Tunes of the tribes

Arunachal Pradesh has 26 different tribes with about 100 subtribes and each has a different native languagerdquo says Sankarshan Kini who has travelled to the state five times last yearThe Wancho Ladies whose harmonies seemed slightly discordant at a recording session in their home in Arunachal PradeshIn the year 2013 he was approached by Bobby Hano one of the organisers of Arunachalrsquos most popular music festival Ziro to work on a project to preserve the dying folk music of the tribes ldquoNever mind the rest of the country even the youth among the tribes isnrsquot aware of their music All of them have television sets in their bamboo huts and Bollywood has taken overrdquo reflects KiniVery often their native languages bear the same fate ldquoThe Khapa language which is used by the Nocte tribe is definitely on its way outrdquo he adds Even the Nocte singers who performed the song lsquoCholersquo mdash the first track on his album Enchantation Arunachal Folk Music Experiment mdash donrsquot speak the languageContemporary twistDr Hatobin Mai who runs a charitable trust Living Dreams commissioned Kini to give the tribal music a contemporary twist to get the youth as well as international audiences interested in the music The result was a sixtrack album featuring the songs of the Nocte Nyishi Monpa Adi Wancho and Galo tribes enhanced with a little bit of afro jazz rhythm and blues and a dose of Don Bhatrsquos electrorockldquoI wouldnrsquot call it fusion because that would mean we created a hybrid genre This is a juxtaposition of two different genres While some of the tribes use a combination of vocal projections none of them supplement their vocals with instruments The background music on the album could very well have been set to contemporary lyrics but what sets it apart are the tribal voicesrdquo says Kini who played the guitar violin trumpet and bass for the album Different stylesldquoThe Nocte sing about a boy and a girl swinging but the others were mostly repetitive chants The Wanchos whose harmonies seemed slightly discordant as well as the Buddhist monks of the Monpa tribes were throat singingrdquo he reveals Adamant that the latter not sound like the background music at a spa Kini juxtaposed the chants with vocals from gospel and RampB vocalist Vasundhara VidalurKini played composed and oversaw the production of the album with Bhat producing two tracks until it was presented before dignitaries during a state function on February 21 ldquoIrsquove now handed over the procedure to a music label and the album is likely to be available for public consumption soonrdquo he addsThe trailKinirsquos first lsquoreccersquo trip was in October Hopping into an SUV with Hano the musician started from Itanagar to Ziro and Longding and drove across to the south of the state ldquoAll we had was a mic a laptop and a soundcard We had eight days to meet eight tribesrdquo says Kini ldquoWersquod give them a day or tworsquos notice informing them of our arrival And yet on some occasions wersquove landed up to find that the singers werenrsquot around For them days donrsquot really matter I think they work according to seasonsrdquo says Kini reflecting on the very different work ethics as compared to Mumbairsquos obsession with seconds minutes and hours While recording was a typical creative challenge he is used to facing these logistical challenges were tougher to handle ldquoThe thought of working in a place that isnrsquot conducive to it isnrsquot pleasantrdquo he says He admits that there are many musicians in the state hersquod love to work with and for his next project he has his sights set on the Olo and the Apatani tribes