New Delhi: A never-seen-before crossover of Bihu and K-pop took place earlier this week. On 22 April, K-pop singer Aoora and Assamese artiste Nilotpal Bora released Oi Nasoni—the first of its kind ethno-pop Bihu song on YouTube.
A month before Bihu, the biggest cultural festival of Assam, Aoora posted a short cover of an Assamese song on Instagram and YouTube. The song was a popular Bihu song Sekseki Porua, originally sung by singer and Bollywood music composer Bora.
Their original collaboration is a daring mix of traditional folk, pop and EDM sounds. On the banks of the Brahmaputra, as dancers in traditional attire groove to the Bihu song, Aoora enters the shot, dressed in red kurta pyjamas and a muga silk vest. His spiky blonde hair and a traditional bangle, necklace and earrings (often worn by women) complete the look. He then sings in Assamese – “And do you see the world gets as pretty as a picture, as the days of Bihu arrive?”
Bihu occupies a larger-than-life significance in Assamese society. It isn’t just a spring festival that marks the new year, it’s also a folk music and dance form and Bihu celebrations last for an entire month. For Aoora, there couldn’t have been a better moment to tap into the Assamese market than during Bihu.
In three days, the music video has received over 4.3 lakh views, a commanding number for a regional song. While it is an entry point into Assam for Aoora, Bora sees the project as a cultural exchange that might help Bihu and Assamese folk music travel outside the state and community.
“Today, artists from all over the world collaborate with other artists. It used to happen in the past but today it picked up pace. It’s not a new idea but it has not been widely done in Assam,” said Bora, who has worked with singers like Sunidhi Chauhan, Mohan Kannan and Javed Ali, apart from Assamese singers.
To him, taking Assamese music to other communities is a way of moving forward. “We [Assamese people] sing or listen to Punjabi or Korean songs without understanding their meaning. It’s a stamp of success for other forms of music that we are singing those songs, even when we get the lyrics or pronunciation wrong,” he said.
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Birth of ethno-pop in Assamese music
Aoora’s reel of his song prompted Bora to strike up a conversation with the K-pop singer. Until then he wasn’t aware of the 38-year-old South Korean, who has been meticulously working to cement a career in India. A member of a lesser-known, former K-pop band AA, Aoora participated in the reality show Bigg Boss last year, making him a recognisable face in India.
Bora has been a household name in Assam since his 2017 hit, Majuli. Before he broke into the limelight, he worked in Mumbai’s music industry and continues to juggle work between the two states. The 34-year-old was open to a collaboration with Aoora after the feedback the reel received in Assam. It has 4.3 million views on Instagram and was also widely shared over WhatsApp, among friends and family groups, across the state.
“After my Sekseki cover, Nilotpal messaged me and I was very honoured that he liked the cover I sang. We met in Mumbai and felt our vibes matched. Working with him was an amazing experience,” said Aoora.
During the interaction, Bora was impressed with the knowledge Aoora already had about Bihu. It was the Korean singer who suggested making a Bihu song instead of opting for a contemporary modern Assamese song.
Aoora recounted that his introduction to Bihu happened while planning a visit to Assam. He was told about the festival by a friend. It led him on a quest to find an Assamese song to cover, which is when he came across Sekseki Porua.
He shared this journey when he met Bora. The Assamese singer, who sang Dhaaga from TVF shows Aspirant and Yeh Meri Family, was touched by Aoora’s dedication. He had already looked up Bihu songs on YouTube and “studied” the traditional attire before meeting Bora. It was the Korean singer who “insisted on wearing an outfit with an ethnic flavour” for the music video.
But Aoora was aware of his shortcomings, he knew he couldn’t pull off doing a “proper Assamese song”, and didn’t want it to hinder the project.
“He suggested doing a blend of pop and folk as he’s a pop artist and I’m a folk artist. We discussed that we should do the music with a pop flavour so that the dance steps could be a bit of ethno-pop,” said the Assamese singer-composer.
It’s the first time such a blend has been brought to the Assamese music scene.
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Can Bihu go global?
Aoora has been busy ever since he arrived in India last year. He has performed extensively at festivals and live shows across the country and released cover versions of several Hindi songs. He’s also looking to break into the Tamil music industry. However, it’s the first time he has partnered with an Indian singer for an original song. He is open to more projects with Bora and is full of praise for the people of Assam, whom he describes as “simple and loving”.
“I am still learning more about Indian culture. I think Bihu is very festive and all Bihu songs convey this spirit. From the costumes to the dance and sound of the songs, everything is very positive and festive,” the K-pop singer said.
For Bora, the collaboration was in line with his aim of taking Assamese music to a global audience. He is of the opinion that an international artist singing a regional song will pique the interest of his fans and make them curious about Bihu.
“It’s practical and meaningful work. For me, the only medium is art, and to be precise music. Many people say that our music should establish itself in the world, and collaboration is a very good way to do this,” Bora said.
The song embodies the spirit of collaboration. Instead of saturating the number with solely Bihu sounds and visuals, it was injected with K-pop elements, Korean lyrics and more contemporary costumes. Aoora wanted the Korean lyrics to match the spirit of Bihu. What made it to the song is this — “we all become one with the universe as birds fly towards the festival dancers”.
Aoora listened to and practised the Assamese lyrics several times to get the diction correct. But singing in a foreign language didn’t intimidate him. “I love a challenge and it was really fun to sing the Assamese part,” Aoora said.
The result was a song well-received. While feedback about the song has been largely positive, Bora was quick to counter the most obvious criticism against Aoora—pronunciation.
Bora defended Aoora by saying that delivering a flawless Bihu performance might be a challenge even for an established singer like Sonu Nigam.
“It’s wrong to expect correct Assamese pronunciations from a foreign artist who’s not even fluent in English. But the fact that he expressed willingness to perform a Bihu song is an advantage for us,” he said.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)