The echo from the hills

Hailing from the hills, Shillong-based folk singer Shubham Roy dived into the sea of music after he grew up listening to ‘kirtans’ by his mother and grandmother.

Folk and fusion notes clinked like marbles for him and at the tender age of 10, he was tutored in Indian classical music, ‘Rabindra Sangeet’ and Bengali folk music.

Ironic as it seems, Shubham embraces new genres and innovations with open arms but is old-school when it comes to the ‘riyaz’ or practice.

He believes in the traditional way of learning rather than taking the technological route as he feels that the latter may hinder the potential of the voice. And the former route is what he began to tread.

As his experience and knowledge slowly seeped into his sub-conscious, he began composing over the years. His move to Bengaluru in 2012 has proved a blessing as he has performed in various national venues such as Chinnaswamy Stadium and Freedom Park.

“It has been a crazy ride,” he recalls. “I have opened shows for some prominent artistes such as Usha Uthup, Raghu Dixit, Karthik Das Baul and Zubeen Garg. I have also worked on the playback for the Malayalam movie ‘Kumbasaram’ for the audio track ‘Nila Veyilil’,” he says, beaming with pride.

 “This was a challenging project,” he explains, as he had to work hard to sing in a language that is unfamiliar to him and perfect the diction.

His collaboration with his friends for the Hindi song ‘Aankhi’ is another milestone in his career and was featured on MTV Roots. ‘Aankhi’ transformed from a humble tune to a song with Shubham on vocals and rhythm guitar, Arindam Sen on lead and bass guitar, Debotosh Dey on his tabla, Anik on keyboard and Shiny Das as the lyricist.

Shubham is a part of the band called ‘Bauls and Blues’ with Arindam Sen and Debotosh Dey, his childhood friends from Shillong.

He has collaborated with the popular fusion band ‘FLU’. They have given many enthralling performances at various pubs, colleges and corporate events. Through his jamming sessions, he realised that he could form a ‘desi’ band and titled the collaboration ‘Kalari’.
But he finds it difficult to juggle between work and music. “I want to give my best shot at both ends and this takes a toll on my health. Sometimes, I have pushed myself to practise after an exhausting day at work.”

Now, he is working on a multi-lingual album and wants to showcase his versatility by blending different forms of music.

Moving to Bengaluru has been a joy-ride as the City has exposed him to different dimensions of music.

 “This City has given me an opportunity to perform for a variety of audiences. It is a haven for music lovers. It accepts and nurtures all genres of music, celebrates authenticity and cherishes the classics. There is an explosive number of bands battling to survive here and Bengaluru gives a fair chance to fight.”

Commenting on the music industry today, he says that websites like ‘Youtube’ and ‘Vimeo’ are a boon to musicians in many ways.

    “Such sites have helped artistes share their music and gain recognition. However, the revenue generated from such sites largely depend on followers and music taxes add to the woes. Also, artistes are taken for granted at many events. Emerging musicians have to deal with the problems of performing for free at shows.”

   But Shubham believes that the only way forward is continuous practise. Hailing from one of the highest rain-fed states, his songs always prove to be a delightful shower.