A man with a thousand dreams…..

On a fine Thursday afternoon in Nagaland, a place where people are known for their passion in music, I caught up with a very talented and devoted Christian singer-Alobo Naga. A person who believes that ‘music is where he belongs’ and who sold out 1000 copies of his debut solo album, “ Road of a Thousand Dreams” ,released in February 2010 in just 3 days and is also one of the winners of the prestigious ‘Sunscane Skale International Music Festival’ North-East India auditions, can mesmerize anyone with his amazing voice . This itself speaks a lot about this young singer. But, how did it all begin for him? Well, Alobo stepped into the world of music at the tender age of 5 and by the time he was 12 years he began performing his original compositions. During his formative years he was part of the rock bands ‘Nice and Ugly’ as well as ‘Spark’ enthralling audiences both at home and outside. He was also adjudged as the best vocalist and best performer in ‘Summer Jam 2003’.He even plays the keyboard, guitar and piano with competent ease.

 

A former student of the Patkai Christian College, Dimapur, Alobo carried his music along with his education and is a graduate from Delhi University. He is also a post graduate from the Indian Institute of Travel and Tourism Management, New Delhi. During his days in New Delhi, he performed a number of gigs and was also featured in some of the radio stations. But ‘Music’, he says, ‘needs pure dedication and has always been a part of my life.’ This even made him give up his one year old job to take music as a full time profession. His total dedication to his passion has paid him really well and today, he is one of the best singers in Nagaland.

 

He also recently got into a marketing tie up with UM Pro Touch, the entertainment and marketing wing under UM Pro Records. A very humble person, Alobo remarked, “This is just a small dream come true in a road of a thousand dreams.” He likes to define his music as soulful but he also believes in experimentation in order to bring out compositions of international standards. He is currently trying to mix different folk music of the North-Eastern region specially Nagaland with western tunes and sounds in order to create something unique yet beautiful. Alobo is also working as the worship leader in Sumi Baptist church Dimapur and continues to perfect his musical skills at Hope Centre for Excellence under the tutelage of Nise Meruno, as he feels “learning is a never ending process”.

But what is it that inspires this young singer to move on? He answers, “There is a Divine Connection between God and me, I guess, which inspires me to move on and on.” Apart from his skills in singing, he has culinary skills as well; cooking being his passion next to music. “ Music and food go together!”, joked the young singer. Also a fashionable person, Alobo, with his funky hairstyle and a cool dressing sense regards presentation of a singer to be as important as his singing. “It is not just about holding the mic and singing”, he says. According to him, the performance starts as soon as the singer sets his foot on stage. On the scope of solo singers in India he feels that the Indian market is lagging behind mainly because of the Bollywood bug. The singers here get carried away by it. As a result, they do not remain true to their music. He advices upcoming young singers to remain true to their core and their music. Alobo likes to work hard and also dreams of winning a Grammy someday as he reckons that there is no crime in dreaming big.

Interviewed by Pooja Chakraborty for Eclectic Vibes (June 2010 Issue)

D'LUZION LAUNCH AT JUMPING BEAN CAFE, DIMAPUR & BROWN BEAN CAFE, UZAN BAZAAR

UM PRO RECORDS MANAGEMENT & D'LUZION WITH DR.NICKY KIRE, ADVISER, MUSIC TASK FORCE, GOVERNMENT OF NAGALAND

Bored with the regular tits and bits from the world of music? Then take this one-UM Pro Records, North-East India’s first independent record label, did the launch of the self-titled album of D’luzion, the alternative ‘experimental’ rock band hailing from Guwahati, Assam like never before. The launch took place in two different cities in two different states one after the other. In addition to it, D’luzion will also be touring Mumbai and Delhi as a part of their promotional tour in July-August 2010.

The first phase of the launch of this young band took place at Jumping Bean Café in Dimapur, Nagaland in the evening of 14th of May, 2010.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Prithish Chakraborty , Managing Director ,UM Pro Records and UM Pro Touch said that the launch of D’luzion’s maiden album is the first initiative of the company to spread it’s wings across the region and the rest of India . He also expressed gratitude to Jumping Bean Café for their tremendous support and help. “Jumping Bean Café is doing a great job by providing a platform for professional as well as amateur artists and bands of all genres.”, he said. The Guest of Honour for the launch Dr. Nicky Kire, MLA and Advisor of Music Task Force, a government project undertaking in promoting gifted music and musicians from Nagaland, released the album. “UM Pro Records, through this launch and their initiative of promoting new talents, is giving a boost of confidence to young musicians,” said Dr.Kire .The Chief Operational Officer for UM Pro Records and UM Pro Touch, Mr. Pankaj Barnwal also shared his views with the media. He stated, “We are trying our best to provide a scope to young budding musicians of the region.” Well, incidentally this was the first ever launch that took place in Jumping Bean Café; making the whole occasion even more special.

The evening was kicked start by the local punk rock band Best B4 24 months. After the punk rockers , the young band D’luzion awestruck the crowd, which included some renowned faces from western classical as well as contemporary music from Nagaland, with the acoustic versions of their originals starting with the mesmerizing “Winds Of Yesterday” followed by the heavy number “Burn Down” and finally wrapping it up with the vivacious “ All Over Again”. “It feels great to have a grand launch like this one. All thanks to UM Pro Records for giving us this opportunity and making all this possible,” expressed D’luzion. Well, the crowd also witnessed a truly flawless performance by none other than the guitar prodigy Joey Woch during the press conference. Finally the stage was taken by the rock n roll band from Sikkim, Girish and the Chronicles who with their mind blasting performance gave the evening a different feel. Opening the performance with their original composition “The Prelude Blues” followed by hit numbers from Led Zeppelin, AC /DC, Deep Purple, Jimi Hendrix and not to forget their very own “Angel”, GATC just took everyone to a different level. They ended the lovely evening with Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” thereby making the entire launch a huge success.

The second phase of the launch took place at Brown Bean Café in Guwahati, Assam on the 18th of May, 2010.

 

“The launch of D’luzion in Guwahati is important as the band as well as we are based here”, said Mr. Prithish Chakraborty, Managing Director ,UM Pro Records and UM Pro Touch .The guest of honour for the event, Mr. D’pen Baruah,the legendary singer from Assam and the Executive Editor of Vibes, Mr.Koushik Hazarika, released the album . Congratulating D’luzion on their maiden album Mr.Baruah said, “It’s good to see young rock bands like D’luzion coming up and I am really happy to be here as this is the first time I’ve been invited as the guest of honour to the launch of a rock band; something with which I’ve never been associated.” “When Prithish first came to me and I heard about UM Pro Records, I never thought that it can create waves like it’s doing now. But, this guy really means every word that he says and today, I am highly honoured to be here and I congratulate UM Pro Records and D’luzion for their success” expressed Mr.Koushik Hazarika.

After the formal launch of the album, D’luzion gave the audience a wonderful dose of their gripping music by performing the acoustic versions of three originals from their album. This was followed by acoustic performances by the progressive experimental metal band Silver Tears and the industrial and electronica rock band Electrokore from Guwahati. This was the first time ever that an event like this one took place in a café in Guwahati adding more attraction to it and engaging more local crowds who are not that familiar with the local rock scene. Well, hats off to UM Pro Records!!

Covered by Pooja Chakraborty