Prateek Kuhad

Prateek Kuhad is an Indian singer-songwriter and musician who makes independent music in Hindi and English.^[1][2][3] He is best known for his track "Kasoor".

Prateek Kuhad
Kuhad in 2018
Background information
Born	(1990-03-03) 3 March 1990 (age 35) Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
Origin	Jaipur, India
Genres	Indie folk
Occupations	Singer-songwriter musician
Instruments	Vocals guitar piano
Years active	2011–present
Labels	Elektra Records
Website	prateekkuhad.com

Early life

Kuhad was born in Jaipur, Rajasthan, and has two sisters. He learnt to play the guitar at age 16 and started songwriting in his late teens. He graduated high school at Maharaja Sawai Man Singh Vidyalaya, in Jaipur. Later, he studied Maths and Economics at New York University before moving to Delhi to pursue a full-time career in music.^[4]

Career

After graduating from New York University, Kuhad returned to India and released his first EP, the self titled Prateek Kuhad, and Raat Raazi in 2013.^[5] His debut album, In Tokens & Charms, was released in 2015.^[6][7] He also signed a publishing deal with Los Angeles–based company Cutcraft Music.^[8] Kuhad became the first Indian artist to be signed by the American record label Elektra Records in 2020.^[9]

Kuhad released his third album, The Way That Lovers Do, on May 20, 2022.^[10]

Musical style and influences

During his time in NYU, Kuhad discovered Elliott Smith's music, which had a great influence on him. He then discovered other singer-songwriters such as Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie along with newer artists like Laura Marling and Fleet Foxes. These artists inspired him to get better at guitar and start writing his own songs. These went on to become his major influences.^{[citation needed]}

Kuhad was comfortable with communicating in both English and Hindi from the start and has been writing in both the languages. In his childhood, as there was no internet service, he predominantly listened to Indian pop and Bollywood music and only occasionally to Western music. He was also inspired by Lucky Ali.^[11]

Prateek Kuhad performing

Kuhad's primary instrument is the acoustic guitar. He also plays other instruments like piano and electric guitar. His music leans towards Americana and folk genres with acoustic sounds and unconventional song structures for the most part. His music has been praised as being "beautifully haunting" by Us Weekly and his vocals as being "angelic" by BrooklynVegan.^[11]

He mostly writes about love, relationships and his experiences, with vague lyrics that are open to interpretation.^[12]

Awards and recognition

• Indian Indie Album of the Year 2019 by iTunes and Spotify: Top Indian Indie Hits
• The Best India Act at the 2016 MTV Europe Music Awards^[13]
• Best Pop Artist Award at the Radio City Freedom Awards 2018^[6]

Kuhad's 2018 song "cold/mess" was featured on former US president Barack Obama's "Favorite Music of 2019" list.^[14][15][16]

Discography

Albums & EPs

Year	Album / EP	Track
2011	Prateek Kuhad	Something Wrong
		Rubber Bits
		A Shot of Alcohol
2013	Raat Raazi	Ab Hoga Kya
		Raat Raazi
		Chahe Ya Na Chahe
		Voh
		Yeh Pal
2015	In Tokens & Charms	Oh Love
		Holding On
		Flames
		Into the Night
		Go
		Fire
		Held You Tight
		Be At Ease
		Cold Shoulders
		Artist
2017	In Token & Charms(Deluxe Version)	Oh Love
		Holding On
		Flames
		Into The Night
		Go
		Fire
		Held You Tight
		Be At Ease
		Cold Shoulders
		Artist
		Tonight
		Big Surprise
		Just To Be With You
		Flames - Piano Version
2019	cold/mess	with you/for you
		did you/fall apart
		cold/mess
		for your time
		fighter
		100 words
		cold/mess - edit
2021	Shehron Ke Raaz	Shehron Ke Raaz
		Khone Do
		Tere Hi Hum
		Kasoor - Acoustic
2022	The Way That Lovers Do	All I Need
		Hollow
		Favorite Peeps
		Co2
		Face
		Just A Word
		Drown
		The Last Time
		Heartbroken
		Bloom
		Full Time Lover
2023	The Way That Lovers Do (Deluxe Version)	All I Need
		Hollow
		Favorite Peeps
		Co2
		Face
		Just A Word
		Drown
		Heartbroken
		Bloom
		Full Time Lover
		Hopelessly
		I Never Knew
		Bloom(feat. Raveena)
		All I Need - acoustic
		Hollow - acoustic
		Just A Word - acoustic
		The Last Time - acoustic
		Heartbroken - acoustic
	Mulaqat	Mulaqat
		O Piya
		Kuch Din
		Hum Dono
		Janeman

Singles & collaborations

Year	Track	Note(s)
2016	Kho Gaye Hum Kahan	Released as part of the soundtrack of the movie "Baar Baar Dekho"
	Tune Kaha
	Dil Beparwah	Collaboration between Ankur Tewari & Prateek Kuhad Released as part of The Dewarists - Season 5, Episode 3
2017	Tum Jab Paas
2018	Saansein	Released as part of the soundtrack of the movie "Karwaan"
	Kadam
2020	Pause
	Kasoor
	Kahaan Ho Tum	Released as part of the soundtrack of the Netflix show "Mismatched"
	The Biggest Lie (Elliott Smith remake)
2021	cold/mess (on piano)
2023	Hopelessly
	Kaisi Jadugari
	Mere Sang feat.Lisa Mishra	Collaboration between Lisa Mishra & Prateek Kuhad
	Co2 – Acoustic
	Kho Gaye Hum Kahan(Lofi Mix)	Lofi Mix of the soundtrack Kho Gaye Hum Kahan from the movie "Baar Baar Dekho"
	Mulaqat	Released as a single but part of the episode "Mulaqat"
	O Piya	Released as a single but part of the episode "Mulaqat"
2024	No Complaints

Film/Series songs

Year	Film	Song	Composer(s)	Singer(s)	Writer(s)
2016	Baar Baar Dekho	Kho Gaye Hum Kahan	Jasleen Royal	Jasleen Royal, Prateek Kuhad	Prateek Kuhad
2018	Karwaan	Saansein	Prateek Kuhad
		Kadam
	Lust Stories	Tu Kaha
2020	Mismatched	Kaahan Ho Tum
2021	Ajeeb Daastaans	Kuch Na Kaho
	Dhamaka	Kasoor – Acoustic