By Gabriel G Momin

FEATURE | AUGUST 9, 2020:

The ongoing COVID pandemic surged silently, right from the beginning of the year.

It has crippled activities, hopes, and plans that one might have thought of this year. With chaos on the outside, it is hard for musicians to get going with their musical production.

Musicians are one of the worst-hit by this pandemic since they are deprived of means and production avenues.

"We all need somebody to lean on", this song can aptly relate to the shoulder I am going to address in a while.

He is none other than The shredder of the Experimental metal band DYMBUR, the one and only Cornelius Kharsyntiew, who has his studio; Legato Recording Studio, Shillong.

The band has a massive record of winning many titles in the country and is widely known among Shillongites.

Earlier in July, he had put up an official poster of offering a free recording tip for artists across the country, acknowledging the pandemic crisis.

He had received 170 entries, and after much speculation 60 artists were shortlisted.

Subsequently, the"> winners were declared on July 30. 

Of which artists belonging to three categories from Meghalaya; Banrap Lyngdoh-rapper, Baphi Lyngdoh-solo artist, Cursed Arrows of Monbhut-groove Metal Band- Mawkyrwat, and Asymmetry- Progressive Metal Band, Banglore got the record deal.

Let's hear from the man himself on his recording for a cause.

What is the project about?

Cornelius: Let's Make Music' is an initiative I came up with right after this pandemic struck us. Everyone is helping each other during these times of hardships, so I thought of contributing something through music. Being a musician myself, I understand how difficult and hard it is for bands and artists to save up money to enter a studio and record songs. So I came up with the idea of helping some aspiring talents who do not have financial support to record their songs by offering them a free 6-day recording session in my studio. I started this competition on the 6th of July and after going through all the entries I announced the winners on 31st July.

How do you plan to execute? Charges?

Cornelius: As I said, after going through all the entries I selected the winners and they will get a free recording and mixing session at my studio. I selected one band/group and 2 solo artists from Meghalaya for a free recording session. Apart from this, I also selected one outstation band and will give them a free mix of their song. There are no charges at all. I'm doing this without any financial sponsorship or help and I'm not even charging these winners for studio time & cost. So everything is for free.

When is it slated to be completed?

Cornelius: It all depends on the production time of one song. I'm looking forward to finishing everything by September-October 2020.

Challenges you faced as an aspiring musician in your prime days?

Cornelius: To date, I am always facing challenges as a musician. Financial support has always been a problem. Almost every promoter wants a band to play for free, even though if a band can pull in a decent crowd for their shows, they would always have to negotiate on payments and band fees with the organizers. So how would someone expect a band to grow, make music, enter a studio, produce an album if there is no proper financial support provided to them!

It is not just the organizers, the saddest part is when music lovers and fans ask for a free ticket at every concert from the organizers or the band playing a particular gig. How can a particular organizer pull out funds from a gig to pay the bands if the fans are not willing to spend a few bucks in buying a ticket? You see, "MONEY" is the biggest problem that brings about the downfall of musicians.

Any other job besides music?

Cornelius: Besides, playing in a band, I work full time at my Recording Studio.

Can you shed light on your sound engineering studies?

Cornelius: I did my first recording in the year 2012 when I produced the first demo/single for my band and since then I have never turned back. I am a self-taught sound engineer reading books on audio production, checked in lots of online tutorials regarding this subject, and kept on learning more when I started producing songs for bands/artists. But that was not enough for me; I learned that nothing comes for free in this world. Hence, I started looking for sources to study more on audio production, and I did a 6 months course with a producer from Hardcore Music Studios, Canada. He guided me with my production, and it took me to the next level.

How many productions to date, from your production house?

Cornelius: I started full-time music production in the year 2017 and I have produced for quite a few bands & artists with a total of 60+ productions.

Recent appearances of your band Dymbur?

Cornelius: We recently played at 'Pandemonium' in Kolkata on the 25th of Jan 2020.

Achievements of the band: 

* MEGHALAYA ICON 5 – Winners (2014)

* Best Drummer Award and Best Bassist Award at MEGHALAYA ICON 5 (2014)

* Brand Ambassadors of MEGHALAYA AIDS CONTROL SOCIETY (2014 – 2015)

* SHILLONG BATTLE ROCK – Winners (2014)

* Best Vocalist Award and Best Bassist Award at SHILLONG BATTLE ROCK (2014)

* ROCKOMANIA 4 RISING EAST – 1st Runners Up (2014)

* MEGHALAYA WINTER CARNIVAL MUSIC CONTEST – 1st Runners Up (2014)

* SPRING FEST, IIT KHARAGPUR, WEST BENGAL – 2nd Runners Up (2015)

* ALCHERINGA, ROCK O PHOENIX, IIT GUWAHATI – Finalist (2015)

* THUNDERMARCH, NIT SILCHAR – Winners (2015)

* Horns Up Awards for Best Single for the song 'Anecdote' (2015)

* Horns Up Awards for Best Live Act (2015)

* TOP 5 Best Metal Vocalist of Meghalaya – The Northeast Today Magazine (2015)

* Featured as Best New Artist in ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE India, February 2016 issue

* ROCK ROYALTY – 1st Runners up (2016)

* Best Guitarist Award at ROCK ROYALTY (2016)

* Opening act for Australian technical death metal band PSYCROPTIC in August 2017, at Shillong, Meghalaya, India.

* Opening act for the American djent-metal band VEIL OF MAYA in January 2018, Guwahati, India.

Any recent releases of the band?

We released our debut album "The Legend of Thraat" on November 5, 2019.

The album is available in physical copies and on all streaming platforms.

Plans?

We need to keep making more music. Cheers!

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