Abdon Mech shares his experience from Artisjus Songbook Camp, Budapest May 2025
Q1 As an independent musician can you tell us about your early interest in music and your onward journey?
Although introduced to music by my family at a young age, I picked it up seriously quite late in my life. I had other passions and only during my university days did I make the decision to fully jump into music. I was surrounded by a lot of friends who were musicians then and I started getting fascinated by songwriting. I would be writing everyday through my college and university days and eventually I decided to give it a go and pursue being an artist that writes his own music.
Q2 Nagaland is known for its splendorous musical culture influenced by its vibrant landscape and everyday life. How has it fuelled your growth as a sensitive musician? How do you see Nagaland music gaining global attention and fan-following?
Nagas are truly blessed when it comes to the gift of music. They say there’s a guitar in every household. There’s a sense of shy honesty in our music that is influenced by our culture. We are relatively simple people and it reflects in our music as well .Having said that, we have also seen an immense growth in the music ecosystem especially among consumers. Artists have always been around but there’s been a massive shift in fan following and culture. Gone are the days when covers or traditional songs were the only music that was consumed. The market is still small but that small margin is dominated by original music fuelled by fan demands. This has transcended towards tickets sales for live shows and merch as well. It’s slowly started and future looks great for artists and fans in Nagaland.
Q3 Authenticity, you aver, is the driving force behind your work. Can you expound on the thought?
I’ve always tried to be honest in my music. I think one achieves that when they are honest and real as a person as well. Art is a reflection of who you are. I don’t do too well with fancy or trendy stuff, it’s not been my biggest strength. Audiences are smart people, they can see right through you. Instead of selling a made up brand, I’ve sold my story of being an artist that comes from a (relatively) small village who writes from his small room. That’s the truth and that’s my story. I’ve started from zero, without any external help or financial backing.
I’m grateful I’ve been able to put together a community that resonates with this and instead of just believing my music, they believe my story and are sold to it as well.
Q4 Being selected as an independent artist from India for the Artisjus song book camp 2025 must have helped you widen your horizons as a creator. Please talk us through it.
From meeting new people with incredible talent and making music with them to understanding their different cultures and lived experiences, it was truly eye opening. As a writer/creator/artist, it’s help me build relationships and community with those that feel so far away.
Personally, the camp challenged everything I knew about the process of making music. I’m used to sitting alone in my room and writing music but being in a cabin with 2-3 other people with an elite level of talent, creativity and professionalism while working on a time crunch demands something extra from you. It was so new and so different in the best way. I have so much more appreciation for this gift of creativity now.
Q5 The Artisjus Songbook Camp brought together music creators from around the world, fostering collaboration and cultural exchange through the creation of original music, blending diverse influences and styles. Please talk about this experience.
The camp was truly rejuvenating. Honestly. 30 plus artists from different parts of the world, in one camp for a few days. Everyone with their own talent but more importantly, with their varied cultures, stories, styles, lived experiences coming together to make music. We had everything from Japanese pop, Indian Indie, Hungarian cultural music, American hip hop to Afro beats and everything in between. Every day we were making different music inspired by different styles. It gave us the opportunity to bring our individual strengths to the table but also be open to try and learn new styles that another artist from a different culture brought.
The results were incredible.
Q6 What was the response to your music and to Indian music at the camp?
I received a lot of love from those in the camp for my music and what it represented. They were extremely happy and surprised as well to know that India has a big market for independent music across languages, with English being one. After raising their curiosity about our musical landscape at home, I was able to share more about how independent artists are doing phenomenal work in India and it’s only growing.
Q7 How was the Artisjus Songbook camp structured. Can you take us through the 3-day program lineup?
So the camp had a mix of songwriters, singers and producers. After breakfast every morning, we would be divided into groups. Around 8 groups with 3-4 members each.
Each group had a songwriter, singer and a producer. We would then have a briefing session where we were given prompts and briefs on what the song(s) for the day had to be made. The task for the day for each group was to write, compose, arrange, produce, record, mix and master and deliver a finalised track by 8PM.
After a brief photo session, we would all head to our respective group cabins and start making music. The energy was infectious, incredible and non-stop. After a short lunch break, everyone’s back to their group cabins and continuing the work. By 8PM, we have a total of 8-9 tracks that are submitted. After dinner, we all sit for the listening session where all the tracks are played. It was the one of the best parts of the day when we’re all just vibing and enjoying each other’s songs. We were constantly taken aback by the sheer quality of each song, there was just too much talent in the camp. After the listening sessions, we were done for the day officially and winding down. But everyone had too much creative energy even after a full day of making music, so we’d all head back to our cabins and have unofficial night sessions making music till 2-3 AM. This was the routine every day.
Q8 You also got an opportunity to interact with international Music Festival organizers at the camp. How was the experience and how did you feel it was different from other such experiences?
It was wonderful connecting with stakeholders in the international circuit and a fantastic way to build network and relationships. Unlike conferences and other gatherings that often feel rushed, these interactions felt more personal and genuine since we had the whole camp to ourselves. So it felt more intentional.
Q9 Composing an Anthem for a Music Festival must have been quite a thrilling experience. Please elaborate on how the opportunity came and the process.
It was! On the last day, a representative of Sziget Festival came to the camp. They were the partners for the day and the prompt was to write a song that represented the festival along the themes of freedom, liberty, living life and good energy. I was partnered with Reka, a fantastic singer and Mäte, a phenomenal producer, both from Budapest. We made a drum and bass track with high energy vocals by Reka while I wrote the lyrics. The process was super fun and the creative energy throughout was infectious. It was even remarkable listening to all the other tracks by the other groups at the end of the day. So much diversity in genre, styles and production while working on the same prompt. The team from Zsiget absolutely loved all our works and showed interest in how the same can be incorporated into the marketing plans for the festival. Hopefully we will see some of them materialise into full function soon.
Q10 Who are the like-minded musicians you met at the camp? Are we seeing a collaboration with some international artists in the offing?
I was able to connect with everyone I met. While being top level professionals and insanely talented, everyone was also very genuine and real. I actually clicked quite well with everyone I met and made some really great music with a few of them. One collaboration in particular stands out with Leon from America/Taiwan and Marci from Hungary. We really loved the song we worked on and have made initial plans to try and explore taking it further. But I’ve also connected with a lot of the other artists over potential collabs as well.
Q11 How do you see music from Nagaland expanding its ambit internationally in the coming years?
As long as talent is concerned, Nagaland has it in plenty. We’ve just been lacking infrastructure and scaling opportunities to a bigger level. But things are changing. The consumer and their demands have such a big power in the music market and Nagaland is seeing a steady shift in this regard. Fan driven support is growing and opportunities from stakeholders for artists have increased. Slowly but surely, music from Nagaland will see the light of the day.
This is the first generation in Naga music history that’s seen an upscale of promising potential and I think we shouldn’t rush the process. Organic growth is the way to go. We already have the talent to go global, just need to build thoroughly and carefully.
Q12 What are your thoughts on international collaborations like this? And what role, if any, can such initiatives play in advancing the careers of emerging musical talents from different parts of the country?
It really is a game changer, to say the least.
Absolutely massive credit to IPRS for championing independent artists with initiatives like this. For being inclusive and tapping into ignored markets like Nagaland and exploring talent. Not only does initiatives like this help connect artists with other artists but also open doors to potential international markets for their music through collaborations. It’s an excellent opportunity for an artist like me to work with and learn from fellow peers from different countries but also network, connect and build relationships for the future.
As independent artists, accessibility has always been an issue for us. But fair play to IPRS for being champions of helping independent music and facilitating their growth.
Q13 What role do you see for yourself as an ambassador of Nagaland music?
I feel extremely privileged to be from and based in Nagaland. While sometimes the mainstream feels so far away and we’re tempted to move to other cities, I feel I’m placed at the right place at the right time. Nagaland’s music market is changing. And for the better. The current generation that I’m part of is a pioneering generation as long as upscaling and growth of original independent music is concerned in Nagaland. It’s growing at a steady and great pace. There’s appreciation for independent music, fans are not only streaming online but buying merch and tickets and coming to live shows. Something that felt so far away five years ago.
It’s an exciting time and I feel privileged to be in the thick of it all as it’s happening. It’s a collective responsibility of all artists currently in Nagaland to shepherd this organic growth of our market and do our best to be ambassadors of growth and representation.