Yesterdrive to overdrive musical aficiodos in Myanmar
FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT
Itagar, May 26: Musicians from Aruchal Pradesh are set to make the state proud as they head over to Myanmar to perform at the Festival of India 2016. Organised by the Centre’s ministry of culture, the festival is held across the globe as a means to promote cultural exchanges with host countries. The current leg of the Myanmar edition will showcase musical performances by Indian artists including those from Aruchal Pradesh.
Independent alt-rock band, Yesterdrive, will perform at the People’s Park & People’s Square at Yangon on May 29 in what will be their first concert outside the country. The band will be joined by Delhi-based singer-songwriter bam Takar who spoke about his excitement for the upcoming event and to get out of the heat.
“Filly getting out of Delhi, the furce,” he said and added that he is “looking forward to breathe again and play with Yesterdrive”.
Clearly a fan of their music, Takar said that “their songs are fun to listen to and more fun to play”. Yesterdrive’s lead singer Molie Lollen is hardly able to hold his enthusiasm for the upcoming event.
“I am super excited and it’s an absolute honour,” he said, adding that “this platform to represent not just my state but my country is more than what I could have aspired for”.
The band’s mager for the event, Bobby Hano of the Ziro Festival of Music fame, said that he is “looking forward for long-term business and cultural exchange”.
Having recently launched a travel firm, Tour de Himalaya, Hano informed that the Indian embassy has lined up some meetings with tour operators there. Hano also said that this year’s ZFM could witness a cultural exchange with artists from Myanmar. Last year, Yangoon-based punk-rock musicians Side Effect made waves at Ziro when they headlined one of the evening’s performances.
Hano is also enthusiastic about Yesterdrive and said that “this is recognition of their dedication and hard work”. Apart from Yesterdrive and Takar, Garo musicians from Meghalaya will also be performing during the event which was launched last month. Next month, bamboo craftsmen from Manipur will be heading over to Myanmar.
Delhi-based crooner, Takar, released his debut album ‘Same Sky’ earlier this year apart from hit singles that were released earlier including ‘Hello’ and ‘Table for two’. Yesterdrive released their first EP ‘Hold On’ on March 2013 and are regulars at ZFM, where they released their first self-titled full-length album in 2014, apart from the live-gig scene in Delhi. The band is currently working on their second as-yet-untitled album. They released the first single, ‘Charity Case’, as a follow up to their upcoming album. They were the third band to be featured in MTV Indies Pepsi Unbox through which they released their single ‘Sleep Song’. The band also became the first Indian band to work with ‘Around The World in 80 Music Videos’ for their latest single, ‘Dread’.
