Guest interview and review by Jade Anna Hughes: for more of her writing, click here!
Sometimes you hear a voice and it immediately stirs something up inside, rouses emotions and pushes you to hear more. That was my reaction when I heard Pryti’s voice on her newest single, Bitter Pill. Dark, poignant, at times uplifting but heavily laced with thorough sprinkling of melancholia and nostalgia,
Pryti’s first album, Tales of a Melancholic, hits you like a punch in the face while simultaneously coating you in a soft veil. With lyrics that come from the heart, evoking love lost, questioning life and feelings, a voice that is both pure and heartbreaking, as well as the melodic and heavy guitars, Tales of a Melancholic is a great debut.
Metal is still a tough musical genre for women to make headway in, and it’s always refreshing to hear a new, talented female voice. I love how multi-talented and faceted Pryti is, as she not only writes and sings, she also plays guitar and bass and creates some stunning music to strengthen the power of her words. And on top of all of this she has taken her career into her own hands by creating her own record label, Welcome to Pariahville, and being her own manager. Pryti graciously took some time out of her day to give us more insight into the woman behind the music.
How did you start playing music? What made you pick up an instrument and start playing?
I’ve always loved music and it was always encouraged from when I was little. I played piano when I was younger but I always had to play boring pieces so I took it up again years after and was playing stuff I enjoyed. I’ve always been singing and writing songs so it was just a natural step to learn to play the guitar and piano.
Do you relate to any specific music trend/movement more than others?
I remember when I was at school the whole nu metal movement is how I got into rock and metal. I love pop music but I often felt like it didn’t get me and when Linkin Park came along they completely got me.
If you had to list a few influences (not confined to music), who or what would come up first?
A personal influence would be my family they keep me going when things get hard. Musically bands/artists and songwriters like Deftones, Linkin Park, Sarah McLachlan, Ani Difranco and Diane
Warren have influenced me a lot not just musically. Ani Difranco owns her own label and is very successful.
You manage your career yourself, up to releasing your material via your own record label. What are the upsides and the pitfalls of this? I can imagine that it’s pretty stressful at times, but fantastic to have full creative freedom at all times.
Creative freedom is definitely a big upside. It can be very difficult at times to get to the people you want to get to. I’m responsible for making things happen it can be frustrating at times but when goals that I have, get accomplished there is nothing like that feeling.
How are you treated by others when they find out you are a musician? Any good or bad stories that others may relate to? (One comment stood out to me on your Facebook page, something along the lines of it being a pity that you weren’t facing the camera in your video… This is something you would most likely not see when referring to a male musician!)
Majority of the time I get a good reaction. However, I’ve had occasions where people don’t believe I’m a hard rock singer songwriter as I don’t look like the stereotypical rock, metal musician. There have been times when I get the ‘really’ look it’s not always meant negatively but I know when it is. Once they have heard and seen what I can do they learn to not underestimate me. Oh yes your right if I was a man I wouldn’t have gotten that comment but I don’t take that comment personally because I don’t think it was meant that way. I once had this comment on YouTube ‘I only gave the song a chance because she had a guitar’. I doubt that person would have said that about a dude.
Are you planning a tour in the near future? Any US dates lined up?
Currently getting live stuff sorted so hopefully a tour will happen in the future no US dates yet.
If you were planning and playing at your own dream music festival who would you want to play alongside?
Deftones, John Mayer, Linkin Park, Sarah Mclachlan, Killswitch Engage and Halsey.
What are your plans for the next year?
I’m getting live stuff underway and writing more songs.
Tales of a Melancholic was released on Welcome to Pariahville last year and is available to download on all your usual digital outlets. Here's the starkly beautiful video for Bitter Pill on YouTube:
If you are a fan of Lacuna Coil, Deftones and Killswitch Engage you definitely need to check Pryti’s album out. And you can follow Pryti on Facebook by clicking here.
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