Musician Pranati Khanna might have made a switch from classic rock to jazz only about a couple of years ago, but today, she’s one of the few artistes in the city who represent this genre. Her set of loyal fans have been thronging to newly opened Gigglewater to hear her soulful vocals in the dim-lit setting.
“When I started to perform with musician Denis Powell, who is also the music teacher at Hyderabad Public School, I was really introduced to jazz. He calls it ‘the father of all genres’,” shares the city-based singer. After a couple of jam sessions, she began to enjoy it and gradually transitioned to this genre in her gigs. Although jazz doesn’t have a large audience in the city, Pranati did her bit in getting people interested to listen. “People didn’t know too much about the genre or the musicians associated with jazz. Fortunately, they have been eager to explore something new. It’s good that they’re open to all kinds of music,” she adds.
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Interestingly, Pranati didn’t receive professional training in any form of music. As a child, she listened to a lot of The Beatles and Led Zeppelin, courtesy her parents’ love for music. At 13, she began writing songs and also picked up the guitar. She also watched videos and learnt how to play the instrument. “Music was an everyday conversation during my childhood. Even in school, I was one of the few students who enjoyed learning new songs. During my high school, my music teacher taught me as much as he could, and I made the most of that time. As I grew up, I knew music was going to be my career option too,” says the Nasr Girls School alumna.
Almost a decade since her first gig in the city, the self-taught vocalist now performs with her band Spellcheck (earlier Ragamuffins). Apart from Pranati, the line-up includes Ricky Raymond (guitars), Alex Varghese (drums), Sanju Moses (bass) and Jonathan Edward (guitar). “I must admit that I love playing with the band than performing solo. We have the same love for hard rock, that’s the positive energy which brings us together. We also play originals, and when we’re together, we are at our creative best is put out,” shares Pranati. The band also performed for Kappa TV recently and is also set to release a single later this month.
At Gigglewater.
Tonight, 8.30pm.