HERALD CAFÉ: How does it feel to be performing in Goa,
just a few weeks after your last performance here at Rider
Mania? Do you have any thoughts of moving to Goa?
PAPON: If Coke is ready to buy me a bunglow in Goa, I am
ready to shift now! (laughs) Goa is always a great place to
visit and to perform.
HC: You recently collaborated with Nucleya for ‘Memories’.
What was the experience like?
PAPON: I like dance music, but I hadn’t done anything with
EDM. When this project came up, I was very excited, because
I like Nucleya (Udyan Sagar) and I like his sound as an artist;
it’s unique, it’s him. We had been talking about it for a while,
and thanks to Dewar’s, it happened. Luckily we were thrown
a deadline, and the process was quite spontaneous. I had
sent him a melody, which was quite ‘folksy’, similar in nature
to how Bihu melodies are structured. I shared a few more
ideas, but he kept coming back to this particular tune; and
we didn’t have too much time. We went to Hampi, and I
wrote about how the past is calling out to me, amidst the
ruins. The lyrics are based around the energy I felt in Hampi.
Udyan also had an interesting take on the melody. People
have responded very well to the track, and we are hoping
that it becomes
bigger.
HC: What do you
feel about the
indie music scene
in India, currently?
PAPON: The music
scene is only
getting better.
We’re becoming
the hub of the
world, and India is
buzzing. It looks
super positive and
I’m glad I can be a
part of it!
HC: Is Bollywood
still a preferred
route for indie
musicians to get
noticed? Your
thoughts, please.
PAPON: Bollywood
has really opened
up to all kinds of
different sounds
and genres. It’s a
really interesting
time for Bollywood
now. There are a
lot of independent
musicians who
are a part of
Bollywood, and
in turn Bollywood
has opened up
to many different
sounds and genres
– from drum and
bass, to folk.
HC: Music with
a heavy folk
influence is coming back to the mainstream in a big way.
Do you foresee more music from other rural parts of a
diverse country like ours, becoming popular with the
masses in the near future?
PAPON: I think that contemporary folk acts have started
looking at folk a lot more, knowing that it’s been around,
and so popular for thousands of years. Contemporary folk
acts (and there are so many more now), are getting younger
people interested in folk. Folk is coming back into our lives
with a ‘now’ tag to it. It’s all the same old stories, but in a
new way. And the same stories from thousands of years ago,
still talk to us, and appeal to us – stories of emotions and
relationships are still as relevant now. It’s an interesting place
in the world with regard to new sounds. People are opening
up, and are open to trying new things.
HC: What would you say to/advise Goan musicians, about
making traditional Goan music mainstream?
PAPON: I think a lot of people are already familiar with Goan
music, thanks to Bollywood movies using it. I think Goan
musicians should continue doing what they are.
