Guwahati, Jan 8: Total 6 music bands from Manipur and Sikkim will perform during the fourth leg of Rhythms & Aromas of Northeast at the Town hall in Ukhrul on January 10 to compete and get selected and further perform at 4th Guwahati International Music Festival 2020 in Guwahati.
The bands who will be competing on January 10 are Salt and Light Travelling Band, Echoes of Mercy Band, Oking Band and the Antic Molecule Band from Manipur and Granite Yard Band and solo artist Ridgex from Sikkim. Selected artistes will also undergo intensive mentorship by industry experts and the chance to perform with music legends of Asia.
The first State-level music audition for artists from Assam and Nagaland was inaugurated in Dimapur on December 30, 2019. After Nagaland, auditions were held in Aizawl on January 4, Shillong on January 7, 2020.
Eastern Beats Music Society – a prominent socio-cultural organization working for promotion of NE culture and establishment of new vistas with other countries, especially Asia – has announced the launch of its highly ambitious and a first-of-its-kind Pan-Asian music project ‘Rhythms and Aromas of Northeast India’.
Under the project which is being held with the support of North Eastern Council, Shillong, the society is calling for auditions from talented artists and musicians from the 8 states of Northeast India to be a part of a unique exercise which will culminate with the 4th Guwahati International Music Festival 2020.
‘Rhythms & Aromas of Northeast India’ is being held in multiple stages across the entire region where local talents will be identified, mentored, groomed and provided a stage to perform alongside celebrated artists of the region and other parts of the country.
The mammoth three months long exercise also includes a unique music conference where stakeholders of the music industry will be invited to deliberate on latest musical trends as well as the business side of music.
To be held in the format of a festival promoting Northeast India through its rich and diverse music traditions, the objective of the project is to nurture and celebrate the rich musical talent and ethnic cuisines of the region, and use it as a means to foster people-to-people connectivity with ASEAN and other Asian countries.
In the grand finale to be held in the last week of February, the artists will perform alongside music legends of Asia, and the best of the selected Northeast artists/ bands will also walk away with prize money of Rupees One Lakh Fifty Thousand.
A brainchild of Northeast-based writer and cultural activist Aiyushman Dutta, the initiative will have multiple-pronged benefits as it will help identify and groom upcoming musical talents of the region, document the musical landscape of the region and also establish new cultural relations with our neighbouring countries and countries in Far-east Asia through music and food. The project also seeks to look at music as an industry and focuses on the creation of a vibrant musical eco-system, says Dutta.
