‘I grew up on ghazals, Kishoreda, and Bollywood’

Though he only has one Hindi album to his credit, Papon has, in no time, become the favourite for many with his soul-stirring voice and earthy music elements. And we totally believe him when he says there’s “a lot more music” in store. He’s sung with singer Sunidhi Chauhan, worked with Nitin Sawhney, performed at the Alchemy festival, been nominated for the upcoming GIMA awards, while also working consistently with his own band Papon and The East India Company…

Your first Hindi album Story So Far has earned you great accolades...
I’m really happy. The response has been great and it feels good to know that you’re accepted and appreciated by people.

You have one Hindi album over several Assamese ones, how comfortable are you dabbling in the two languages?
I’m very comfortable in both Assamese and Hindi. Assamese is my mother tongue. I’m very comfortable with singing in Hindi as well — I grew up listening to ghazals, Kishore Kumar, RD Burman and Bollywood. And because I came to Delhi when I was younger, it made me quite fluent in Hindi. I truly enjoy being able to sing in both languages.

How was it singing with Sunidhi for Barfi!?
Kyun is a nice old Hindi melody. Sunidhi is a versatile vocalist, she brings life into any kind of song, and it was great working with her.

Tell us about Troikala… What’s in store?
So far, the album, which is a collaboration between Rachel Sermanni (singer-songwriter), Bickram Ghosh (percusiionist) and I is sounding really good, and is shaping up well. We performed together in the UK at the Alchemy festival earlier this year... It’s a new sound and a really interesting space.

We heard you’d been really looking forward to working with Nitin Sawhney…
Yes... When you’ve looked forward to something for very long, it’s an incredible experience when it finally happens. We both felt there was a lot more that we could explore together, so we’re hoping to be able to collaborate again in the future.

You are tagged as one of the strongest vocalist in the current crop of musicians. What makes you such a hit amongst your audience and peers?  
I sing from my heart. My musical journey began before I was born. My mother was teaching and learning Indian classical music when she was pregnant with me. My father is a folk legend of Assam. So music is my language, it’s an extension of who I am.