Q&A with Pratika Prabhune, vocalist who recently released a single 'Toxic' with GrooveBot, the brainchild of Chinmay Agharkar, guitarist of progressive rock band Paradigm Shift and grunge band HOOK from Mumbai.
Tell us a bit about your latest venture 'Toxic' with Groovebot.
GrooveBot was the first opportunity I’ve got in a few years to do something in metal. Chinmay, whose brainchild is GrooveBot, is an old friend, and we actually had a band together that fizzled out before it became anything serious. We’d always been meaning to work with each other and I’m glad this is an opportunity that came along.
He is a killer guitarist and I’m excited for upcoming releases from GrooveBot. I got the chance to write a nu/industrial metal song, among my favourite metal genres, so I just went for it!
You seem to be on a creative streak this lockdown with multiple releases and collaborations. Could you tell us about the other projects you've been a part of?
It all started with my debut single as a solo artist called ‘Burn’ produced by Calm, one half of hip hop act Seedhe Maut. I was basically fried, working most of the time, not being able to do anything for so many years, and for a bit I think I was plain lazy.
After my hip hop debut, all the other incomplete songs / new ideas just started finding their way to the surface. I had recorded over three other songs last year - two were on rock project DefGiant’s EP titled In Another World. The songs were ‘Neon Dream’ with just me on vocals, and ‘Man in the Cell’ with Tienas on vocals, and me backing him plus doing vocal harmonies.
Tienas and I seem to find the spot musically sometimes, and one day after work he called me in to do a small part of one of his songs. It became a part of his latest record Season Pass, and the song is called ‘The Ballad of Trilodkars’. It’s another dark one, a very brutal story. Really glad to be a part of that.
I also had an unfinished melody with Daira frontman Piyush Kapoor on the song ‘To The High’ from last year, so we decided to finish that off too. Then came along GrooveBot and I was more than happy to do it! You seem to be successfully juggling the roles of a working professional and a musician. How do you find a balance?
Sometimes I feel like I actually don’t, haha! Well, working with Azadi Records right now has been a real good thing for me, devoid of any distractions and emotions beyond it. Everyone is super supportive all the time and I just stick to what I’m doing while being able to squeeze in time to do other projects of my interest, recording when I need to now and then. They have been the biggest blessing in disguise over the past year, keeping my sanity in check.
What is next for you?
I have 2-3 more songs lined up, so excited for that too. Pretty much learned to balance life in lockdown so the music won’t stop! I’m working on a few other things of my own with subjects I’ve learned, and I’m trying to learn a new language also because learning never stops. So all that awaits! :)
SREEDEVI MANOHAR, SRIKIRAN K