How are indie musicians from North-East India pushing the boundaries?

From performing at big-ticket festivals to creating a digital presence, musicians from the North-East are leaving no stone unturned

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.”

Scaling a new high

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.

Mech, who made it to a few editorial placements on Spotify and currently has Again on the “Dinner and Chill” playlist, says he consciously reached out to people outside of Nagaland, and it gained him some more “visibility” on a national level. Other than that, he simplifies his approach: “It’s just been about taking it day by day. I’m trying to put out as many songs as possible.”

Shifting geographies

Beyond making the right moves out of the indie musician playbook, Mech and his ilk have simply put forward what music from the North-East has long been known for—sublime voices, warm instrumentation and rock-solid songwriting skills. The access to technology and good equipment has come in more recently; their hearts were in the right place all along.

While some musicians have adapted to challenges within their respective states and thrived from home, Itanagar-born drummer and artist manager Sange Wangchuk saw more sense in moving to Bengaluru. A drummer in progressive metal bands (one of which even included the now soft-spoken, emotive Chake) in Arunachal Pradesh, Sange started out as a violinist but was soon enamored by the number of international artists he was aching to watch perform. It led him to Bengaluru, a hub for international gigs. He is now part of neo-hip-hop act T.ill APES, plays live drums for rapper HanuMankind (Suraj Cherukut) and heads the Wangchuk Trio as a jazzman. He has also been teaching drums for the last decade and now manages artists including pop/jazz/fusion singer-songwriter Aditi Ramesh.

American folk-informed artist Anoushka Maskey moved from Sikkim to Mumbai, whereas Manipur-origin multi-instrumentalist Lojal (Martin Haokip) moved to Bengaluru, and later to Goa during the pandemic, keeping his shapeshifting sound his key focus. Do yourself a favour and check out his debut album Phase (2020), which packs in all the intrigue of a dark, pop and hip-hop record.

While Sange had moved to Bengaluru, he knew there were gig-parched audiences waiting in the North-East, including in Itanagar. This is why T.ill APES put together their Apeship tour late last year, proving that there was now a growing infrastructure to support a band on the road. However, it came with its own set of challenges. “It was really hard to tour three different North-Eastern states over a weekend since the distances are huge and the only mode of travelling was by car,” says Sange. They performed in Guwahati, Itanagar and Shillong. Sange’s main agenda, though, was to show local young producers and musicians that T.ill APES’ groovy blend of funk, neo-soul, R&B and hip-hop can indeed work on stage.

In sync with the times

The artists who have thrived within the North-East are indie rockers Meewakching from Imphal, R&B/pop singer-composer Shane from Shillong, Dimapur’s playful singer-songwriter Temsu Clover, rapper Jelo from Aizawl and arena-ready alt-rockers Trance Effect, also from Nagaland.

Guwahati-based label No Binary worked with Trance Effect to put vibrant music videos for songs like More Love, Took Me A While and booked them for their own concert tour Fusefest last year. Trance Effect bassist Imnamaong Imchen says it’s been a tough couple of years due to the pandemic, but they’re forging ahead. The band released a single called I’m On Your Side last year and now have an EP in the works. “The kind of music we play is based on our life experiences, the struggles we all face, and to have a positive view in life. We want our listeners to go through the happy journey with us together, and to experience the roller-coaster ride with us,” he says.

Jelo has teamed with Mumbai-/New Delhi-based label Azadi Records for his debut album and the resolute first single Welcome to the West Side , releasing later this month. Clover, for her part, also has an album in the works for release this year. Known for songs like Dumplings for the Sad, and, most recently, All my plants are dying, there’s a modern-day existentialist dread and hope intertwined in memorable production work. “I have been experimenting with modern sounds while keeping my authenticity in check. [The album] is going to make listeners cry and dance at the same time. That’s all I can say for now. I don’t want to ruin the surprise party,” Clover says with a laugh.

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