The undeniable subtlety of Atingkok

Ningombam Captain *

'Atingkok'

Mee II

Artist: Atingkok
Genre: Experimental/folk
Release date: 26-02-2018
Length: 2:58
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Experimental music has a myriad of valuable forerunners such as Brian Eno, David Bowie, Yes, Radiohead (after OK Computer) etc., which is when we talk of the world. Now, Manipur has her own too. Atingkok, a simple yet mysterious alternative folk band is by far the most experimental act to ever enter the local music scene. They offer a blatant style of eccentric originality and display sheer bravery.

When I say bravery, I'm not referring to the lyrics, but rather to the introduction of their spoken word performance style for the local audience, which is something fairly new. Moreover, the approach that they employ to attain their proclaimed kind of music i.e. folk, is a bit unorthodox or rather "an untrodden path". They employ jazz, beat poetry recital technique, and the classical guitar. Clearly, these elements are not the key ingredients of a Manipuri folk recipe.

But Atingkok manages to develop an unusual amalgam of the aforementioned elements and successfully projects it as experimental Manipuri folk music. They don't need to search for an originality, because they embodies originality itself. An avid listener of the band will always find their songs unique in their playlists and can identify them with ease.

Atingkok has not officially released an album or an EP yet. Still, you can find some of their released songs as a singles collection on their SoundCloud account. This comprises of Aroobana Mataida, Meikhu Gi Wari, Lumaang Sambun, Mee II, and Mangkhi Uba Ngamdana. Some songs like Thambal Manbi and Thawanmichak are not uploaded, but performed live occasionally.

Among these songs, Aroobana Mataida, which was written as an OST for the film "Laman Ama" directed by Sanand Aribam (to be released today i.e. 14th of October '18), is a listener favorite. But for me, Mee II stands out from their discography as the most interesting one.

Mee II is a keyboard-laden track with sparse guitars and calm vocals. This single is also characterized by Atingkok's slow tempo attribute. The projected atmosphere is a posh after-dinner introspection, dreamy with cigarette smokes which is perfect for jazzy musings. The guitar and the bass goes hand in hand, with the latter slightly eclipsed over.

The keyboard is played like an acoustic piano for the chromatic jazz ventures by Jimbo Ningombam, a frequent stage collaborator of Atingkok. His style is reminiscent of smooth jazz with lyrical lines roughly like the ones played by Herbie Hancock, but in a much slower tempo. Pa Thawan's vocal is impassive (as usual) and whether this is deliberate or not, it tints a "poker face" attitude to the song, increasing its absurdity.

The woes of man and heightened metaphors are presented bluntly in a normal vocal delivery without serious expressions, which is absurd enough. His vocal is thus perfect for the band. The english translation of the Manipuri lyrics is given below:

Mortal ll
This sewn body tears through, escaping suddenly into unknown realms.
Being a man-like rock among the ignored, every one of them stares keenly, joyfully.
Is a beautiful thing the likeness of man?

Atingkok is proficient in the adhesion of different realms of styles. They can blur the lines between poems and song lyrics. Also, they infuse absurdity to surrealism. Their poetry is surreal like that of André Breton. Their songs can be viewed from two different perspectives.

First, as a poem recital like the Beat poets did, and to this, elaborate instrumentation is fused. Secondly, as an experimental folk music with spoken word lyrics. These two point-of-views, however similar they may sound, are different if the vocals are regarded as a variable. This proves that the instrumentation is as important as the vocals and the former's value cannot defy the latter's.

Atingkok is one of the most active bands in the music scene; having performed in many café gigs in and around Imphal, like at Forage, Mara Café, Books and Coffee etc., they also headlined a Sofar Sounds gig and the Ziro Music Festival 2017.

There seems to be a possible flaw in the song Mee II (rather in the recorded audio) and that is the generic lack of warmth. The song lacks depth in its sonic texture. Maybe, they should try mixing and mastering their songs better in the future. Even if it was recorded live, it wasn't recorded well, and as a matter of fact this is not a lo-fi song.

The epidemic of the rock bands around the world is their inability to perform their songs similar or better than the recorded studio versions. But Atingkok is safe. They can strongly perform their songs live with technical proficiency. However, they should not compromise the quality of their song's audio despite the fact that they can perform it well.

Their song Aroobana Mataida is the best, as far as the recording quality is concerned. Besides this glitch, Mee II is overall a unique song in every possible way. Musically, it is a jazz composition. Lyrically, it is a product of surrealism. And aesthetically, it is the impression of a Manipuri indie folk song, which is something only Atingkok can create.

Personnel:

Pa Thawan - classical guitar
Jimbo Ningombam - keyboard
Yaima Lai - bass guitar
Angom Tombi Meetei - percussion