Hey Pranatricks, can you provide a brief overview of your musical background and how you got started as an artist?
Sure, well my mom is an artist (painter) and I have had the privilege of watching her craft develop over the past many many years. Musically I remember waking up as a child, and still to this day, with a melody in my head. Something I had heard and it would just stay there. We had a piano and I loved the sound of it but often my parents would get annoyed with me playing with it so I learned that music was sort of this thing that you had to do quietly or in secret. I would listen to certain music over and over until one day my mom decided to get me a guitar. So I started playing here and there when I was 15. Played in a couple of bands in high school and started writing songs. I never took it seriously but I would pick up the guitar at certain times of the year and pen a couple of songs but would rarely ever show anyone. It wasn’t until 2005 that I started sharing and playing out at cafe’s and open mics. That was when I did some serious woodshedding and found out what it’s really like to perform on your own. Through a producer friend that I was working with I met Michael Fraser who would eventually become my band mate and we formed the band Fur Bearing Animals and released a Self Titled EP in 2008. We played a bunch of shows and had lots of fun but eventually ran out of steam. That’s when I started Pranatricks around 2010. I released two albums through bandcamp that I recorded on Sound Studio in 2011 (Doorsteps and Winds) and then kinda put music down for a while. Started a family, built a professional career but I would still play and record lots of ideas. In 2020 I pushed the go button and decided it was time to start releasing music again. I released my debut album Cherished in early 2023 after releasing the album as 12 singles in 1 month increments throughout 2022 and here we are 2 releases into my second album ‘Elements of’
What motivated you to choose the name “Pranatricks” and what does it signify for you?
I was teaching a lot of yoga back then and in that world you can get lost in the representation of what the practice of yoga is. It can become a bit of a popularity contest and everyone is trying to be the next yogalebrity. You know, you have to do all these fancy poses with your body to show how much you know, when actually the practice has very little to do with the body and much more to do with the heart space and mind. So Pranatricks was more of a parody to say look what I can do with all this life force energy (Prana) and maybe I’ll trick you into listening so that a deeper message, through the music reveals itself.
Can you describe your evolution as an artist from your earliest works to where you are now?
I guess the evolution is really becoming more comfortable with what you’re working with. For me, the whole process from playing guitar, singing and then recording music is such a journey that I feel I’m still just uncovering. You get more comfortable with what you are putting out there over time. There is so much value in putting yourself out there because you are guaranteed to fall on your face and you have to pick yourself up and keep going. I guess for me some of my earliest works I never released but I would record them and still have them today, maybe there is a good idea in there somewhere, for sure there is, but when I listen to them, just the sound of the vocal take you say to yourself wow that was so long ago and you know exactly when you recorded it. There’s a feeling of absolute cringe when you hear it because you know exactly where you were at that time in developing your craft. It can be almost painful to relisten to those takes because it brings back those emotions of uncovering what was hidden for so long. Maybe in 10 years I’ll listen back to what I am doing now and cringe? I hope not but it’s all a journey toward offering your creativity to the world.
How do you deal with creative blocks or moments when inspiration seems elusive?
Hmmm, I try not to pay attention to them or I just put it down. Usually when a song wants to come it arrives in full force without me having to do much but enjoy its arrival and write it down, and or save it to my voice memos. It’s not like I am on a major label and have to produce an album in a certain time period or else I don’t get paid, LOL. So I try to just enjoy it.
“Johnny Self” is your latest single. Can you provide some insight into the song’s concept and its significance to you?
Sure, the lyrics are written as an autobiographical fictional narrative shedding light on a time when I was actually first starting to put my music out there. The song itself is 15 years old at least and represents a lot of what I was describing above in my own evolution. Falling on your face and picking yourself back up and ultimately learning about who and what you want to represent in the world. I think we all go through these very subjective and reflective times. We should explore deeply who we think we are. Everything may fall apart then but what you gain are some basic foundations of what you can build upon. For Johnny, as noted in the last verse of the song, “didn’t care what it was that all those people said, and with nothing left to hide you see Johnny found out more about himself,” that was it…everything is ok once you get to the point of honoring yourself and not caring what everyone else thinks of what you are doing.
Could you walk us through the process of bringing “Johnny Self” to life, from initial inspiration to final recording?
Inspirationally, I remember writing the tune when I was hanging around with my pal Jon Middleton (Ocie Elliot, Jon and Roy). He is such a prolific songwriter and is finally enjoying a lot of success. He gave me the muse to unlock the narrative within. I remember it being around 2006 and I probably recorded it a few times over the years. I had it laying around somewhere and it probably wasn’t until putting the track list together for the second album that I decided to include it. I found a rough sketch of the recording on a hard drive and re-tracked the instrumentation. Building the bridge was super fun with all the layered synths and vocal shots. I guess then just spending lots of time mixing it and sending it off to get mastered and here it is. Ya but really it’s crazy to think that it’s been a work in progress for 17 years!
In what ways do you feel “Johnny Self” showcases your artistic growth and maturity compared to your previous works?
I suppose from a production standpoint. Producing music is an art form in itself. I have so much to learn in that world. Really I just find it easier to make things myself and learn how to do it then pay gobs of money to someone to do it for me. Not that there isn’t value in that, the only way I learnt it in the first place was to pay someone. Because it feels like an early song I suppose the maturity isn’t there for me, but I would have never released it earlier without knowing how to produce it to a point that I find it interesting.
Could you recount a memorable moment or anecdote from the creative process of “Johnny Self”?
Haha, it all seems like a blur, but I do remember my wood stove burning close to where my studio set up is. I try to track everything in the joining room but if you listen carefully you may be able to hear a crackling of the fire coming through. Because it was winter on the East Coast of Vancouver Island, it was dark and wet and cold outside so the fire was the only thing to keep me warm. I love that about my studio space right now.
What can we expect from Pranatricks in terms of future releases or projects?
Any hints about what’s on the horizon? For sure, Johnny Self is the second single off of my second album ‘Elements of’ that will be releasing April 4th, 2024. I will be releasing another 5 tracks from the album every six weeks until the full album is released, so lots of music is coming!
Finally, what advice would you give to emerging artists who are striving to find their own unique sound and make a mark in the industry?
Keep going, there is room for everyone.
