Sounds of a revolution

It’s apt then that Digital Suicide will play tonight at Control Alt Delete,at Sitara Studio,a gig that is a call for the music scene to contribute for a show that is devoid of sponsorship. Organised by Rishu Singh,Nikhil Udupa and Himanshu Vaswani,the concept of the show is to work as a tool for empowerment by bringing in a DIY culture among bands to reduce their dependency on organisers. Bohra says,“We,as a band,are trying to get musicians from the Northeast together. There aren’t too many electronic music acts out here. But in Guwahati,there are musicians learning from us,looking up stuff on YouTube. The internet is going to bring about a revolution.”

This new Digital Suicide sound is a product of the internet. Sitting in picturesque Haflong,the only hill station in Assam,Langthasa and Borah discovered artistes,such as Skrillex,Deadmau5 and Noisia,online and were inspired to recreate the sounds they heard. The duo,who use Abelton Live and Fruity Loops on stage,learnt the software online and figured out what midi-controller to buy. Bohra says,“Luckily we come from an upper-middle class family. So we have enough money to buy gear,but a lot of musicians don’t. Someday,I hope I learn enough online to make my own

controllers.”

Digital Suicide is one of the few bands that has been able to break out from the Northeast. It was at Scavenger Rock Idol,a talent competition in Shillong,that Anup Kutty,organiser of Ziro Festival,spotted their talent. He offered them a spot to play at his festival last year. The duo returned to play this year,and have also bagged a spot at NH7 Weekender in Kolkata. “We don’t call ourselves musicians. We do something with our laptops and it sounds good. We don’t even play the guitar really well. What we want to achieve is much larger than music. We want people to come together and bring the talent of Northeast to the rest of the country,” says Bohra.

Bohra’s grouse with the under-developed music scene stems from the government’s treatment of his city and state. On his track Third World Superstar,there is a haunting chat,“We are the Third World Superstar”. Though Bohra says it is about India as a whole,you get a sense that it is a sarcastic lament about the Northeast being ignored by those who occupy seats of power. “If you want us to be a part of the country,then treat us equally,like all other citizens. I don’t understand,where and when things went wrong,” he says. While Bohra’s dream might take many more years to come true,he for one believes his music can be the fire starter.