Propelling Indian folk music to glorious pinnacles beyond city limits, Angaraag Mahanta a.k.a Papon has made an incredible mark in the music industry. His rendition of Pritam’s Jiyein Kyun in Dum Maaro Dum was inarguably one of the best musical debuts in Bollywood last year.

Infusing new perspective in the cultural arena of Assamese music, the success has come in a small step for the singer, composer, programmer and producer has entered a whole new diaspora with hindi-pop album ‘Papon the story...so far’.

The multi-talented artiste shares with Radioandmusic.com's Swagata Panjari his experience of performing in renowned music shows Coke Studio @ MTV and Dewarists. In a quick t?te-?-t?te, Papon further conversed about his latest Troikala project, new album and his bollywood projects.

Excerpts:

Tell us about Hindi-pop album ‘Papon the story so far...’

This is my first Hindi-pop album since I started producing music. It traces 10 years of my musical journey. The album depicts all the sounds, thoughts and perspectives which have been experienced by me over the decades to reach the success.

How long did it take you to come up with this album?

It took almost 10 years to accumulate all the Hindi compositions reflecting my idea and thought and compile it in one album. Due to varying musical influences of mountains, closed arena or gigs, it came as one song at a time. Couple of the new album songs were also been performed in the past and finally when I saw that there were a considerable number of tunes, I decided to bring it out as an album. Prior to this, I have released two Assamese albums ‘Sinaaki Osinaki’ and ‘Jonaaki Raati’.

How did your musical journey begin?

Being born into musical family, I was trained in classical music by my mother, and Assamese folk from dad who is a legend in the genre. Eventually, my journey began the day I was born, but I didn’t thought to take music as a profession. It took me a while to realise I am good at it and take music as a profession; I didn’t want to produce music just because I have musical background but because I am good at it.

Who have been your musical influences?

I have many musical influences, Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Saab, Mehdi Hasan, and my parents. From the past decade my influences has also included several genres of music across the world like folk, jazz, blues, rock and electronic.

Your music has heavy influence of Northern folk region. Describe the Pahadi music of North?

Compared to other regional sounds, northern folk music ‘Pahadi music’ as it’s commonly known has a particular pentatonic scale and Mongoloid notes. There is a lot of similarity in the music that comes from the mountains, be it Kashmir, Himachal, Uttaranchal, Nepal, Sikkim, Assam or Arunachal. I’ve spent a lot of time in the north that’s why maybe my music pictures northern folk influence.

Papon’s music is known for its experimental music from different genres? What thought process goes through while producing music?

I don’t have a picky mind set. While producing music I try to fuse elements of various cultures of countries. I produce songs subconsciously blending the ethnicity of different genres.  Since my childhood I have been exposed to various genres, so I don’t prefer any specific genre. In one word I would describe my music as free with no restriction to any cultural boundaries or genres.

How was it to collaborate with Midival Punditz and Indian Ocean?

The chemistry and relationships with Midival Punditz and Indian Ocean made it comfortable for us to work together. Collaboration works when you connect with a person and their ideas. Fortunately our thoughts and ideas blended well together.

Share your experiences of being a part of musical show MTV Coke Studio and Dewarists.

I was glad to be a part of Coke Studio and Dewarists in their first edition. The experience was great. For several years Coke Studio has been on the internet and I’ve been following it. As MTV initiated the show, it opened the door for me to meet different musicians under one roof. The show reflected different styles connecting friends and family with the common thread of music.

While Coke studio was connecting different styles of music, The Dewarists by Dewar’s was an amazing experience of linking music with nature. It was like a dream come true, I always want to have a studio in the mountains. Being close to nature inspires me and gives me ideas for music and songs. Through Dewarist, we could actually work in the forest and conceive, compose and produce the entire track.  I’m glad and thankful to the people who invited me.

Tell us about your Troikala Project. How is it to jam with Bickram Gosh and Rachel Sermanni?

Troikala is a collaborative project with Rachel Sermanni and Bickram Ghosh which has been put together by British Council and Folktronic. Tasneem from British Council saw Rachel in the UK and decided that we must perform together. This has been one of the best collaborations.  As a trio, we really worked well together. Rachel Sermanni is an amazing singer and songwriter. While she is disciplined, sensitive and focused in her thoughts, Bickram is a flamboyant, amazing percussionist with a free soul.

Following your latest stint in Bollywood, how would you as a singer illustrate film music?

It wasn’t any different; Bollywood is an Indian music which has elements like folk, local and classical music. I didn’t have to transform at all. It is just that Bollywood is a package; the music is formulated according to the demand of situation. If you look at the good side of Bollywood, it’s so interesting. Right now it is the best time; I also like the 70s and 50s. Bollywood is simple pure music.

According to you, what is the difference between independent and Bollywood music?

Independent artistes make self-determining music which means, they can just tell a story of their own imagination. While Bollywood or film music rather needs a story to be told for someone else. Musicians are gifted with the capacity to make a tune around the situation and story, that’s why musicians can make a song and a director cannot.

Where do you foresee Indian music scene?

The Indian music scene is getting much more interesting with appealing composers, singers and songwriters. I am hopefully looking at different films lending viewers and listeners more options and varieties to choose from.

What is your take on the current dwindling sales of albums? Is touring more profitable than releasing albums?

Artistes produce music and albums to reach out to the people from different parts of the world who later invite them to perform live. In terms of money, touring is obviously more profitable as album sales are going down. In the span of 10 years, everything is going to change, the medium of sourcing music may differ but I think that people will always prefer to experience live music.

Do you think music labels are doing enough to get the best out of non-film music genre?

The market is slowly opening up for non-film music, that’s the reason why shows like The Dewarist by Dewar's had been initiated. With such shows highlighting the different forms of local musical talent, labels are thinking about the non-film music. Hopefully they will release more of non-film music on stores and digital platforms this year.

You are one of the few artistes who are widely recognized abroad. Will we see an international tour line up for 2012?

Currently, the summer fest tour with my band ‘Papon and the East India Company’ in Europe and UK is been lined up and I'm also looking forward to perform with Rachel and Bickram in UK for Troikala project in April.

Which are your future ventures? Are there any other Bollywood projects lined up?

A lot more music is coming up. My album with Troikala will be out in the next few months and a few Bollywood projects will come up soon. Recently I’ve also bought land in Kumho to build a recording studio gazing into the Himalayas, so that I can stay there for a couple of months to work on an album.