MUMBAI: In April, one of the fastest growing streaming services – Saavn – announced its plan to dip its toe into the unchartered ocean of original programming. On the same day, the New York-headquartered service also announced the hottest act of the electronica scene ‘Nucleya’ as its first artist-in-Residence. Today, Saavn has announced Papon as the latest name to the concept.

Papon becomes Saavn's third artist-in-residence, after Nucleya  and Raghu Dixit  . The program is designed exclusively for handpicked, breakthrough artists, and as the latest announcement suggests, the north-east’s songwriter/composer would be in-charge for the same.

Papon's inclusion on the AiR platform underlines Saavn's commitment to showcasing the best of Indian non-film music on a global scale.

Having been born into a musical family, Papon’s childhood was spent watching and learning from folk music legend and his father, the late Khagen Mahanta. Papon has carried forward his father’s legacy by pioneering folktronica in India. His folk-infused, soulful productions on series like Coke Studio India and his success as a Bollywood singer have established Papon as one of the most recognizable and sought after voices in India. Known as one of the most versatile musicians in the business, Papon transitions seamlessly from folk to new wave electronica.

Nucleya and Raghu Dixit’s association with Saavn helped the musicians’ outreach beyond Indian audience base.

"I'm extremely happy about the association with Saavn and the opportunity that it presents. I'm looking forward to working together with Saavn and I fully support their idea of enabling artists translate ideas into music and helping it reach an audience worldwide,” said Papon. “The Artist-in-Residency programme is a very positive step, and I'm very excited to be a part of it. This association comes at a great time for me as I have been working on some new ideas that I can't wait to share with my fans.”

According to the deal, Papon will exclusively release his new music on Saavn’s platform that would reach over 18 million active listeners/

Saavn’s Vice President of Entertainment and Original Content, Gaurav Wadhwa said, “Papon is an icon in the Indian music scene. We trust that his unique ability to transcend traditional music genres will resonate with our fanbase and continue the AiR legacy.” Wadhwa also emphasised on the service’s effort to make AiR a creative space for innovative artists and ensuring total artistic freedom and free-range to do what they do best. 

With a Delhi-based electronica artist and south’s folk music star Raghu Dixit already on its roster, Saavn has now tied-up with the popular voice of North-east’s music scene, continuing its exploration within the non-mainstream music culture.