{"id":5976,"date":"2022-02-17T17:24:14","date_gmt":"2022-02-17T11:54:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalmusicinstitute.in\/?p=5976"},"modified":"2022-02-17T17:51:54","modified_gmt":"2022-02-17T12:21:54","slug":"gmi-x-ahh-how-diversity-and-integration-are-slowly-powering-north-east-indias-labels-by-anurag-tagat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalmusicinstitute.in\/v1\/gmi-x-ahh-how-diversity-and-integration-are-slowly-powering-north-east-indias-labels-by-anurag-tagat\/","title":{"rendered":"GMI x AHH | How Diversity and Integration are Slowly Powering North East India\u2019s Labels by Anurag Tagat"},"content":{"rendered":"

We’re excited to share the second piece from our collaboration with A Humming Heart<\/a>, an independently run, reader-supported, Indian music publication. Together, we bring to you an assortment of all things music- reviews, interviews, industry trends, and more. Today, we are sharing Anurag Tagat<\/a>\u2019s piece on North East India’s music and labels.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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Starting out as a metal guitarist who had chaotic riffs to boot with bands like Aberrant and now The Silent Offensive, Shillong-based Imti Kharkongor slowly moved into talent management and set up his company Emerdjence in 2018. \u201cEverything I learned, I learnt by being this annoying kid who had pressing questions whenever I travelled and met people. I didn\u2019t have answers back then in Meghalaya,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

As a natural step after getting into management, Kharkongor is now plotting to set up a record label to work on a closer level with artists. Currently, managing the likes of hip-hop group Khasi Bloodz, he says, \u201cArtists have approached me for stuff like distribution, marketing plans and music video planning, but I want to grow with the artists I have right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

In their neighbouring state of Assam, relatively seasoned scenesters Vikram Kushwaha and Kaushik Jai Barua are already taking the leap with a new entity called No Binary. \u201cMore than a record label in the traditional sense, No Binary is more like liquid matter, and we want it to morph into a kind of entity that can innovate new and definitive forms of music and entertainment in India and world-over,\u201d Kushwaha says of No Binary, which has about 25 artists they\u2019re working with.<\/p>\n

While record labels cropping up are not new and certainly not even a difficult thing to set up most times, it is something that is yet to be a mainstay in other parts of the country, especially the talent-rich North East of India. Rayhan Ahmed, currently based in Abu Dhabi and artist manager for rising Assamese voices such as Upatyaka Dutta, has been observing most movements in the two states for years. He opines that the slow change is reflective of the rest of India\u2019s changing attitudes toward the seven sister states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, and their brother state of Sikkim.<\/p>\n

He says, \u201cThe history of insurgency and cultural aspect fits into the narrative. It\u2019s only now that the rest of India is opening up to the North East. As North Easterners have gone out for jobs and studies, that\u2019s how the rest of India has known more of the region.\u201d This sort of integration has certainly been seen in the music space as well, not just when Meghalaya act Fame the Band moved based to Mumbai or previously artists such as Yesterdrive, Takar Nabam, The Vinyl Records or Minute of Decay made a name in New Delhi, but also with state-funded music festivals like Hornbill International Music Festival in Nagaland, Ziro Festival of Music in Arunachal and ShiRock in Manipur.<\/p>\n

Even on a smaller scale, gigs have been a gateway for creating communities, as hip-hop artist Mrinal Paul aka Moksh will admit about how his company MOX aka Movement of Expression became a record label in 2019. \u201cWe started off as a collective and started hosting gigs in 2017 \u2013 we hosted Enkore, Manmeet Kaur and more. \u00a0We sort of built a community around us. When we started releasing our content, we figured that beyond distribution, we could do this as a label and help artists. We were also getting a lot of queries from artists, so we wanted to look into the business side of things properly as a label starting last year,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Currently, working with a handful of artists and being very mindful of the limited resources they\u2019ve raised independently so far, Paul feels that artist development is the most pressing need. It\u2019s more important than just setting up a label that would simply distribute music. They\u2019re currently working with rapper Banrap Lyngdoh, teenaged artist Youngg Natee and more.<\/p>\n