On the art gracing the cover of his debut single Again (2020) and his EP From A Bamboo Room (2021), Dimapur-bred Abdon Mech is portrayed as a no-frills singer-songwriter, expectedly posing with an acoustic guitar. The lack of embellishment is reflected in both releases sonically as well. However, if you look at photos from Mech’s recent gigs, he seems to be having a manic time on a shiny white Fender Squier Stratocaster electric guitar, the gold standard for indie rock artists. He’s quick to (half) deflect that stereotype. “Don’t be fooled—with the electric guitar, I’m not playing fancy solos, I’m just exploring different sounds, mostly in indie-pop. It’s a lot of fun. The earlier side of me is very much part of who I am as an artist. It’s a mix of both now,” he says.
Performing in and around Nagaland at music festivals and intimate gatherings, Mech’s last big gig was a coveted one for most independent artists—the Bacardi NH7 Weekender in Pune held last month. The artist says he was surprised to receive the call to perform, particularly if it was based on his vulnerable, acoustic-led tunes like Again. Mech says, “The kind of music I play live and the direction I head [towards] is very different from the songs I have on streaming sites.”
A big-ticket music festival is no longer the only leap for recognition and fan following, evident from Mech’s case itself. Everyone from Arunachalese singer-songwriter Taba Chake to Shillong-based hip-hop artist Meba Ofilia have made moves, unlike their predecessors of rock and pop from North-East India. They have signed up on music distribution platforms like TuneCore, CD Baby and Horus. More labels such as the genre-busting No Binary Records exist, and editorial playlists on streaming giants like Spotify and Apple Music have made a big difference during the Covid-19 pandemic in terms of amping up digital presence.
Itanagar-based singer-songwriter Carolina Norbu—who recently released her pop EP Chemistry not just on streaming platforms but also on YouTube with a short film—says the infrastructure in the North-East has a long way to go. “We do have a few more venues for live shows and well-equipped studios. But compared to the mainland, the North-East still has several milestones to cover. There are only a handful of venues in each state in the North-East where musicians get paid gigs. On the other hand, the number of musicians [here] is exponentially on the rise,” Norbu adds.