Premiere: Ereimang Pair Manipuri Folk Music with Noise-Rock on Debut Song ‘Kwakta Lamjel’

The sounds of Manipuri instrument pena swirl into gravelly, palm-muted rock riffs on Ereimang’s first song “Kwakta Lamjel,” which comes with a folk tale told through dance in the music video.

Ereimang – going by the brutal, metal-inspired logo alone – is a project started by Bengaluru-based Kamal Singh (from noise-rock act Hoirong and of the erstwhile band Lounge Piranha). He started working on it in 2019, but with no particular catalyst other than perhaps being drawn to the pena’s sonic quality and range. He adds, “I don’t have a specific reason for wanting to do this – I feel it just tied everything together… Past, present, memories, creativity, culture, identity, identity crisis, family.”

It also helps that modernizing Manipur’s tribal lore and traditional culture has been looked upon with more openness now than before, according to Singh. “It’s a sensitive area, it can be intimidating and therefore limiting and restrictive. I feel things have changed now,” he adds. In the music video for “Kwakta Lamjel” – shot by Borlin Chanam and Somba Pukh – dance (by Vandana Wahengbam and Rajkumari Nandini), storytelling and combo of a rock band jamming with a pena artist and singer Thoichanba Laishram come to the front.

By way of context, Singh explains that Ereimang doesn’t have a fixed meaning, but a combination of words that can conjure everything from blood to forests and crematorium to dreams and the feeling of being lost. This particular five-minute version is just a part of the full piece known as “Kwakta Lamjel.” Singh explains how it’s about a race between the two people named Khamba and Nongban, for the prosperity of the residents of the town Moirang. “Nongban tries to win by cheating and making it difficult for Khamba, but Khamba wins anyway and wins the hearts of the people too,” he adds.

Singh is joined by guitarist-vocalist Nitin Shamurailatpam, drummer Jyotin Elangbam (from shoegaze/psych-rock band Lo! Peninsula) and guitarist Gajendra on the live front for Ereimang. The track was recorded in 2019 at Imphal’s Sikkimese Momo studio. The project will involve many more artists (Singh offers a clue by referencing Spider-Man in our interview) and says the plan is to release a single and music video every month.

Watch the video for “Kwakta Lamjel” below. Stream the song on Spotify and Bandcamp.