By Aparmita Das
SHILLONG:
Hurdle and hustle – two words that often define the lives of artists. Be it music, art, craft, literature or theatre, along with these two “Hs” comes constant hard work to achieve the perfection an artist aspires for. Sticking to this motto, a Shillong-based male nurse by profession and a singer-songwriter by passion, Samkupar Chyne, released a song on April 8, titled, Sa Shisien, describing the journey, artists undergo to reach their goals.
The name of the song roughly translates into “once more” and pumps in enough encouragement into the listeners to not quit pursuing one’s passion in the face of adversity. Chyne said the song is for everyone who wants to make it in life. Echoing with the artiste, Arki Nongbri, the music producer, believes that the song is about chasing one’s dreams despite hardships and problems.
“Along with hard work, we need to be resilient against struggles and hardships. In doing so, your journey may be overshadowed by a dark, gloomy and depressing cloud, but this song speaks of the light that’s waiting for you at the end of the tunnel,” adds Chyne.
The music video narrates the stories of four different individuals, interlinked by one common goal – success. The characters – a bike “reconceptualiser”, a visual artist, a craftsman and a thread painting artist, are being played by the real artists, who are living by examples.
“They have overcome a slew of hurdles to pursue their passion and have emerged successful,” Samkupar and Arki emphasised. Overall, the video beautifully demonstrates how one’s skill does not improve invariably, but gradually.
Chyne, an alumnus of College Of Nursing, NEIGRIHMS, says that he has been a singer-songwriter since the age of 14 and will continue to compose new songs. “I got my first guitar on my 10th birthday from my father and since, music has always been a part of my life,” says Chyne, soaking in the nostalgia of his childhood memories as he speaks to The Meghalayan.
According to Chyne, Sa Shisien is the summed-up Khasi version of all the English inspirational songs that he has written. Praising his fellow teammate, Arki, Chyne offers his gratitude and says, “Yes, I might have composed the song, but Arki Nongbri gave Sa Shisien the magic touch that it deserves.”
Arki has been in the field of music production for five years. “During the first two years, I was not putting much effort into it. I was just producing music as a hobby but ever since my father passed away, I was hell bent to start a musical career,” says Arki. He also draws his inspiration from local artistes like Jessie Lyngdoh, Banjop, B.A.D, B4ndit and more. “I watched them perform at the Cherry Blossom Festival in 2021, and it made me realise that if I put a little more effort into what I do, I’ll be the one performing on the festival stage in a year or two.” And this pushed Arki to release Sa Shisien with Chyne.
Directed by Kiki Garod, performed and produced by Sam and Arki, the music video features a total of twelve artistes, including, Mellberg Shangdiar, Code Freemen, Mario Pathaw, Joshua Lyngdoh, Batli-akor Laitthma, Shanaya Lyngdoh, Shirlena Lyngdoh Nongbri, Ruddy Rynjah and Mebha Kharwanlang.
The song has so far garnered 75K views on YouTube and the response that the team has been receiving has been overwhelming for them, in a way that “lives have been touched”.
“We’ve been receiving messages of gratitude from friends and fans that the song resonated and connected with them at a level where it pulled them out of dark places to reach out to their goals yet again. Well, I guess that’s what every artiste dreams of achieving with their songs, right?” says Sam.