Biography

Fringes is a LIVE band based out of Manipur. As the name suggests, the band is committed to exploring and articulating conditions and issues of marginality. Their music is an onslaught of Western and Hindustani music that came through colonialism and globalisation at different phases of the Manipur's history. They believe in experimenting and improvising on the Western form of blues and exploring the possibility of transforming various social spaces. Through their music, Fringes narrates told and untold stories of their region. Band Members: Haraba Ningthoukhongjam A doctor by profession and a self-taught singer; he grew up listening to classic rock and heavy metal music. He has toured extensively with the band Placid Dreams in Manipur. He has also worked for some studio recordings, which includes the title track of a telefilm for Doordarshan, North East. His primary influences include Lynyrd Skynyrd, BB King, ZZ Top, Robert Cray, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Bob Marley, Eric Clapton, Def Leppard, Dream Theater, etc. Thingnam Sanjeev Sanjeev picked up his first guitar lessons from his elder brother and cousins and later took a brief training in Hindustani music from Radha Charan Sharma. Since then, he has been performing with many musicians in Imphal from the early 1990s. In 1994, he and some friends started a heavy metal band, Unveiler, in Imphal. By the late 1990s, he was simultaneously engaged with two bands, Orchestra Pit in Imphal and Kanglasha in Delhi. With Kanglasha, he played at several campus festivals in and outside Delhi. Currently, Sanjeev also plays for Kalpvriksh, as a featuring artist. Kalpvriksh is a fusion band based in Delhi. A researcher in History and professionally trained in Archival Studies, he works as an assistant archivist at the National Archives of India, New Delhi. His major influences includes Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Wishbone Ash, Steve Ray Vaughan, Robert Cray, Freddie King, Albert King, Robben Ford, Jimmy Hall, Bonnie Ratt, Keb Mo, John Mclaughlin, Al Di Meola, John Scofield, Fourplay, Eric Clapton, and BB King. Shankar Sapam Shankar learned the guitar from his elder brother and participated in many inter-state competitions. It was when he moved to Mumbai in 1996 that he further honed his skills as a keyboardist and bass guitarist. Having performed in various festivals of the colleges and universities in Mumbai and Gujarat, Shankar has also participated in Mood Indigo IIT (Mumbai) rock competitions from 1996 to 2001. At present, he is working as a sound recordist at Shallow River Studios, Imphal. His influences include Deep Purple, Eric Clapton, Al Di Meola, Pink Floyd, Rush, Rainbow, Iron Maiden, Saxon, Dave Matthews Band, Steely Dan, etc. Gautam Sorokhaibam A computer engineer by profession, he learned music from Guru Radhacharan Sharma, a renowned guitarist of the 70's and music composer of many great Manipuri singers like Sanaton, Aheibam Shyam, Kunjabihari, etc. He started playing guitar at the age of 12 and had toured with many bands like Hole of Fame and Placid Dreams. He joined Heavy Water (a classic heavy metal band), with whom he worked with for some of their original tracks. After joining Fringes, Gautam started experimenting with blues. He is influenced by Lynyrd Skynyrd, SRV, Leslie West, Eric Johnson, Robert Cray, BB King, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Eric Clapton, etc. Sunil Loitongbam Hailing from a highly musical family of Late L. Menjor Singh and Late Smt. Sumati Devi of Imphal, Sunil loves to play and tease out challenging grooves on his drums. He has been playing with various bands since 1989. He has played in Mumbai from 1992 till 2000. He has studio experience with Studio Smoke (also known as Ranjit Studios) as an Assistant Engineer until the end of 2001. He studied sound recording in Mumbai. Since 2003, he has been working with Shallow River Studio, Imphal as a sound engineer and studio musician. He has worked as music director in various jingles, telefilms, digital films and some award-winning documentaries. He is currently enhancing his skills in the local folk music of North-East of India. Some of his major projects are Challenge (Documentary), Songs of Mashangva (Documentary), Real – Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), New York, HOPE (Documentary), and Eye of an Eye (Short Film).