By Prasanta Phukon
Awakening is more than a music band. It is a vision that five young musicians shared. They wanted to infuse energy into dreary souls and shake the world up from slumber through their music. So they came together to form the modern rock music band.
Every song the band performs conveys a story. Vocalist Ness Bareh says the songs which they always enjoy performing on stage are One Life One God One Chance and We Cry Out.
“We Cry Out is one of the challenging songs but it is exciting to play it as it starts with a catchy melodic line under a beautiful chord progression and takes the song to a different climax with heavy riffs. This is one of our favourites,” says Bareh.
The other members — guitarists Aiborlang Marbaniang and Albinson Kurbah, bassist Rijied Marbaniang and drummer Dao Rajee — agree saying that the song has received much appreciation.
After years of jamming together and sharing their individual taste for music, the members have come up with their style of music, which is an amalgamation of different genres.
The band has performed at events like Autumn Festival in Meghalaya and Metropolis Asia and Rock Royalty in Shillong Polo Ground. In 2017, Awakening was named among the Sennheiser Top 50 bands, a ranking by Rolling Stone India. The band was 24th on the list.
However, the success and accolades could not distract the musicians from reality. “We all know that it is difficult for artistes to make a living out of their art and ideal dreams. So they all have alternate careers for survival. We are thankful that we are based in the rock capital of the country,” says Marbaniang.
The biggest difficulty that they have faced and are still facing as a band is the rarity of opportunities and most importantly the time to meet up for jamming.
“If music hadn’t happened we would have done anything that is as fun as music! All members have individual interests besides music,” Marbaniang adds.
On inspiration, Jied says that as passionate music makers, they find inspiration everywhere.
The musicians also draw inspiration from bands like Disciples, P.O.D, Love and Death, Thousand Footkrutch, Disturbed and Korn. “We have met some renowned bands like the Kids We Used To Know, Rex Carol and John Schlit,” says Bareh, adding that the band would love to collaborate with Disciple, Red, Love and Death and Thousand Footkrutch.
According to the members, “it is sad to see that people these days are more inclined to other kinds of music that are not tuned by a raw talent”. They wish to see more people following the kind of music that springs out of raw talents.
The Awakening members have done a number of supported and sponsored recordings. They are also in the process of writing their upcoming album which will come out soon.
The band believes that they still have a lot to do and accomplish as musicians. They are trying “every single day to reach their goals in life”.
“The band has gone through ups and downs, hit and crossed a number of milestones which have shaped Awakening and made it what it is now. We know that we are progressing every year and we hope to perform more and do more shows for our fans whom we want to thank for the support and encouragement,” Bareh says.
“Focus and dedication are key to success and all young and struggling musicians should keep that in mind,” he concludes.
Photo courtesy: Awakening