Known for his great vocal technique and his soulful voice, Sunep A Jamir, the front man of Tune Up Channel is a singer/songwriter from Longsa village.
An unwilling participation in a singing competition at an early age of 12 helped him discover that he could well – sing! And along with it, watching people play music in church inspired him to become more passionate towards music.
Sunep, along with his band members of ‘Tune Up Channel’, is not only well-known in their hometown, Mokokchung but has found themselves a spot both in and outside of Nagaland with their recent tour just concluding in Guwahati the previous month.
The band has also achieved various laurels such as winning the Best Nagaland Band at the Hornbill International Rock Contest 2015 and representing Nagaland at the 2nd Multi Media Campaign Northeast Imphal.
Apart from the songs released with the band, Sunep also ventures as a solo artist and has went on to drop four songs of his own which, according to him, are all inspired from his personal experiences.
His recent cover of ‘Kü Meimla’ originally sung by the legendary band, Teroto Naro, was also used as the sound track for the ongoing series ‘Dreams and Chaos Season 2’ and received enormous love and attention among the listeners making it the ‘most talked about’ for a while.
Here is his brief chit-chat with Mokokchung Times while we try to know and understand him better.
MTimes: Thank you for the opportunity, Sunep. So, do you have a musical family background? How did your journey towards music begin?
Sunep: I am definitely not from a musical family background. I should say, church music played an important role for me and it still does for my inspiration as well as in helping me love music initially. Just by witnessing various artists perform on the church platform, I developed the zeal towards performing and music.
MTimes: You have already released four of your originals. Please share with us the concept, style and the ideas that you had put into your music.
Sunep: I describe my music as soulful, storytelling; I think people who listen to my songs often will be able to describe it better. All the songs that I’ve written are based on my experience and it’s kinda difficult for me to write lyrics until and unless something strikes my mind. When I am done with the song, I try to put on the music as simply as possible so that it won’t distract the beauty of the song. Many times we try to overdo it and take away the quality of the song. Sometimes keeping it simple is the most difficult thing to do.
MTimes: You and your band have been performing at different stages and places over the years. How do those experiences feel like? Share with us about your best performance.
Sunep: The experience of performing with my band has been great so far and it’s always a joy to go up to the stage and perform with my band who are more like a family now. Every performance has been life-changing but I think performing at the 2nd Multi Media Campaign Northeast Imphal, representing Nagaland, was one of my best performances.
MTimes: You have collaborated with Lipokmen in one of your music videos. How was your experience working with her?
Sunep: It’s always good to work with talented people and Lipokmen is one of those. It was really a good experience working with her and I should say she is really an underrated singer from Mokokchung. I just hope that she starts releasing her own music so that people would experience the musical quality possessed by her.
MTimes: Out of the songs you’ve released, which one is your favorite or special musical composition so far? We would love to know the story behind it.
Sunep: Every song I have released has a special place in my heart but if I do have to choose one then it will be the song “Guilty”. It somehow talks about mental health, depression and frustration which are an important topic in today’s world that everyone should take it seriously.
MTimes: Your recent cover, ‘Kü meimla’ has been well received and loved by many. What do you have to say about it?
Sunep: The first time I heard about the Teroto Naro band was way back in 2006; from then I have always loved them, especially their exceptional song writing skills.
It was actually received well because I first sang a small part of the song on ‘Dreams and Chaos’ Season 2 and only after that I released the full version of the song later on YouTube. I am really delighted that people loved my version of the song and at the same time I encourage people to keep listening to Teroto Naro, a lost gem that needs to be rediscovered.
MTimes: What would you consider your biggest strength to be?
Sunep: Not willing to give up is my biggest strength and till now that is keeping me alive in my musical journey.
MTimes: Do you have any favorite Artist, Musicians or Band that you look up to as a role model?
Sunep: I really look up to Tali Angh so much, not just for his exceptional voice and song writing skills but also as a person.
MTimes: What advice would you give to someone who has just started a career in Music?
Sunep: I think I am not the right person to say this ‘cos I am still at the stage where I am making mistakes and learning so much. But I just want to say that if you really want to go in the direction of music, go for it.
MTimes: Leave a message to our Readers.
Sunep: Mokokchung Times is not just a media platform where we can get the latest news but also where a lot of new talents get discovered whether it may be in music or in any field. I am delighted to know that Mokokchung Times is doing a tremendous job by allowing people to share stories and help them connect with people. So, I encourage the readers to keep on supporting this media platform and make it grow bigger.