Cross miles for music

A simple boy from a nondescript district in the Assam hills sets his foot on the Bollywood highway to try his luck. Sheer musical talent and dreams in his eyes were his only luggage to fall back on. But Angaraag Mahanta aka Papon dug in his heels only to one day carve a niche for himself.

Born to eminent folk vocalists of Assam Archana and Khagen Mahanta no wonder, this affable boy can effortlessly blend earthy strains with hi-tech contemporary genres. A multi-instrumentalist, composer, singer and a record producer, Papon is becoming one of the most recognisable voices in India.

Blessed with a rich, sonorous tonal quality and an infectiously sweet grin, this soft-spoken Sagittarian is also a huge draw with his band Papon & the EiC (East India Company) as an indie musician. The outfit is widely acclaimed for marrying east-Indian folk strains with western electronic arrangements.

Good news is that Papon & the EiC is all set to head for a Europe tour shortly and will be covering cities across Portugal, Serbia, Armenia, The Netherlands and Germany.

Deciding his future course, the 38-year-old multi-talented says: “You know, I hardly have any expectations from this impending journey, but we are thoroughly excited from the core to get this rare opportunity to play in such faraway places.

It’s so much fun actually to be exposed to interesting new places, know their culture and music. I think I’m very  fortunate to be able to convert my passion into profession.”

The troupe comprises Papon (vocals, guitars), Jeenti (guitars), Sanket Naik (world percussions), Deepu (bass), Tanmay (drums) and Munu (keys). Their kitty has a string of styles ranging from folk mixed with electronica, rock and ballads.

Open to a cultural exchange programme, Papon insists that he is already planning to walk the talk. “Well as visitors, we’re going to introduce people of overseas nations to our Indian culture, music, love and unity. In return, I hope to receive the same from my hosts. Basically, it will be an interpersonal give-and-take to facilitate a two-way dialogue process so that we can strengthen our ties and bonding through the happy harmonies of music,” he announces.

Recently, Papon has also added a cool side to his multi-faceted résumé by scoring an anthem for the NorthEast United FC, a football team in the ongoing Indian Super League, owned by Bollywood hunk John Abraham.

Called ‘We’re The Eight’, the song is a fantastic amalgamation of the traditional with modern. Considering that it involved flavours and interludes from the zone of ‘seven sisters’, the project seemed right up his alley at the outset. A galaxy of established names was roped in to work on the anthem which has everything from folk, samba, rock to rap and even dubstep.