Top 5 Indie Artists From Nagaland – by Owen Jungio

We stumbled upon an interesting Quora post by Ovung Jungio, a young student hailing from Nagaland, in which he shared his personal list of the “Top 5 Indie Artists from Nagaland.” We loved his list which featured some of our own favorites as well. So we reached out to him and he graciously re-edited his original write-up to be shared with our R&L readers.

So here it is—an exclusive account by Ovung Jungio, revealing his favorite indie artists from his homestate of #Nagaland.

*Note by contributor: “This is a personal list and in no way meant to disregard the sheer musical talents of all the other artists not included in the list. The list is in no particular order.” ~ Ovung Jungio

ARTIST #1 – Jonathan Yhome

With glorious introspective acoustic songs like ‘Send Me Away’, ‘Before We Knew’ and ‘Something New’, this young man from the capital is a songwriting force to be reckoned with. Personally, his sonic timber draws a strong parallel with that of Gregory Alan Isakov. He also has a sister Pelenuo Yhome who is a talented singer/songwriter herself.

Photo: Jonathan Yhome.

ARTIST #2 – Imliakum Aier (The Electric Cool Kid)

If there is one thing absolute about this artist is the fact that his lyrics are like an art film that draws you into its vividness and enthralls you with its poetic profoundness, as it whisks through shifting landscapes of satire, love, melancholy, and so on. Be it the ingenuous Arctic Monkeys-esque Autobiography where he sings about…

“Dreamers, Achievers, Deceivers, all looking for an answer….The rock and roll, my rise and fall, stuck in a candy store, I wanted it all; the sweet and the soar, the glory, the firepower.”

And the hard-hitting satirical “Dancing in the Capital” where he lays bare the thoughts and feelings of the common man who is caught in between the never-ending tussle of power among cold greedy leaders in their fancy SUVs and private planes.

And the inviting “The Message from the Hills” where he sings about the quaint simplicity and bliss of life in the hills (or at least that’s what I understand from the lyrics).

ARTIST #3 – Virie

Ever since her debut cover video of Lorde’s Yellow Flicker Beat in 2015, this amazing songstress has never looked back as she still continues to dazzle us with more amazing fresh tunes. She is pretty much a household name with hits like “My Summer”, “Silver Lining Skies (With Polar Lights”), and the recent collaboration with Mozzey and Zaza “Come With Me.”

Virie from Nagaland

Her style could easily be confused with Lana Del Rey’s as she draws huge inspiration from her music and her befitting covers of Lana Del Rey’s Video games, young and Beautiful and Radio speaks volumes about her adoration. She regularly collaborates with another immensely talented artist- Zaza.

ARTIST #4 – VITZ

VITZ is an electronic producer from Kohima who has made a name for himself both in the local and international scene with hits like “Casual Talks”, “Electric Sky ft Rugks”, “Meow Bomb”, “Milkshake Hero”, “Come With Me ft. Virie & Zaza.”

His tracks are featured across top chillstep/chilltrap Youtube channels with 15+k individual views each. His Lo-Fi side project NVYKO bleeds creativity and bold sonic aesthetics. Something to watch out for too.

ARTIST #5 – Polar Lights

Polar Lights is without an iota of doubt the best band to debut out of Nagaland this decade. The band caught heads turning with their epochal track – Murder Machine (Released in 2013) which changed the local indie music scene for good thereafter. The band quickly followed up the success of Murder Machine with An Empty Hallway and a Candlelight which also resonated with the masses and captured the zeitgeist of that time while pushing the envelope with their stellar production and musicianship.

Picture Courtesy: Polar Lights

Fronted by the dynamic and charming Mar Jamir who is a total beast behind the microphone while his brother Temjen Jamir handles axe duty and production.The band’s major influences are Led Zeppelin, Death Cab For Cutie and Mumford & Sons.The have a solid fan following and any event with Polar Lights in the lineup is sure to pull in promising footfalls.

Roots and Leisure would like to invite our readers to submit their own “Top 5” for any category that you wish to submit for: Recipes, Artists, Creators, photographers, local tourist spots, etc. Email your Top 5s to info@rootsandleisure.com.

Author
Recent Posts

Ovung Jungio

An ordinary boy writing about an extraordinary life in the hills.Loves listening to obscure indie bands and over analysing retro cinema. Writes about everything from Music, philosophy to short stories.