By Priyanka Sana
Shillong:
Be it bands or festivals, Shillong has been harbouring music and its ambassadors for eons. And it is no surprise then that many budding musical talents make the city, a launching pad of sorts for their career.
Naturally, the city became Samuel Zothansanga’s primary choice for his first-ever outstation gig. A singer/songwriter, Zothansanga, today, is one of the most talked-about rising talents in his hometown, Aizawl.
After gaining some recognition in the early stages of his career, he performed at Cafe Shillong in 2019 and it was famed musician Lou Majaw, who got him the gig after a mutual acquaintance reached out to Majaw with hopes of giving a budding artiste an encouraging nudge.
Majaw told The Meghalayan how he is ever-so passionate and will remain so when it comes to helping budding talents. “My door is always open,” he says.
Zothansanga, otherwise known fondly by his friends and his small yet growing fanbase as Samuel ApaZozo, first blipped on Mizoram’s musical radar after he released his first jazz single My Baby in 2018. His unique style quickly struck a chord with other artistes of the region and since then, he has collaborated with many, producing music inspired by jazz, RnB, and blues.
While his loyal audience would be caught humming or tapping to his smooth jazz melodies, his journey to becoming one of the most-talked-about artistes in Mizoram, on the contrary, had a tough start. Zothansanga remembers the day when his entire school mocked his first-ever performance and that, rather than discouraging him to take up music as a career, got him to hone his skills for the better.
“I was preparing for a long time to play in my school. On the D-day, the atmosphere was charged inside the auditorium when I chimed in with my composition on stage. A few seconds into the song and the entire hall broke into a never-ending laughter. I finished my song and walked off show-gazing,” he says.
For the next four or five years, he only sang in the confines of his room, training his voice and sharpening his guitar playing.
While the rest of his friends headbanged to high voltage metal and danced to the latest pop hits, Samuel found solace in the melodies of the yesteryears, jazz particularly, and other music he found soulful.
After some years of fine-tuning, he finally mustered the courage to perform again after high school. The reception was different this time around, where his dedicated years of training bore fruit.
This was when he realised he had found his niche and since then, Samuel never looked back. He went on to perform in local cafes and other gigs. Soon he caught the attention of other local artistes of Mizoram and this led to some massively popular collabotrations.
Teaming up with Gloria Dinsang in 2021 for a song titled Nous Avons Trouve L’mour, which loosely translates to “we found love’, it raked up over thirty thousand views within just two months of its release.
Samuel told The Meghalayan that poetry fascinates him, and so, the process of penning down a melody mostly kickstarts with a composition, followed by the incorporation of melodies that suit the tone of the song. Occasionally, he allows melodies to lead the composition of words.
With footprints of success set, Samuel is now launching an extended play (EP) titled Letters, in collaboration with fellow artiste/producer Cray Productions in the first half of 2022.
Samuel’s story is common to many upcoming artists of today and perhaps will inspire many more artistes in the making. Sounds cliched, but the fact remains, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”