From behind the console: Live audio engineers amp up the sonic boom in North East

On March 13, the final day of the Arunachal Yuva Samanvay Festival 2023 in Lumdung, Arunachal Pradesh, indie music heartthrob Taba Chake was gearing up to belt out the first song of his performance. Everything was set — the stage lights were flickering, the audience was roaring, and the drummer was about to give the first four counts — when the singer-songwriter coyly asked in the microphone, “Rocky, can you increase Sonny’s (Taba) guitar in my monitor?”

Almost instantly, Rocky Gogoi, the band’s live audio engineer, stationed at the Front of House (FOH) manning numerous knobs and jiggling feathers in the Venue SC-48 (monitor mixer), diligently obliged. “Do you need more of Teji’s (Toko) drum in it too?” he’d ask through the ‘talkback’, a system in the monitor mixer used by engineers to communicate with the performers on stage via separate channels. A couple of minutes passed and Taba broke into one of his most popular numbers, Aao Chale.

Concert-goers who frequently attend shows are familiar with such scenes, and they’d all concur that if it weren’t for the live audio engineers, watching one’s favourite performer live on stage wouldn’t have been as enjoyable as it is now.

Today, the North East is teeming with many seasoned professionals who chose to remain in the region and make a significant contribution to the region’s thriving live music scene rather than leaving its frontiers to seek a career in big cities. “A trained-ear is a quintessential trait of every live sound engineer, and those in the North East have an edge over others because the majority of them have been musicians first. For instance, musicians-turned-audio techies know when to use what — the equalisation, the nuances of using effects, the needs of a musical genre, and so on and so forth. We (as a band) have been blessed because most of the engineers who mix for us in the region are our fans,” opines Rudy Wallang, founder of the internationally acclaimed blues band Soulmate from Shillong.

From passion to entrepreneurship

Born in Shillong, Julius L Basaiawmoit, by default, was surrounded by musicians from his impressionable years. He was 14 years old when he first picked up the guitar, and like most kids in this part of the country, he aspired to be in a band. His wish came true in Class 12.

“It was the early 90s, and wherever we performed, we couldn’t get our desired sound as there was a dearth of live sound technicians in Shillong. As a kid, I didn’t know what live sound mixing was, but I knew that there was a void in the whole scene screaming for attention,” says the 49-year-old Basaiawmoit, who holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Sound Recording and Reproductions from the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), Kolkata, runs his own studio, Prodigy, in Shillong, and is an established live sound engineer in the region.

In today’s world, anyone passionate about learning can obtain the education and skills they desire, regardless of financial status. Songjamang Leivon, a 55-year-old live sound technician from Senapati HQ in Manipur, is a testament to this.

Hailed by many as a pioneer in the state, Leivon’s modest financial background couldn’t stop him from pursuing a career in sound engineering. “Though I was passionate about sound technology from childhood, I couldn’t afford to get into a proper institute for formal training. But by the grace of God, I got to meet people who were experienced audio engineers, and I lapped up the opportunity with both hands. Later, owing to the growing demand for live sound technicians in Manipur, I quit studio work and dedicated my time fully to live sound engineering and equipment renting,” says Leivon. Today, Leivon owns Hillsound Company in Senapati HQ and provides an array of services, including sound reinforcement, installation, musical instruments, and any form of audiogear required for a public address (PA) system.

The North East is now swarming with live sound professionals, such as Basaiawmoit and Leivon, who, regardless of how they learned the trade’s tricks, were able to assess the region’s now-booming live sound engineering market decades ago and seize the opportunity to turn it into a business venture while contributing to its improvement rather than leaving for larger cities in search of greener pastures.

Mizoram’s Toia Intoate, the first Indian to graduate from the Master Recording Programme at the Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences in Arizona, USA, had a different calling—an urge to permanently alter the audio landscape in the region. “My institute has produced many Grammy award-winning engineers, and when I returned to India, I received a slew of offers from Indian production houses. However, I chose to stay in the North East because I was still bothered by the lack of cutting-edge audio engineering facilities when I was a child. I had a vision to contribute to the region’s transformation, and that same vision led me back,” says Intoate, who founded the Kings & Prophets Studios in 2012 in Mizoram with a mission to provide state-of-the-art recording facilities, a live sound experience, and audio consulting.

With so many live sound technicians, studios, and equipment rental companies dotting the audio landscape of the North East, will it be fair to call audio engineering the new entrepreneurial venture for local youth in the region? “Oh yes! Definitely! We have come a long way in the last two decades. Things have become more accessible, and the Internet has brought us closer than ever. Multiple factors have contributed to this progress and have opened many new doors for entrepreneurial ventures — event curation and consultation for live audio setups, apart from providing logistics and sound technicians, among others. I am really thrilled to see the bludgeoning number of youth in the region capitalising on this opportunity,” says Intoate.

Nagaland’s Atsu Jamir, a noted live sound engineer and diploma holder in audio engineering from the School of Audio Engineering (SAE), Chennai, feels that given the magnitude of work this industry is currently creating in the region, it can no longer be dismissed as merely entertainment. “The entrepreneurial aspect of live sound involves big investments as professional gear is expensive and the sky is the limit in terms of brand and cost.

However, one could, with the right qualification and work experience, take this as an entrepreneurial venture and make it big as the demand here is ever-increasing,” he says.
Live audio engineering, like any other type of business venture, is fraught with risks, and Paul Sungte, the chief audio engineer of Kings & Prophets studio, has some advice for the aspiring youth. “Starting a successful business in this field necessitates not only technical expertise but also business acumen and networking abilities. In short, being a successful live sound technician isn’t enough as success in this profession demands a blend of technical skills, business knowledge, and networking abilities,” he explains.

The pandemic years and other hurdles

The sonic boom that the North East audio engineering environment is experiencing today has generated a national buzz, but it has not been without its challenges, with the pandemic years leading the way. With people compelled to confine themselves within the four walls of their homes and live shows, music festivals, and events taking a hit, the pandemic was a period that the majority of the region’s live audio engineers would like to happily forget.

“It was a very difficult circumstance. By forcing the cancellation of live shows, concerts, and other events, the pandemic significantly disrupted the music business. We had to stop all operations. As a result, we suffered a loss of income that made it challenging for us to cover our bills and other expenditures,” adds Sungte.

The pandemic, like in the rest of the country, left many live audio technicians scarred in the North East, while for some, it provided the opportunity to upgrade their skill set and prepare themselves for the post-pandemic era.

“Of all things, the pandemic taught us to plan for the worst and expand our know-how to other sectors of the audio world. During those two years, I worked as a sound designer for animated projects and assisted friends via online live sessions. Because the pandemic lasted longer than expected, I took some time to browse through various online courses available on sound production, marketing, and architectural acoustics, as well,” says Haggai Rongmei, an Arunachal Pradesh-based live sound engineer and the founder of CoreConcept, a production house.

The pandemic may have worn off and the music industry is returning to its former glory in the North East, but for the region’s live audio engineers, there are a few persistent issues that refuse to go away. One such barrier is people’s perception of the audio business as an unstable profession.

“Initially, many people, including my family, did not comprehend the type of work I do, and it was difficult to explain because all they see is me sitting on a mixing board and fiddling with knobs. Also, because the North East doesn’t have a full-fledged industry such as Bollywood or Tollywood, where the contributions of audio technicians can be seen, it’s hard to persuade the older generation that live audio engineering is a viable career option,” informs 34-year-old Rongmei.

According to Sungte, audio engineering (let alone live sound technicians) is still regarded as a pastime by many in the region. “A common misconception in Mizoram is that audio engineering is only for men, and I know for a fact that the majority of them do not regard it as a profession at all,” he adds.

However, with the flurry of concerts, festivals, and events that have swarmed the post-pandemic North East music scene, there is little doubt that this perception will soon be a thing of the past. “I didn’t mind when my parents started asking me about my prospects as a live audio engineer. I was determined to demonstrate what I was doing, and I succeeded.

They are most likely only looking for a guarantee, which you, as their child, must provide,” says Sikkim-based live sound engineer Aakash Sherpa, a Sikkim-based live sound engineer and proprietor of Anomaly Sound Designs studio in Sukna, Darjeeling.

Today, the North East can boast of having some of the brightest live sound audio engineers in the country, but many would be surprised to know that the region doesn’t have a single reputed institute that offers courses in live audio engineering. “As far as I know, we don’t have any established institute for audio engineering in the North East. There are a few small-time institutes one can explore, but it’s advisable to look at the credibility of the people running them. I think they would be fine as long as the faculty of these institutes is active in the industry and is relevant,” says Intoate.

Leivon feels that considering the dearth of reputed institutes in the region, if one wants to learn live audio engineering without getting out of the North East or “denting their pockets” abroad, they can opt for what he likes to call, the “street method”.

“The bulk of aspiring live sound engineers in our area are from humble backgrounds and cannot afford formal training at elite institutes. I think they can begin by learning the basics from local sound vendors and then progress to more advanced levels. I know a lot of well-known audio professionals who started their careers this way,” he adds.

Sherpa says that to be at the top of the game in the live sound profession, one has to keep updating oneself with time. “I discovered this the hard way. I stumbled, learned, and grew over time. What we do in the field is built on the trial-and-error method. You may enroll in one of the top institutes, but if you don’t keep up with time and update your skill set, you may end up learning nothing and end up nowhere,” he adds.

Undoubtedly, the post-pandemic North East has seen a flurry of musical events, keeping the local live audio engineers on their toes. It’s true that there are certain shortcomings, but notwithstanding those, this bunch of skilled professionals from the region is determined to make the North East a national leader in live audio engineering. And as Rahul Ram, founder and bassist of iconic groove-folk ensemble Indian Ocean, says, “Today, live audio engineers are busier than the bands.”