Think of Zubeen Garg and the song 'Ya Ali' immediately springs to mind.
The musician from Assam has sung a number of songs in Bollywood, but keeps shuttling between Assam, West Bengal and Mumbai for his music and acting.
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His last album came out in 2006 and he felt he had waited long enough for his next. Out with his new album now, the singer tells CS that he hopes music companies will come out in support of indie musicians:
The pulse of North-East
There was a long gap between my last album and the new one. The last one I came out with was in 2006. Also, not many independent albums have come out in the last four years, as Bollywood dominates over private albums. I was also busy doing some other things in the meanwhile. I wanted the new album to be slightly experimental. This one is a mix of different cultures. Along with the sound of the west, there is the pulse of the North-East as well. I think it is through albums, that artists can create their own identity.
Looking forward to...
There are many songs I have sung for Bollywood and I am singing some more. I keep singing for Assamese films too. I am also into producing and acting in Assamese films. This year too, I will have two more films up for release. There is a Bengali album that I’m looking forward to as well. I usually divide my time between Assam, Bengal and Mumbai for my work.
Connecting with people
I love doing concerts and have been doing a number of them in Assam over the past two months because of Bihu. Even in West Bengal, lakhs of people turn up for concerts and live shows. But somehow, I can’t say that for Mumbai. This city’s dead when it comes to concerts, which is a sad thing because it’s live shows where musicians can actually connect to the people.