Bangkok-born, Sheffield-based pop newcomer Pran is here to tell the truth. With his shimmering debut single, “All I Need Is Love,” now out in the world, the 21-year-old singer, songwriter, and producer (born Jessada Malakul) is stepping fully into his moment: emotionally raw, sonically smooth, and completely self-made.
The track—a sleek, R&B-laced electropop cut laced with heartbreak and self-acceptance—started on his iPad and ended up in the hands of Grammy-nominated mixing engineers. But its soul belongs to Pran. It’s the kind of song you loop at midnight when your brain won’t shut up and your chest still remembers the last goodbye.
From moody visuals and tight hooks to the kind of production polish that doesn’t come easy for indie artists, Pran is a Gen Z pop star in the making—sensitive, stylish, and unafraid to say the thing out loud.
We sat down with Pran to talk about heartbreak, creative control, his Thai roots, and “All I Need Is Love.”
“All I Need Is Love” feels intensely personal. What moment or realization sparked the creation of this song?
For me this song doesn’t begin with just one spark; it’s more of adding to what I already did. This song began with me experimenting and trying to find inspiration from Spotify’s top hit chart at the time, and I came across one song that has a beat that I like. Then I created something similar on my iPad, and the rest of the instrument just followed after. After that I listened to the song on loop to get a feel for the lyrics, and then the words “all I need is love“ came up, and I recorded the chorus on the post-hook immediately after. Going from the name, I think back on how those words impacted my life, and I find the two versions of me that keep repeating these words in my mind. The first version is when I still seek love from outside of me, but it doesn’t bring me any happiness, and it’s kind of like I’m complaining, “All I need is love. Why can’t the world give it to me?” and the second version is like, “All I need is love, and I can give it to myself, and I don’t need an outside source to make me happy now.” Then I thought about the story of how I learned to accept and love myselfafter a breakup, and the rest of the lyrics just came from there.
What emotional journey were you hoping to take listeners on with this single?
I guess the emotional journey of the listeners of the song is like a piece of art where everyone can go through their own unique experiences from the song and feel it however they want to feel it. Whether someone resonates with the lyrics or just likes the music anyway is fine by me.
How did working with collaborators like Brent Kolatalo and Elliot James Mulhern influence the final sound of the song?
To be honest, I was still shocked at the end result when I received my song back from them. Overall, I’ll say they cleaned up the sounds and improved on what I did and made the tracks so much better. The instruments blend together perfectly, and my vocals fit in with the track amazingly. Brent also added other elements to the song, such as the smooth transition and filter, etc. It’s like seeing a Lego house I built for fun turn into a full home, and it’s beautiful.
The music video for “All I Need Is Love” has a moody, cinematic tone. What story were you trying to tell visually?
For the music video, I wanted to show the polarity between the two different sections of the song while making it not too boring because the song is quite long. The main part is filled with colors and objects to show the luxury on the outside but hollowness inside, while the other parts are lighter, representing how I found the light at the end of the tunnel and found self-love. The director came up with the apple part, which represents my heart, and other objects, which represent the luxurious but hollow aspect.
You write, produce, and perform your own music. What’s the most challenging part of wearing all those hats—and the most rewarding?
For me, the hardest part is learning the skills to do all three and prioritizing when to do what while also sticking with the overall vision to make all the aspects remain cohesive. As for the most rewarding aspect, I love the feeling of being creative and the freedom to express myself fully in music without having to depend on other people to produce the music for me. However, in future projects, I also wanted to work with other producers and songwriters to see their creative approach and adapt it into my own as well.
You’ve cited artists like The Weeknd and Lisa as influences. What have you learned from them, musically?
For the Weeknd, I really like his melody and how he combines different synths to create his own style, which inspired me to do the same. As for Lisa, she did not inspire me musically, but she inspired me as a Thai person to go for the global market instead of just producing Thai music.
You started making music in your teens using GarageBand. What do you remember about those early sessions that still sticks with you?
There are a lot of lessons I’ve learned along the way, but the most important and earliest lesson for me is to have fun and not be too serious when it comes to making music, because it shows in your work. For me, having fun and passion should be one of, if not the first, priorities, as it keeps you wanting to experiment and keeps you in that flow state.
Now studying in the UK, how has that shift in environment influenced your artistry or perspective on pop music?
For me, I have a limited understanding of pop music, as when I was in Thailand, Western pop music only played in some places, or I had to search for it on streaming platforms. But when I moved to the UK, I heard it everywhere, from the mall to my friends’ playlists, and there was no escaping it, and eventually it sunk in somehow.
Listen to Pran’s “All I Need Is Love” on all streaming platforms, and follow him on Instagram to keep up with what’s next.