Known best for beautiful releases such as Yarn and Balance, we sat down with Prithvi Prakash recently and had one of those genuine chats you just can’t make up. She flows so splendidly and gives the world those tender Butterfly kisses we all needed, on this massively insightful interview.
Hello there. We truly appreciate your time. Please tell us more about how you started in the music world and what fueled your passion.
I’ve been singing since the age of four or five. At the age of six, I started learning Indian classical music when I moved to India and through that I stayed connected with music for the next 10 years. But I think I realized that I wanted to pursue music full-time after I came to Berklee College of Music.
Tell us more about living in India and USA. Which country do you prefer and what are the differences in your opinion?
So I was born in the US and I was brought up in India. I’ve lived about 12 years in India and came back to the US for college. It’s hard for me to pick a favorite but I think I’m grateful for having experienced the culture of two different countries. Living in India had me exposed to a very different music scene. I was trained in Indian classical music and also grew up on a lot of Indian film music. Then I came to the US and I was exposed to the whole Indie scene in the US which is way bigger in the US than it is in India. With that came a whole bunch of genres including EDM, singer-songwriter, folk music and everything in between. I think my experiences of living in both these countries has helped me understand my sound as a musician and opened my mind up to so many different opportunities that I can access in both countries.
Please tell us about your most recent release and the creative process involved.
My most recent release is called Butterfly. The song is extremely special to me. The song is written from the perspective of my parents. One day during the pandemic I was just inspired and the first thought that crossed my mind was how it must feel for my parents to have me grow up and leave the house and go out there to make my own identity after having nurtured me and protected me for all these years. Butterfly is a metaphor for the metamorphosis of a butterfly from a caterpillar and is written from the lens of a mother or a parent watching that metamorphosis and the different emotions they experience while watching their child go through life.
How do you distinguish yourself from other artists?
I don’t think I have ever written a song or produced a track with the thought that I need to be different or I need to stand out from other artists because that really hinders the natural creative process. Having said that, I do bring in little elements of my culture and of my influences that I have grown up listening to into my music. These experiences are unique to me and by bringing them into my music I can only hope that I can create a signature for myself.
How have your experiences crafted your sound to what it is now?
Having trained in Indian classical music for over 15 years the way I think about melody is heavily influenced by that. Along with that I also listened to a lot of AR Rahman, Coldplay and Taylor Swift and this unique blend of such different influences helps me craft a sound that is unique to me.
Where is one venue or festival you’d love to play live?
I have never played a Sofar concert before and I would love to play a Sofar concert or any sort of intimate concert because I think my music is very emotionally intimate. The thought of being able to connect emotionally with all the people in a room through my music is far more exciting to me than playing a large festival with thousands of people in the audience – though, I am not complaining if it happens!
Last, what are your hopes and dreams for your career?
I just want to make good music, really high-quality music and reach new audiences to take my music where it deserves to be taken.
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Interview by Llewelyn Screen