SPEAK: The Journey So Far – Abiogenesis

In this section titled “SPEAK”, you hear about the journey of bands and artistes in their own lexicon. In our first edition, we hear from Moa Subong of Naga folk fusion band Abiogenesis. Their album Aeon Spell was listed for nominations in the 50th Grammy Awards in the Best Contemporary World Music Album of the Year in 2008. Their album Legacy of the Mountains was nominated in the Best Rock Album category at the Global Indian Music Awards (GIMA) 2013, and single “Wake up Call” was nominated in the Best Genre Bender song at VIMA India Awards 2014 in Malaysia.

Naga folk fusion band Abiogenesis

By Moa Subong

When we started off as a rock band we played both originals and covers. Gradually, as the years went by, we realised the need to go further. This made us explore and experiment with originals. In the midst of this process, something wonderful happened – the invention of the Bamhum. Essentially, the Bamhum is a new bamboo wind musical instrument I’ve invented.

Many people have asked me, how the Bamhum was discovered. The story goes like this. Arenla Subong (vocalist) was the appointed Guru to teach folk theatre and music by North East Zone Cultural Centre in Dimapur (NEZCC). She then appointed me as her accompanist. To my misfortune, I couldn’t find any Naga traditional musical instrument to play all notes for her compositions. Even the guitar and other western musical instruments didn’t blend or gel, which then gave me an idea and inspiration to do something. That’s when the Bamhum came about. In May 2005, it received an official unveiling by the then Governor of Meghalaya Shri. M.M Jacob at Shillong’s International Bamboo Fest.

Each of our songs has a story or message, and Arenla narrates them before each set. It gives us pleasure and satisfaction when many fans come behind the stage to take a closer look of the Bamhum after our shows. Initially, we were a five piece band but we thought it would be better if we have only one guitar player to put the Bamhum in front. Recently, the Bamhum made it to the i3 National Innovation Fair at The Lalit, New Delhi in October 2013 where it was declared as one of the six innovations selected by TIFAC, the Ministry of Science and Technology.

This (the bamhum) novelty brought about a huge change to how Abiogenesis sounds today. It became the leading instrument of the band with Arenla playing the lead Bamhum, and me playing the harmony. Along with the Bamhum, we incorporated Naga and other Indian folk elements to blend with various forms of modern music. Hence in 2005, ‘Howey’ music was born, which is now labelled as Abiogenesis’ brand of music. We also say Abiogenesis attained Nirvana in Howey music.

In November 2005, after having performed at many shows in various places, we were a bit nervous when to perform Howey music with the Bamhum for the first time at New Delhi’s Pragati Maidan. We were not sure how people would respond. But to our delight, the response was better than what we expected, with the media also giving good reviews of our music and the Bamhum. We were also featured on the cover of Northeast Sun Magazine.

We have till date released four albums and one single. Aeon Spell (released through Saregama HMV in June 2007), Rustic Relish and Slice of Heaven (released through our indie label APH Records), and Legacy of the Mountains (released through Mondo Tunes – USA). Through Howey music and the Bamhum, we have attained what we could not before. We are happy to have performed in many parts of India and abroad like Bhutan, Thailand, Russia and Myanmar. It’s amazing to know that most people have not heard of Nagaland even in our country.

It was a big honour to play for Bhutan’s Royal family at the Indian Embassy, Thimpu on Indian Independence day in 2011. Another memorable performance was at Mumbai’s Raj Bhawan the same year, where we performed in front of VIPs and more than 160 consuls. Interacting with all the VIPs had been an experience which we will always cherish. The reason being, when people from different cultures in different places tap and sway along with us there is no doubt that they are appreciative of our music, which really keeps us going.

Moa Subong

Moa Subong is the guitarist and Bamhum player of Abiogenesis. Abiogenesis is the only band in the world that plays Howey music and the wind instrument ‘Bamhum’. To know more about their music, click here.