INTRODUCTION
It had been a long search for including a male singer representing the entire north states including the Hindi belt. Thankfully we finally have a candidate in whom we see tremendous potential as a promising young voice who could develop a singing career. His ability to sing many genres with ease and grace make him stand out. The talent of this youngster is outstanding.
Here we present Abhilash Sarangi from the State of Odisha.
Briefly describe yourself
Abhilash Sarangi is my name. I am an IT Engineer by Profession. I am basically from Bhubaneshwar and currently moved for my job to London, UK.
Tell us about growing up, how music became a part of your life? All details of how your family, friends, teachers help or understand your musical talent.
My father is a great singer in my family. He can sing very well. I would say that is where I inherit my talent from. He used to be in music jamming sessions as I have seen growing up. He took me to Odissi classic music sessions as a young guy, at Vanishree Kala Niketan. They knew that I can also sing and thus had a lot of encouragement to learn and help prepare me for school programs. From early itself I liked semi classical songs by preference.
Again, my father is a passionate singer himself and my mother has been my all time inspiration; in fact she is the one who first realized that I can sing at the age of three and made me perform in front of family and friends.
My father was posted for his job in a very rural area. It was a very different experience growing up in a Southern Naxel belt area of the state. I grew up there all y school life and intermediate. By then, my father fell very ill and everything was depending all on my mother. Very early itself I had the responsibility to be the support to the family. So studies were priority always and I was focused on an engineering career.
My other influences on music very early on is definitely are my teachers, later professors at college, friends and all music worshipers around me. Many people in my life has always been a motivation and confidence boosters.
I had participated and performed in many local, zonal and very few state level events. In some of them I have earned titles, recognition and blessings.
May be, my biggest achievement that I count valuable is when I represented my District at National Youth festival competitions of singing, in 2006. It was very special type of competition, i won prizes in the folk music category. I have also performed in some regional radio programs as a child.
At my college level I was always the lead singer in our College bands and my band has performed on several platforms in TV shows.
You are Smule famous now and how does that feel?
I sing on Smule whenever possible and free from my regular job occupation. This experience in a way is a reinvention of my own journey of music, which started from a very early age but circumvented by circumstances. Really this app in the hand of a musician like me who really have been involved in different career path and its day today pressures, is a golden opportunity. All I can say is “Thank you Smule.”
What is music to you? or what does it means to you?
“I wish I could explain it in words.” Abhilash pauses with a thoughtful smile. “I will try few of the thoughts come to me now. Music is a medium where I try to find myself. It is my safe house where I live and relax my moments I steal from this other wise tough race of life.” Abhilash seems to open up his otherwise very quiet hard to crack shell.
“Music is the universal remedy to all my wounds. Music is not only my passion, but a necessity of my life. Hard to imagine how I can go without it! I will be totally lost in this search of finding the purpose of my life. Music has the power to make me feel euphoric, and connect with my soul.
These priceless love and blessings from all you guys I earned is because of music.”
Are you classically trained? if not what are your thoughts on the importance of it.
“I am an untrained singer myself as far as being trianed under a proper guru in any form of classical music. Yet, I have been fortunate enough getting lessons and guidance from my parents, who knew lot about Odiya Classic music and folk songs. In fact you all are my teachers. Because, I have always learnt a lot by listening to great singers throughout my musical journey.”
“Not to deviate from your second part of the question, India’s classical Music is incredibly powerful music, which can help perfect a musician and shape him to a better singer. All of the music in our Classic music culture is divine. I would love to definitely learn and explore various forms of Indian Classical Music.”
“The most important thing to become a full artist, first one need to understand the colors, the shades and the emotions. That type of artists’ singing will touch hearts when the unspoken words on the paper come out connected through the right keys of emotions.”
What is your take on lyrics in the music? your thoughts expand with examples.
“Lyric is the foundation and arguably the most important part of a song. The more the foundation is strong the long the music will be alive and remain sung. There’s the saying ‘The pen is mightier than the sword‘ which means words are the most powerful and inexhaustible source of magic, used properly is capable of both inflicting injury, and remedying it.”
“We use music for every situation? for that case creative expression, harmony and even for destruction. When the right set of words are expressed gracefully by a composer and comes out of a soulful voice, It can create magic.”
Look around, the compositions with meaningful lyrics made generations ago are still sung or make the same effect and remain timeless. While the music with just beats and meaningless lyrics, gets replaced and are forgotten.”
Growing up in Odisha how the music of your state influenced your music?
“I have never felt it that way, though my initial bringing up in music started with Odishi and that’s the base how it gave a direction to my singing and helped me understand music. While growing up I didn’t restrict myself with particularly Odishi or Odia music. Rather I explored and tried adapting Hindustani forms, folk singing etc. and I do enjoy singing in multiple languages and taste it’s various flavors.”
If a director finds you online and ask you to interview with him what will be your reaction?
“I will be Blissful and thankful for appreciating my music and showing an Interest and offering an opportunity to work together. I will then prepare myself to offer the best I can and look forward to making sure the purpose of the interview is accomplished.”
What is that you like about Hindustani music? What are your thought on Hindustani learning?
“Finding time is a challenge. Yet I am looking for online teaching currently. What I like about it is the very form of it and easy singing style.”
What are your career ambitions with music?
“I always wanted to be remembered as a musician. I am looking forward to playback singing in Indian music industry and want to create remarkable compositions in my voice, which will be my mark in India’s music.”
In five years from now where do you see yourself and your music should be?
“Learning is a continuous process and everyday I learn lessons from life, from people around me, from my environment, from everything that I explore day by day. In five years, I would love to sharpen my music by learning and exploring various forms of Indian Classical music. I have plans to make cover songs and own music albums and also some bigger plans which might take more than five years to accomplish. I will be open for any playback opportunities during these five years while primarily focusing on my profession.”
Any final thoughts you want to share?
An honest answer will be, I am still on my journey to discover myself. So far I find myself a responsible, passionate, little ambitious, sometimes funny, mostly serious, quite a normal human being; yet I have my own special characteristics unique to me. I have my opinions, I do judge but I don’t believe in hurting others or get hurt myself. I often find myself a philosopher within. I am a person with a very soft heart but I can be a shield in need please try to understand it, feel It within and live It. through my music.”
List all your music interests, like genres, male, female singers both Hindi and regional languages, music directors etc.
Genres :Hindustani Classical, Ghazal, Bollywood, Folk , Western Music, Jaaz and Pop
Singers : Sonu Nigam, Arijit Singh, Armaan Malik, Kumar Sanu, Udit Narayan, KK, Rafi Sahab, Kishore Kumar, SP Balasubrahmanyam, Hariharan, Javed Ali, Ghulam Ali, Mehdi Hassan, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Female singere: Lata Mangeshkar, Alka Yagnik, Shreya Ghoshal, Chithra,
Music Directors : AR Rahman, Ilaiyaraaja, Madan Mohan, Laxmikant Pyarelaal, RD Burman, Vishal Bhardwaj, Pritam Chakraborty
With that we know quite a bit about this very young singer and we heard clearly him asking us to know him through his music. Let us hear his music with out delay from his Smule profile.
END NOTES
When we going back to the state of Odisha, what is so happy about Abhilash is that many India community singers all repeatedly proposed him to be presented as a main featured artist from the main land India. Like as you all have seen he comes from the state of Odisha, and he is proud of it. Yet, we are seeing tremendous potential in Abhilash to go nationally in main stream Bollywood singing. His singing techniques as he improve by years of training we are sure we see a rising star in Abhilash.
We thank many of our peers who supported Abhilash’s profile as a main featured male singer category. Thanks to all of them for making an other wise tough decision from many names to narrow down to Abhilash with real assessment of merits of singing.
Please visit him on his Smule profile here.
