Peekay's Upbeat Track 'Much Better' Releases To High Acclaim
Cheerful and energetic music is the need of the hour to combat the dismay caused by the second wave. ‘Much Better’, Pranati Khanna aka Peekay’s latest single, fits this description well with its uplifting sound and playful music video. Born and raised in Hyderabad, Peekay has had an interesting career thus far. After being the lead singer of an indie band called ‘Spellcheck’, formerly known as ‘The Ragamuffins’, she chose to embark on her journey as a solo artist. Music is her favoured genre, but she is also an artist as well as a vocal mental health and LGBTQIA+ rights advocate.
“I was surrounded by art in my childhood, and grew up listening to Rock & Roll with my parents. Their music choices played a huge role in my song-writing, approach to my career and my singing style,” she shares candidly. Peekay made a foray into her musical career by performing at pubs, while studying a course in animation, hoping to save enough money to be able to pay for a design course at Parsons School of Design, New York.
That dream did not materialise, but it gave way to another one – Peekay became immensely popular in Hyderabad, both as a musician and as a designer. Her success allowed her to be able to perform throughout the country, open her own design firm and partner with the Olive group to launch a speakeasy called ‘Giggle Water’ - Hyderabad’s only Jazz bar and LGBTQIA+ inclusive venue.
She decided to go solo in 2020 and released her first single ‘Good, Old Fashioned in Love’. The track was produced by Grammy nominated producer Jonathan Anand
Wesley and hit 20,000 listens in the first month of release. Its success spurred her on to release ‘Dunno’, which was followed by ‘Much Better’ in March 2021, for which she once again collaborated with Jonathan Anand Wesley.
Peekay jubilantly shares, “I am grateful that my efforts to tell stories through my music and spread positivity and truth have not gone unnoticed. I received an ASIA INC. 500 award for my contribution to the Arts in 2016. I have also had the privilege of giving two TEDX talks on song-writing, women’s rights and mental health.”
The most recent and glowing recognition of her work came from Rolling Stone magazine and Spotify – both of which featured ‘Much Better’. The single has also been featured on numerous official Spotify Editorial Playlists including the likes of ‘Radar India’, ‘Women of Indie India’ and ‘EQUAL’, which was a special playlist released on International Women’s Day to honour female creators around the world. The latter even found its way to a Billboard in Times Square in New York. Additionally, her upbeat track has also been featured in the Apple Music Playlist called ‘Breaking Indian Independent’, as well as one on Jio Saavn, and some privately curated lists such as Maed in India Indie Find. The popularity of the track is evident from its having been played by all mainstream radio stations throughout the length and breadth of the country. Radio One, Radiocity, RedFM’s ‘RedIndies Shuffle’ and Big FM in Shillong, Aizawl and Guwahati, have all played it.
When asked about her future plans, Peekay declares, “I am working on releasing two more singles in 2021. The next one is titled ‘Lord, Take This Cup’, and is being produced by guitarist and renowned producer, Keshav Dhar. It is due for release at the end of June. The one following that is being produced by Jonathan Edward and is titled ‘You Don’t Have To’. It is due for tentative release in September 2021. Both tracks fall within a Soul / RnB genre and are reminiscent of a sound like H.E.R or Mahalia.”
Peekay’s track ‘Much Better’ can be currently streamed on all leading platforms.
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