Friday 19 / April / 2024
Muscat: A former resident of Oman is attempting to make his dreams a reality, as he embarks on a career as a rock musician.
Prateek Rajagopal, who completed Indian School Al Ghubra in 2012, is now part of two rock music bands in Mumbai, India
The 22-year-old is theguitarist, composer and songwriterfor death metal band Gutslit, and also plays in the alternative progressive rock band, The Minerva Conduct. Also, he is about to release his first studio album for The Minerva Conduct this February.
While most young people are uncertain about what they want to be when growing up, Prateek was always sure he wanted to play in a band.
“I've always been obsessed with rock and metal music,” he said, speaking exclusively to Times of Oman. “It made me pick up the guitar and build all my guitar-playing techniques, too! I decided to attempt music full-time after interning with some corporate companies. It made me realize that I should try doing what I love and what I'm good at.
“It's just become such a vital part of my life that I can't live without it. Almost like everything just happened on its own, and here I am, a struggling musician in India,” he added.
Although this is his first studio album with The Minerva Conduct, Prateek has already performed live on tours across both India and Europe.
In 2015, he and his bandmates launched their Brutal Groves Grinding Moves tour across Europe, which saw them play in death metal festivals in various countries, including Brutal Assault in the Czech Republic, the Smile festival of Belgium, Moritzbastei in Germany, Industrie 45 in Switzerland and Pub Koba in Poland.
Having followed his passion, Prateek notes that it is very important for anyone who wants to pursue their dreams to have the support of their families.
“It was important for me to first make my parents happy, before convincing them about my passion,” he revealed. “That means I made sure I received good marks in school and college, ensured I secured some internship certificates and, basically, proved to them that in the worst-case I was fully capable of working in a corporate environment.
“They'd also been following my musical path for a long time, so it didn't come off as a surprise, for sure,” said Prateek. “But, if anyone wants to follow their passion, it’s important to make your parents happy first.”
While most people do think chasing their dream initially involves a lot of struggle and sacrifice, Prateek says there is a silver lining to this, because there is plenty of commercial work available to keep him afloat while he works on his pet projects.
“There's a lot of commercial work you can do,” he said. “Every state has a thriving cinema industry, and you can also be a composer or recording engineer in commercial music studios. I plan on helping out with making music for a few more bands from time to time. I'm slowly beginning to make money as a freelance musician, so once it gets better it'll all go uphill.”
Looking back, says Prateek, there is nothing he would have done differently.
“Everything is a learning curve, as long as you do everything that's in your hands,” he said. “Hard work, motivation, and dedication in this industry is absolutely necessary, and I do all of it.
“I hope to maybe play in the Royal Opera House Muscat one day,” he added.
