East India Company - India // Band
East India Company (EIC) is a five-piece Delhi band that strikes a balance between traditional folk and electronic music. Together only since the summer of 2007, EIC explain that their improvisational sound epitomizes experimentation, freedom and traditional cultural experience. These musicians connect like they have always been together, and when Papon (creator and lead vocalist) starts to sing his beautiful melodies, the band members just shine.
The song Boitha Maro is a folk song from Assam , a state in the northeast corner of India , which shares boundaries with Benagal ( India ), Bangladesh and Burma . The language is Assamese and it’s about the boat race that takes place in the Goalpara district of Assam. EIC Vocalist Papon learnt the song from his parents Khagen and Archana Mahanta who are popular folk musicians of the region. EIC’s version of Boitha Maro introduces electronica and electric funk guitar, taking it a step further to make it popular to today’s younger audience around the world. It forms part of their repertoire of ‘folktronica’, a term they have coined in their short but impressive band history.
