(All photos by Betoka Swu)

ADITYA VARMA

Alobo Naga, the singer-songwriter and composer from Nagaland, has released his new single, called ‘Laughter and Tears’, which came out worldwide on September 7 on iTunes, Amazon, and other portals. The release is part of his solo project, for which he is working on a full-length album, while he also enjoys playing with a band. “When I go solo, the genre is totally different to when I’m with the band,” he said.

Alobo describes his style of music as a very folk-ish pop bluegrass, and said, “With my vocals, I introduce a very folk-ish pop feel, and you can’t really call it deep bluegrass; it’s kind of like a bit of Bob Dylan with some Jason Mraz. I’d say it is my own genre.

“‘Laughter and Tears’ is a love song which I wrote specially for all the married people around the world. The song talks about a relationship and commitments in a marriage. Suppose a guy and a girl are brought together by destiny; it can be a blessing but at the same time it can hurt because marriages are never perfect. There is always a problem, but then it’s the love that binds them together. It’s basically a very simple love song about couples in a relationship.”

Alobo Naga has also just finished the editing of the music video for ‘Laughter and Tears’, slated for release in the near future. And Alobo Naga & the Band have finished recording a song with Grammy-nominated British producer and sound engineer Tim Palmer as well.

Watch a short teaser of the video below:

‘Laughter and Tears’ was recorded at the Element Indie Records in Dimapur, Nagaland, along with musicians Kevin Nibule, Theja Kate, and Fun Walling. “Kevi Pucho is one of the best sound engineers we have in Nagaland,” he said. “I worked with a guitarist also named Kevin for ‘Laughter and Tears’, and all the musicians in Nagaland respect these guys. I feel very fortunate to be able to work with these guys.”

'Laughter and Tears' by Alobo Naga is available for download here and here