In the face of conflict andunrest, music often channels emotions about the surroundings. Shoegaze psych rock band Lo! Peninsula, based in Imphal, began making music in 2017 and released their first EP, AKA Lo Peninsula, in 2018. Since then, releasing new music did not feel like the right step. The conflict in Manipur has severely affected daily life, turning it into a struggle for survival, as band lead vocalist and guitarist Nitin Shamurailatpam explains. “In an ordinary scenario, people would definitely not be taking this long,” says Nitin, adding, “we were also not mentally in the right space owing to whatever is happening around."
The past six months, however, were crucial in planning a new release, their first in almost eight years. Song For The Undead is their newly released single that captures a human response amid unrest. “It was written in the context of the ongoing conflict in Manipur, which began in May 2023 and has profoundly affected everyday life in the region. The song isn’t about documenting specific events or taking a partisan position. Rather, it reflects on what prolonged conflict does to ordinary people: the gradual erosion of empathy, truth and the beauty of everyday existence,” says Nitin. We also talk with the artiste about working through creative frustration amid ongoing turmoil and why Manipur’s ‘twisted reality’ needs sharper attention.
You mentioned that Song for the Undead addresses the erosion of empathy and the loss of everyday life in Manipur. What thoughts went into writing the song to specifically explore that subject?
Actually, Song for the Undead is not a relatively new piece of material in the sense that it wasn’t written only after the conflict started in Manipur. The place is such that it has perpetually been under the scanner because of the multiple issues that the citizens have been experiencing. And so that led to the erosion or the depletion of collective consciousness, morality, social responsibility and whatnot — essentially everything that is considered ideal in another world. So I started to notice the absence of that in that society. And then that sort of only aggravated or kind of came full circle when the event took place in May 2023.
Could you further break down the title for us?
It’s just a mere reflection of how people are existing now in the backdrop of the whole incident prevailing in the state of Manipur. There’s no clever idea behind it. ‘Undead’ here is referring to the general public, the general masses who have now seemed to have lost their collective conscience, wisdom and intellect. We have been blind to the inactiveness and incompetencies of the leaders and whoever is in charge of maintaining peace in the state. We are in a morbid state. So, this could be a helpless call to people to realise that, ‘hey, this is what we are in’ or ‘that we are in a state of limbo and that this is not how we should be existing.
As an artiste, how did you approach crafting the arrangements for this song to reflect on those heavy emotions?
I’ve never looked at it from that perspective. But in simple terms, I would say that the guitar melodies that start off the song, it evolved. Sonically, I wanted to bring forth some sort of tension and I wanted to further explore that space. Also, when I said that this song existed way before the conflict happened, what I meant by that is the song without the lyrics. And so it sort of developed only after we started recording it.
Would you consider this release a form of catharsis? What message or action would you hope to see regarding Manipur?
It’s like any other creative outlet for expressing feelings and experiences. It’s the only outlet we have to release frustration from my experiences. And this is by no means to say that the song represents the collective voices of the place. Of course not... that is not what it is. But as for the message I’d like to see or what I would like other people to think, I know only this: be more aware of what is happening in the country. For example, if there’s a massive crisis in another part of the world — people are amplifying voices for those events on social media and other media. So likewise, more people should be aware of this situation too. The issue of Manipur should not be treated as less than other major issues. Everyone, regardless of their profile, should also notice what is happening here. People should be aware of the distorted or twisted reality of Manipur today.
Song for the Undead is out on all audio platforms.