Naga artiste Arenlong Longkumer part of the global collaborate 'Treekam'

KOHIMA — ‘Treekam’, a global collaboration band, who has recently released their album ‘Treekam,’ consists of members from India, UK and the USA. 

The band brings music of different cultures and is an immersive, all-instrumental sonic journey that fuses the intricate grammar of Carnatic ragas with the earthbound soul of Naga tribal chant-inspired guitar work, wrapped in expansive global soundscapes.

The five-member band include Abhay Nayampally (Guitars and Keys) from India, Arenlong Longkumer (Guitars and Keys) from Nagaland, J Rod Sullivan (Drums) USA, Seb Read (Bass) from UK, and Tom Schuman (Keyboards) from USA.

Their album ‘Treekam’ consisting of five tracks which was released on August 31, 2025.

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Longkumer, a guitarist and composer from Mokokchung, Nagaland, in an interview with Eastern Mirror shared that Treekam was conceptualised by renowned music producer Sandeep Chowta and Arpito Gope with the idea of bringing the sounds of two different cultures in the form of an instrumental album.

He said that the songs in the album were inspired by Naga chants (particularly the folk songs) which ultimately led to 'Blending tunes' and 'Zakto tssoa'.

'Blending tunes' and 'Zakto tssoa' were primarily inspired by the two Naga tribes - Ao and Lotha. The ideas and inspiration of the chants can also be heard on the other songs like 'Divine directions', 'Spunky town' and 'Swan song' which were composed by Abhay Nayampally, he said.

Sharing about the formation of the band members who came together from different places for the album, he shared that Chowta knew the kind of musicians that would fit for the project like this. “He assembled the group of musicians for Treekam and I am honoured to have been a part of it”, he expressed.

He narrated that he got introduced to Abhay Nayampally who is an incredible guitarist with a fresh take on Carnatic music.

“Every other element besides the guitar was elevated to a whole new level with addition of the phenomenal J-Rod Sullivan on drums, Seb Read with his incredible bass lines and the legend Tom Schuman on keyboard. Once Sandeep and Arpito brought all of us together, we eventually started working on writing ideas and communicated through emails”, he described.

While sharing that all the recordings were done individually and in the comfort of their own spaces, he expressed that it has sporadic moments, as they took some time to figure things out and so it took a little longer than expected.

The Naga artiste expressed that “one of the challenges was not being able to be at one spot or a studio where everyone would come in and record in real time. But we made it work by frequently being in touch and sharing our ideas and recorded materials. The best ones ended up being on the album.”

On the future projects of the band he commented that “nothing has been materialised yet but Treekam 2 would not be such a bad idea”.

About Arenlong Longkumer

Arenlong Longkumer was 11-year-old when he took an interest in guitar. “I heard music, I got introduced to the guitar and that was it.

His passion for the instrument and making music kept him going.

Adding to his credibility, Longkumer has also won multiple guitar competitions across the country including Boss Guitar Maestro Contest (2015), National Guitar Solo Contest (2014) and Best Guitarist at the Hornbill International Rock Contest (2013). In the year 2020, he was amongst one of the winners of an International Online Guitar Contest by prominent UK guitarist Jack Gardiner. And in 2020, he won the Strandberg Guitar Contest in India and he was also a recipient of the prestigious TaFMA Award (Nagaland) and currently endorses Strandberg Guitars, SIT Strings and Hotone Audio.

When asked about his preparation for big competitions, he replied, “I just wrote and played what felt right. Somehow that worked and I ended up winning a couple of the competitions.”

To all the upcoming musicians in the state, the musician advises, “Listen, feel, absorb and create.”