Prateek Kuhad

Prateek Kuhad is an Indian singer-songwriter and musician who makes independent music in Hindi and English. He is best known for his track "cold/mess".

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.

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. His debut album, In Tokens & Charms, was released in 2015. He also signed a publishing deal with Los Angeles–based company Cutcraft Music. Kuhad became the first Indian artist to be signed by the American record label Elektra Records in 2020.

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

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.

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 is also said to be inspired from a kid of the same name as his whose vocals were outstanding, sometime during his visit to UP. He was also inspired by Lucky Ali. The acoustic guitar is Kuhad's primary instrument, but he also plays 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.

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

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
 * Best Pop Artist Award at the Radio City Freedom Awards 2018

Kuhad's 2018 song "cold/mess" was featured on former US president Barack Obama's "Favorite Music of 2019" list.