THE fate of the musicians nominated to the 6th Music Awards of Nagaland 2014 has been decided by a panel of four judges. Each of these multi-talented individuals has carved a niche for themselves in the music and entertainment scene.
The winners have been chosen by the panel of judges on the basis of composition, originality, musical arrangement, performance/rendition, sound engineering and production. In case of the award for ‘Best Music Video’, concept, direction and performance of the video are the major criteria.Moa Subong
Moa Subong is a songwriter, composer, musician and band leader of Abiogenesis and is the inventor of the Bamhum - a new wind musical instrument. He and his wife have developed a new genre of world music named Howey Music which is a fusion of Naga folk tunes with modern music. He is the main composer of Abiogenesis whose previous three albums – ‘Aeon Spell’ released by Saregama in 2007, ‘Rustic Relish’ (2008) and’ Slice of Heaven’ (2010) both by APH Records were nominated in the Grammy Awards. Abiogenesis has performed in many places in India, Myanmar and Thailand and is also a panel led by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Ministry of External Affairs. Moa was on the panel of judges for Asia Voice Independent Music Awards 2010, Malaysia and the chief judge for the Nokia Lords of Music North East contest in February 2011 organised by Reliance Big FM.
Keith Wallang
Keith, a founder member of Mojo - the northeast’s most iconic blues’ band is also the CEO at Springboard Surprises, a specialist communications firm working with artists, musicians, film-makers, etc, undertaking event production, licensing, music production, artist management, etc. Formed in 1994, Springboard Surprises have played a fundamental role in the arts & entertainment industry in the region and either, produced, promoted, managed or done production for some memorable events such as the annual Roots Festival Tour through the northeast region of India, the Guinness World Record for the largest Drum Ensemble in 2006, the annual Meghalaya Autumn festival, the annual Bob Marley Tribute festival as well as huge concerts by Sepultura, Air Supply, Firehouse and MLTR.
Timothy Aonok
Timothy Aonok is a renowned bass player and a dedicated musician. His weapon of choice is the electric bass and also handles vocals on occasion. For the last 15 years, he has been part of Nagaland’s most well-known bands and is regarded as one of the most talented musicians the State has produced. Some of the acts he has been associated with are: Hedonic (1999-2000), Native Colors (2001 -2004), Native Rising (2005 -2011), Divine Connection (2012 -2013), Quantum Art (2014- present).
Menang Jamir
Menang Jamir is the co-founder of M&M MediaWorks, an organization promoting the talents of the younger generation through videography in the field of music, dance and performing arts. They have so far produced, directed and edited many music videos and a dance album and were also the official videography partners for Naga’s Next Top Model, 2013. M&M MediaWorks received the award for ‘Best Producer’ during the 4th edition of the Music Awards of Nagaland and currently handles videography and editing for ‘Backyard Buzz’ - a monthly TV serial about the music and musicians of Nagaland. A computer professional with vast experience in animation, digital filmmaking, motion graphics & VFX, Menang also does freelance work for different recording studios at Dimapur, while carrying on with home-based work on music videos and other projects.
