MUMBAI: Prateek Kuhad, multi-lingual singer/songwriter, recently launched his debut studio album 'In Token & Charms'. The ten-track album is said to be a collection of "personal love songs" that speak of youth, naivety, relationships, passion and infidelity.

Elaborating on the album Kuhad said, "I've been writing the songs on the album for the past two years almost. They were filtered out of a number a songs I had written over this period. I started working on the production of the album about 4-5 months before we went in to record the album, which then took about a month."

'In Tokens & Charms' features Nikhil Vasudevan on drums and percussion, Sahil Warsi on double bass, Danny Severance on violin and Jacob Cohen on cello, with Kuhad on guitars and keys. The album was recorded in a studio in New York. Talking about the studio he said, "We found really amazing people to work with, in a really great environment. The studio we found had amazing gear and a really great vibe. It seemed like the best place to produce the album, especially considering the sound I had in mind for it."

Although the album is an independent release, Kuhad calls it a joint effort as he worked closely with his manager, Dhruv Singh and a few others, who are a part of Pagal Haina Records. The Delhi-based musician has also released one music video for the track 'Oh Love' from the album.

Like many musicians, Kuhad cites some of the greats like The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Frank Sinatra, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Pearl Jam as his influences, amongst others. But when asked which artist he would like to collaborate with, given the chance, he says Ed Sheeran.

To support the release of his full length album, Kuhad will embark on a kind of tour that no other independent Indian singer/songwriter has before- an amphitheatre/ auditorium tour. It will see him travel to four cities starting with Delhi from the end of this month.

On why he chose this kind of a tour he says, "My favourite way to listen to music is to be comfortable in a quiet space and actually 'listen' to the music. Having played at both kinds of venues - quiet, sit down amphitheatres/auditoriums and bars and clubs - we realised that the vibe was always the best in the former. This is my first full length album, and we wanted everything around it to be special, and so we decided to stick to only auditoriums and amphitheatres, to ensure the very best listening experience."

Tour Dates

Delhi

30 January 2015 at Akshara Theatre

Mumbai

3 February at Little Theatre, NCPA

Pune

7 February 2015 at Kalachhaya Cultural Centre

Bangalore

10 February 2015 at Jagriti Theatre

Photo credit - Parizad D