It’s a rainy afternoon in Mumbai’s Khar West suburb. We take the elevator to the seventh floor to meet Prateek Kuhad, fresh off the release of his third studio album, Full Moon Chamber. In a pristine white space, bathed in natural light, Kuhad is seated in a flowing cotton shirt and pants. The singer-songwriter, who has consolidated his status as an indie fixture over the past decade, has spent the last few years living partially in Los Angeles, where the new album was written and recorded. In India for the record drop, the “Co2” singer is caught up with promotional obligations. He speaks with Billboard India to shed light on his process for the 14-track album, his icons and why he prefers writing alone.
“Blush” is your first time as a director for a music video. How did that come about?
There was no director, so I kind of had to do it. I had a pretty clear vision about what to do with it. I worked with a DoP (Director of Photography) – friend of mine, who I’ve worked with in the past before – Donald Turner. He did my video “With You, For You” from the cold / mess EP. I was back in LA and I was asked, “Are you still around?” We just talked about it. I thought he was going to direct it. And he (Turner) was like, “You know, we need you to direct this.” I was like, okay, I think I can do it.
Was it challenging?
I had to be prepared for it. I actually made the shot list and the schedule for the day, when we’re going to do what, and what’s going to be done in light. I feel like I’ve been on enough shoots that I felt confident about doing something like this.
It was a pretty simple concept. It’s basically just my performance videos along with a bunch of cool visual shots. And there’s a bit of a narrative arc, but not much. So it was mostly just trying to find aesthetic shots, which I feel I’m pretty good at.
I have a very clear idea of what I like. I don’t know if other people will like it.
What is special about Full Moon Chamber?
One thing that was really different was the process. I usually write my songs and then go into production. This time, I worked with a lot of different producers over different songwriting sessions. Typically, the way these writing sessions, especially in LA and New York happen, are that you’re in a room with a producer. Sometimes, another songwriter as well. Everybody just kind of talks about what they want to write about.
While the producer is kind of making the beat or laying down the track, I’m also writing simultaneously. This whole thing happens in a span of two hours.
Usually, I write my songs on a guitar. Then I make some demos, or program some drums. Then I’ll go to a producer, and they’ll finish the song.
I wanted to do something different to embrace LA songwriting culture. It was also challenging for me. I’m not very good at writing in front of other people. I get very conscious. Every session was a lot of anxiety for me.
Now that you’ve tried both – what process do you like better?
Weirdly, this whole process made me realise that maybe I want to go back to how I was doing it. I definitely liked it a lot more.
I still have to think about it because now that the album is out – it’s actually a really good album. I’m super proud of it. Maybe, I’ll do a mix of stuff going forward.
What is your favourite lyric on this album?
I have a couple. There’s one from “You Make It Easy”. It goes: ‘Show me the door to your love and I’ll run right through.’ I thought that was really nice.
The other one I really like is from “If I Cannot Be Yours”: ‘Lights out, we find ourselves in something simple and profound. I sip your lips, can barely swim. And even if I drown. Your scent will never leave me.’
How was the experience working with music producer Nick Ruth (of Kelly Clarkson, Nick Jonas, Ellie Goulding, Wiz Khalifa, Carly Rae Jepsen fame)?
It was amazing – one of the best working experiences I’ve had.
Earlier, something about working with different producers and tracking vocals in different rooms was sounding a bit disconnected to me. I could tell these three songs are ‘this producer’ and those three songs are ‘that producer’. My vocals were one thing I was really concerned about.
That’s when my label introduced me to Nick Ruth. He’s really good at finishing albums. Nick helped me define it. One major thing we did was completely redo all the vocals. Then, the more you do stuff, the more you’re like… “you know what? Let’s just change the drums also”.
We decided to have Aaron Sterling play drums on the whole record because Nick knew him. Sterling’s a legend. He’s worked on John Mayer and a bunch of really influential records. He’s honestly probably one of the best drummers out there.
As we worked on it, it started sounding better and better. I think these are the best vocals I’ve done on any record. I don’t really think of myself that much as a singer.
Were you influenced by any other art during the process of making the album?
I’m never able to figure out what inspired what. It may or may not have seeped in the music. I watched a lot of anime the last couple of years. All the Studio Ghibli stuff. It’s really beautiful, very well constructed, very refined work. Really beautiful emotional stories and quite inspiring.
I was listening to a lot of The 1975 at one point, which I feel you can kind of hear a little bit. For example, “If I Cannot Be Yours” is a very band song, not very singer-songwriter.
I also had a lot of travel. I live part-time in LA now. I’ve been spending the last 2-3 years over there. All these sessions were done there. I travelled around in the US a bunch and lived on my own. I got a lot of time to myself. Especially being abroad – that definitely changes your worldview.
Tell us about your move to LA.
It just happened. I’ve been spending a lot of summers there. Over the last 7-8 years for writing sessions. I slowly started really liking it and I thought about getting a place there many times. Finally, I just did it.
You collaborated with fellow New Delhi musician Sijya for creative direction. How was that?
We were interviewing people for a creative director role for almost a year – since the first time the songs got ready. I realised over time that I’m better at working with people, where I can bounce ideas. I have very strong ideas, but they get lost. I’m not very good at organising them. If you don’t work with the right person who has the same sensibility as yours, then it can be more frustrating because you’re never aligned on anything.
Earlier this year, pretty close to the album release, I had a call with Sijya. Five minutes into it, I was like “this is it”. She has a really good process. She made this long questionnaire after listening to the album. Based on that, we formed themes around the album. A lot of discussion went into forming the kind of world that we want to create. I’ve never done it in such a structured way.
Tell us about the harmonies, instruments and sonic elements on the album.
I was a bit restrained on this one with harmonies. I really like harmonies and I think I went overboard on them on The Way That Lovers Do. This time we wanted to do harmonies in certain places and kept them more tasteful.
We had all these demos with programmed drums. I wanted to put real drums on there. Because for certain tracks they just work better on a grid and with some songs you want that kind of live energy.
“Something In The Way” had these drums. The last thing we did was swap the drums out for a live drum take by Aaron. It was completely transformed and became ten times better. Certain songs really do well with live instruments. We were very conscious about non-organic sounds and organic sounds in terms of where each works.
What is the Full Moon Chamber era about for you?
I don’t get it – the whole era thing. I’m trying to think… loose and free is the vibe. I’ve definitely been feeling a lot lighter than I did maybe four years ago. I think there is a certain lightness in this album.
Is there going to be a tour to support the album?
We don’t have dates. But there’s definitely going to be a tour.
Is there any artist or icon who would be a dream collaboration for you?
Truthfully speaking, I’m not a particularly collaborative artist.
I’ve worked with other artists. I always like trying new things and stuff, but I really enjoy writing on my own.
One of my heroes is Bob Dylan. But I’m too scared to work with him. He’s not gonna want to do it. He’s not worked with anybody in decades.
But let me just put it on the record. I will not say no if by some miracle Joni Mitchell calls me. I will not say no to that.
