Rupam Sarmah | |
---|---|
Genres | World, New Age, Classical, folk |
Occupation(s) | Computer Scientist, Composer, Filmmaker, Record Producer, Engineer |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, tabla, percussions, strings, keyboard, piano |
Years active | 1992–present |
Labels | RJ Productions International |
Website | rupamsarmah |
Rupam Sarmah is a musician, filmmaker, entrepreneur, author, sound engineer, and computer scientist. Rupam is a Guinness World Records holder and had a #1 release on the Billboard World Music chart (Together in Peace, 2017). He won Gold Telly Awards (One Little Finger, 2019). As a filmmaker, Sarmah has directed documentaries, short films, and feature films. Sarmah directed the English-language feature film One Little Finger with a theme of Ability in Disability. [1]
Sarmah has worked with some of the award-winning artists and actors -- Siedah Garrett, Dan Aykroyd, Moloya Goswami, Tamela D'Amico, Abhinaya, Jaya Seal, Kushol Chakravarty, Asim Bose, Pabitra Rabha, Rituparna Sengupta, Debashree Roy, Paoli Dam, and others.
Rupam has produced, engineered, recorded songs and music with award-winning artists such as Quincy Jones, Siedah Garrett[3], Kathy Sledge, Julian Lennon, Janis Ian, Kechi Okwuchi, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Laura Sullivan, George Kahumoku, Jr., Cindy Paulos, Wouter Kellerman, Brian Vibberts, Ricky Kej, Sumitra Guha, Kevin Mackie, Sophia Agranovich, Alan Roy Scott, Udit Narayan, Babul Supriyo, Sadhna Sargam, Kumar Sanu, Rupankar, Subhamita, Swagatalakshmi Dasgupta, Usha Uthup, Anweshaa, Iman Chakraborty, and many others.
Sarmah and Sumitra Guha have represented India for Festival of India concerts in France (2018) organized by the Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India, and the Embassy of India in Paris on the occasion of India’s 70th Independence. The theme of the project was A Musical Journey towards Rising India.
As a Computer Engineer, Executive, and media professional, Rupam has worked for technology startups and other companies such as Apple. Rupam is a Voting member of Grammy® as a Musician, Producer, and Engineer (P&E) since 2005.
Sarmah has been involved with AI, Autism, and Music research and started a research center (RMAN) for ongoing research.
Sarmah founded the One Little Finger Global Foundation (501c3) to support underprivileged children and persons with disabilities, media production house RJ Productions International - maZumba for collaborative content creation. He has worked on a number of projects with organizations, including UNESCO Center for Peace, PRERONA, Manovikas - Welfare and Rehabilitation Center for the Children with Special Needs, Bhupen Hazarika Foundation. [2] [3]
Sarmah has received a number of awards and recognitions for his music and film. [4] [5] One Little Finger, written and directed by Sarmah, received several awards. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] His research-based world music project, OMKARA - The Sound of Divine Love and Gospel with Borgeet,Talk to God, received nominations in the Hollywood Music in Media Awards 2014. [13]
Sarmah made a Guinness World Record on 24 February 2013 for his project 'A Musical Journey for World Peace', which united more than 500 participants from across the globe playing 315 kinds of musical instruments for world peace. [14] [15] [16]
OMKARA was listed in the top 10 Radio Airplay chart. [17]
Action Moves People United, co-produced and engineered by Sarmah, made the top 10 on the US Billboard Compilation Album chart. [18]
The album A Musical Journey: Together in Peace made the top 10 on the Billboard World Albums chart. Sarmah created history by becoming the first Assamese and also probably the first artist of Northeast origin to get a #1 album on the Billboard World Albums chart. [19]
Sarmah was born in Jorhat, Assam. He learned Indian instruments and classical vocals during his time at Golaghat and Jorhat. He also continued to explore other fields, such as film, sound engineering, and music. Sarmah migrated to the United States after completing his BS in Engineering in India. He then earned his doctorate from George Washington University's School of Engineering and Applied Science with a dissertation in Artificial Intelligence. Rupam completed his Master’s in Management, Master’s in Computer Science, and Doctorate from US universities. In the US, he took lessons from Ali Akbar Khan, Hindustani classical maestro. Rupam and his family currently live in California.
Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, professionally known as V. M. Bhatt, is a Hindustani classical music instrumentalist who plays the Mohan veena.
Jorhat is an administrative district of the Indian state of Assam situated in the central part of the Brahmaputra Valley. The district is bounded by Majuli on north, Nagaland state on the south, Charaideo on the east and Golaghat on the west. On the north of the district, the river Brahmaputra forms the largest riverine island of the world. The administrative seat is at Jorhat city.
Bhupen Hazarika was an Indian playback singer, lyricist, musician, poet, actor, artist, editor, filmmaker, professor and politician from Assam, widely known as Sudha Kontho. His songs were written and sung mainly in the Assamese language by himself, are marked by humanity and universal brotherhood and have been translated and sung in many languages, most notably in Bengali and Hindi.
Assamese cinema, is an Indian film industry of Assamese-language. It is based in Assam, India. The industry was born in 1935 when Jyoti Prasad Agarwala released his movie Joymoti. Since then the Assamese cinema has developed a slow-paced, sensitive style. In beginning the industry were called Jollywood, named for Agarwala's Jyoti Chitraban Film Studio.
Rupam Islam is an Indian Bengali singer, songwriter, music composer, writer, and humanist. He is the lead vocalist of the popular Bengali Rock Band Fossils. He gained popularity mainly through his solo albums and his works as a member of Fossils. He has worked as a playback singer, music director, and lyricist in numerous Bengali films and has also lent his voice for Hindi and Telugu films. He has sung for various Bengali television soaps, web series, and advertisements. In 2010, he won the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer for his work in the Bengali film Mahanagar@Kolkata. He is a member of the Bangla Sangeet Academy.
Zerifa Wahid is an Indian actress known for her works in Assamese films. Her prominent features include Baandhon, which won the 60th National Film Awards for Best Feature Film in Assamese directed by Jahnu Baruah. and the best film in the Indian Films Competition held at the Bengaluru International Film Festival for the year 2012.
The Eastern Fare Music Foundation is a music school, as well as a production and publishing house in Guwahati, Assam, India. The institute provides training for instrumental music in Western Classical music, Carnatic music and contemporary style. It was first founded in Bangalore in 2007. In 2016, the institute started its branches in Guwahati and Shillong. The branches in North East India provide classes in dance and Indian classical music.
Borgeets are a collection of lyrical songs that are set to specific ragas but not necessarily to any tala. These songs, composed by Srimanta Sankardeva and Madhavdeva in the 15th-16th centuries, are used to begin prayer services in monasteries, e.g. Satra and Namghar associated with the Ekasarana Dharma; and they also belong to the repertoire of Music of Meghalaya outside the religious context. They are a lyrical strain that express the religious sentiments of the poets reacting to different situations, and differ from other lyrics associated with the Ekasarana Dharma. Similar songs composed by others are not generally considered borgeets.
Joi Barua is an Indian singer and music composer. Born in Digboi, Assam, he started his career by singing advertising jingles and later did playback singing for Hindi, Assamese and Telugu films. He is also the lead vocalist of the band Joi. Barua has a mixed musical style incorporating elements of rock, soul, jazz, folk and world music.
Jagannath Barooah College is an autonomous college located in Jorhat, Assam, India. It was founded on 19 August 1930. The College is affiliated to Dibrugarh University and recognized by University Grants Commission (UGC). It was accredited by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), India in 2003.
Angaraag Mahanta, known by his stagename Papon, is an Indian playback singer and composer from Assam. Papon has also sung in many languages apart from Assamese like Hindi, Bengali, Tamil and Marathi. He is the lead vocalist and founder of the folk-fusion band Papon and The East India Company. He is the son of the noted Assamese singer Khagen Mahanta and Archana Mahanta
Jim Ankan Deka is an Indian musician, documentary film maker, photographer and director of Bangalore based organisation and music school Eastern Fare Music Foundation. He is the first person from Assam to open a music institute and a production house in Bangalore, India. He won multiple awards for his song Aawaz - speak up against sexual violence based on the 2012 Delhi gang rape incident.
Simple Gogoi is a director from Assam, India. Her first movie is Tumi Jodi Kua and later she worked on mega serials, Ad Films and more than hundred music videos.
Laura Sullivan is an American composer, arranger, pianist, producer, author, and a New-age, World, Spoken Word, Native American, and Pop music artist. She has worked with leading musicians of the industry and Grammy award winners including Eric Sullivan, Nancy Rumbel, Jeff Oster, Eugene Friesen, and Will Ackerman. She is best known for her album, Love's River, which won the Grammy Award for Best New Age Album in the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. Love’s River was recognized as one of the best commercial productions by Will Ackerman after 2009. Sullivan's album Pieces of Forever was nominated for Best New Age Album in the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.
Jorhat is one of the important cities and a growing urban centre in the state of Assam in India.
Manas Robin is an Indian music director, singer, musician, lyricist, filmmaker, Bihu artist, and music producer.
Vidushi Sumitra Guha is an Indian classical vocalist, known for her expertise in the Carnatic and Hindustani schools of classical music. The Government of India honored her in 2010, with the fourth highest civilian award of Padma Shri.
Anindita Paul is an Indian singer who sings predominantly in Assamese, Bengali and Hindi languages.
Amrit Pritam is a National Film Award winning sound designer and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, popularly known as the Oscar, as well as the Motion Picture Sound Editors. He is the recipient along with Resul Pookutty of a Motion Picture Sound Editors Golden Reel Award and two Producers Guild of India – Apsara Awards Additionally, Pritam has been conferred with awards by the state governments of Assam, Goa, and Maharashtra.
Sophia Agranovich is a Soviet-born American classical concert pianist, Centaur Records recording artist, music educator and artistic director. She holds Bachelor and Master degrees from the Juilliard School, where she taught piano as a teaching fellow. She continued her doctoral studies at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her live performances and discography have won top international awards and critical acclaim. Her albums are charting in top 10 across all musical genres on One World Music Radio and on World Top Radio Airplay Charts. A Steinway Artist, she is concertizing at major venues worldwide, and has been described by Fanfare Magazine as "a bold, daring pianist in the tradition of the Golden Age Romantics" and praised by the American Record Guide for her "magnificent shading and superior musicianship."