By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Eastern Beats Music Society, a socio-cultural organisation working for the promotion of North East culture and establishment of new vistas with other countries, especially Asia, has announced the launch of its 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 NEC, Shillong, the society is calling for auditions from talented artists and musicians from the North East to be a part of a unique exercise which will culminate with the 4 th Guwahati International Music Festival 2020.
The first state-level music audition for artists from Assam and Nagaland will be inaugurated in Dimapur on December 30 by ICCR Guwahati Regional Director Madhur Kankana Roy in the presence of Theja Meru, adviser, Task Force of Music and Arts, Government of Nagaland. After that, auditions will be held in Aizawl on January 4, Shillong on January 7 and Ukhrul, Manipur on January 10.
The event is being held in multiple stages where local talents will be mentored and provided a stage to perform with celebrated artists of the region and other parts of the country.
The mammoth three-month 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 Rs 1,50,000.
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.