Mihir Phukan

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Mihir Phukan is a professional instrumentalist based out of Guwahati, Assam. Born in 1986, Mihir is the youngest child of his family. He loved music but never intended to be a musician until a few of his friends in the neighbourhood decided to form a band and asked him to play the guitar. From the early days, he was drawn by Western classical music such as Paganini, Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, etc. but he never imagined that those musical pieces could be combined into rock music until he met Yngwie Malmsteen. That is how he was introduced to the neo-classical genre. He was fascinated by Yngwie's blistering speed and standard of phrasing classical music, and he too chose to take his music to a new level in his own way. He was also influenced by the melodic styles of Joe Satriani and technicality of Steve Vai. They are the primary influences, along with other legendary guitarists like Paul Gilbert, Eddie Van Halen, Michael Romeo, Frank Gambale, Jason Becker, Eric Johnson, etc. Apart from the solo guitarists, he was also influenced by bands like Stratovarius, Symphony X, Extreme, Iron Maiden, Mr Big, Whitesnake, and most other bands from the 80s and 90s. By age 16, Mihir began playing in a band called Eclipse which he formed in 2003 along with his friends. They started performing in various competitions from 2003 till 2007 where he has been conferred the Best Guitarist Award for five consecutive years in almost every contest. That is how they suddenly came to the limelight and soon, became one of the best bands from North-Eastern India. He was soon seen as the fastest guitarist of North-East and was interviewed by several news channels and other forms of media. In 2003, he composed two original music called Obsessed By The Devil's Spirit and Virgin's Of Heaven And Hell, which remains the benchmark of Eclipse till date. In 2007, he debuted in his regional language by composing for a theatre, which became one of his greatest hits. But sadly, he left Eclipse in 2007 and moved to South India to pursue his higher education and remained underground for four years. Mihir later emerged from his silence and made a ground-breaking comeback in Fireball 2011, which also continues to be one of the best and only solo performance ever in Assam. He has been called to many prestigious events and shows as a judge. In 2012, he decided to form a new band and started auditioning for bass, drums, vocals, and keyboards. While auditioning, he came across a few good artists and his ex-band mates from Eclipse, and that is how Wizard Crossing was formed. This news spread rapidly among the rock circuit of India and soon, and Mihir got invited to perform in many prestigious events across India. Meanwhile, Mihir got a project from Rock School UK to impart education to the future new talents and nourish their knowledge in music. That is how he established his music institute, Cantabile Music Academy (Affiliated under Rock School UK, London).