Picture Credits: Akshay Rao
Pranati Khanna, also known as Peekay, is making waves with her latest track Merciless, a powerhouse of polished and heavy rock sound. Pranati’s journey reflects a deep connection with her music, which began in childhood and has matured through various phases, including her time in LA. In this interview, Pranati discusses the creative process behind Merciless, her relationship to pop and rock, and her upcoming projects, offering a glimpse into her relentless drive and evolving artistry.
"Merciless" has a very polished and heavy sound. Can you tell us about the creative process behind this track and how it evolved from initial ideas to the final product?
I actually wrote it as I usually do with a much simpler structure and sent the song idea to Eddy (Jonathan Edward) who is the other half of this project, producer and guitarist of Peekay. He blew it up! I love how heavy he made it.
I guess both of us really have been inching towards making music we resonate more with, which is Prog/Thrash/core stuff and so we're making each release heavier than the last, essentially. So if you notice from the album Starlight till Merciless there's been a progressive climb in the sound.
You also used to make pop music, how did you shift to rock and what sort of differences do these two forms bring in yourself or your music?
You also used to make pop music, how did you shift to rock and what sort of differences do these two forms bring in yourself or your music?
I actually always made Rock. It started with The Ragamuffins, which was my first band . We were a proper Rock band. We did one tour in 2017-18. We later rebranded as Spell Check. And we disbanded only a couple years into us picking up popularity. I was kind of bummed about that but I also got really busy with my marketing and design firm, The Whole Shebang. So I actually stepped away from music for a couple years. It was my business partner/buddy and ex guitarist of Spell Check, Ricky Raymond, who pushed me to get back to writing and recording. He knew I was half a person without music. Business and design are great but music is my soul. So yeah! I got back to the scene but when I came "back" it was all different. RnB was a thing and Rock wasn't at all. I was confused. I was anyway doing these commercial Jazz gigs at hotels and stuff so I thought "okay let's hop on board the popular train" and I wrote a couple cute pop/Rnb songs. I hate them now and they're so cringe. But I guess everyone loved them. I don't resonate. No point to being a sellout when there's no money in it. If I'm making art for the sake of art I may as well be authentic.
How did you think of becoming a musician?
How did you think of becoming a musician?
I don't know how to do anything else. literally all I know how to do is make designs, paint, sing, compose and play a little guitar. When I was a kid I would deal with difficult situations by comforting myself with making up songs about my emotions. Poetry was a big thing for me and I was a literature major in school so I practiced writing in verse. I guess I've been writing songs since I was 11? So being a musician was inevitable.
Picture credits: Shitabh Pillai
How do you feel about balancing your Indian music background with your new experiences in the U.S.?
I love that I can do western music in India. I have an audience for it but the platforms and stages are not enough and I don't see too much opportunity in terms of growth or expansion with my vision. So I'm here in LA to learn and get a beating from the music industry as much as possible. I want to know the harsh reality of the hustle. And being Indian, all I've ever known is beatings and hustle haha! So I'm surviving just fine I reckon so far. I have a long way to go yet.
Can you give us a sneak peek into what we can expect from your upcoming music?
Can you give us a sneak peek into what we can expect from your upcoming music?
Eddy, Keshav Dhar and I are finishing up another single which we've been performing live all through 2024. It's another one of the "I wrote it on garageband and Eddy blew it up to the sexy wild beast it is now" stories. It's my favourite Peekay song ever I think so I'm trying to collaborate with some awesome film peeps to do a music video here. Thereafter we have lined up a collaboration which I am super exicited about and it'll be our heaviest single yet. And we rinse and repeat!
Words Paridhi Badgotri
Date 17.09.2024
Picture credits: Shitabh Pillai