By Aparmita Das
Ever wondered how would your food taste if salt did not exist? Well, everything would just be flat. Likewise, without Shillong-based band Summersalt’s newly-released song, Mluh, your warm family outings are likely to be bland and boring.
As new as it may sound to many, the song has actually been around for some years now and the band has been performing the song, not just in Meghalaya but also internationally. According to the band, which comprises Kit Shangpliang (guitar and vocals), Ador Shangpliang (duitara and keys), Pynsuk Syiemiong aka Suk (vocals), Dawadhok Shangpliang aka Weet (drums), Greg Nongrum (guitar), Dajied Kharkongor (traditional percussions) and Pynshai (bass guitar), the song is a mass appeal to call upon the listeners to celebrate the nutrients and richness of the indigenous foods from the Khasi hills.
Literally meaning salt, Mluh, is the first song from the band’s sophomore album Kliar meaning “summit”, that was released on June 29 at Asian Confluence, Shillong. The album will have eleven songs, sung in both English and the local dialect, Khasi, which will be released one at a time over a period of seven months.
“Salt is a minor but very important ingredient in our cooking, so we, the Khasi community, like a minor ingredient akin to salt, should continue to add taste to the melting pot that is India,” said the band’s lead singer, Pynsuk.
She further added that Mluh captures the nitty-gritty of the traditional food delicacies of the hills.
“Whenever the band performs this foot-tapping number in and around the Khasi Hills, or in other parts of India and abroad, the members would actually ask the people to participate with them. This song has got a very catchy peppy part that goes like ‘oh oh oh oh…’, so audience too sing along, irrespective of whether they know the language or otherwise,” she said.
The song was recorded in one of the world’s best studios, the Yash Raj Films Studios in Mumbai and mixed and co-produced by veteran sound engineer and the band’s friend, Shantanu Hudlikar. “We have been on this journey for 15 years now, and have been given to understand that the music from Shillong and Khasi hills has reached a very seasoned stage that deserves a world-class treatment. Therefore, we recorded Mluh at Yaj Raj Films Studios and mixed and mastered at Orbis Studio, both are in India’s entertainment hub, Mumbai,” says Kit Shangpliang, who penned the song.
The music video, however, was shot at a farmhouse owned by Arki Nongrum in Ri Bhoi. The video opens with the band travelling in a vintage microbus, going to a far-off place away from the hustle and bustle of the city. There lies a story behind the vehicle which is owned by vintage auto collector, Ashok Lyngdoh from Shillong. “It is very special to me. I had a dream one night and woke up at 4 am and a voice in my head told me that something was waiting for me at Shaantilal’s backyard in Saw Furlong. I rushed there and found the microbus standing there in a messy condition. I bought it from him and it took me three to four years to restore it,” he said.
After a long ride, the members reach the farm, which is designed to resemble the picnic culture of the Khasi Hills in the late ‘70s and ‘80s with stylised elements to connect with the Gen X group, millennials and even the Gen Z crowd. “The giant bamboo table set for plating the exquisite dishes, some of which can be rarely seen these days. The gala time just beside a stream draws the rural locals into the scene. There is dancing and merry-making with food and music taking centre stage,” explains Greg Nongrum.
For this song, Summersalt had partnered with the North East Slow Food & Agrobiodiversity Society (NESFAS), an indigenous-food-focused organisation working towards defending and promoting local foods of their own class.
The band’s decision to release the album starting on June 29 holds a special significance to each one of the members. “Today is also the birthday of our dear band member Baiaineh C Shangpliang aka Nah, who passed away two years ago, and this is why we wanted the release to coincide with the date,” said Kit.