal contract to everything else. It turns me off. ‘Karwaan’ was a good team to work with; it’s hard to find someone like that.