Jim Ankan Deka

Jim Ankan Deka (born 1 June 1980) is an Indian musician, documentary film maker, photographer and director of Bangalore based organisation and music school Eastern Fare Music Foundation.^{[1][unreliable source?]} He is the first person from Assam to open a music institute and a production house in Bangalore, India.^[2] He won multiple awards for his song Aawaz - speak up against sexual violence based on the 2012 Delhi gang rape incident.^[3] He is the frontman of the folk-fusion band FolkAGeet.^[4]

Jim Ankan Deka
Jim Ankan Deka at Idea Rocks India, Bangalore (2013)
Born	Jim Ankan Deka (1980-06-01) 1 June 1980 (age 45) Guwahati, Assam, India
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter, documentary filmmaker, photographer, record producer
Spouse	Parmita Borah
Parent(s)	Bhabananda Deka Nalini Prava Deka
Awards	Renault Free The Music Award (2015) Global Music Award (2014)
Musical career
Genres	Pop acoustic rock easy listening rock
Instruments	Vocals piano guitar
Years active	1998–present
Labels	The Orchard Music, Believe Music, Bombay Tracks LLP, Biscoot Records LLP, Songdew, Indiearth, Muslate
Website	withjim.in[dead link]

Biography

Early life and education

Deka started playing the guitar from the age of three.^[5] His initial training was in Borgeet and Khol.^[6]

Early career

Deka started his career in music at the age of 18 with his first album Prahar: Tumi Kowa Kothabor with an Assamese band Prahar.^[7] With his performance as a guitarist, bass guitarist and keyboardist in numerous concerts, events and TV shows, Deka made a name for himself in the music industry of Assam.^{[8][9][unreliable source?]} In 2001 Deka founded a studio in Guwahati named La-Jiazz which was closed in 2006. Deka is a member of the band Voodoo Child in Assam.^[10]

Music career

Since 1998, Deka has been composing and arranging music for albums, TV series, documentaries, short films and ad jingles. Till 2012 he has composed music for six albums in various languages including English, Hindi, Assamese, Mizo and Goalporia. At present he is a member of Veenar, a jazz fusion band^[11] and Eastern Fare, an acoustic rock band in Bangalore.^[12] He is the guitarist and music producer for Tunetellers, an ensemble from Guwahati, Assam. He was the guitarist and keyboardist for the band Voodoo Child from 2005 to 2016.

Works and projects

Photography

Jim Ankan Deka and Antara Nandy at a concert in Bangalore (17 November 2012)

Deka has been involved in concert and event photography since 2006.^{[13][unreliable source?]}

Eastern Fare Music Foundation

Deka left for Bangalore in 2006 and founded the ace music institute Eastern Fare Music Foundation.^{[14][15][16][unreliable source?]} Eastern Fare opened a club Eastern Fare Music Club in 2009 and a recording studio Eastern Fare Music Studio.^[17]

In 2010, Eastern Fare Music Foundation opened a production house in Bangalore called Eastern Fare Productions. Deka directed two short documentaries, Nagaland: Journey through the choir of clouds and Shillong under the same production house.^{[18][unreliable source?]} The production house also produced a short film and two music videos.

In 2012 Deka opened a branch of Eastern Fare in Guwahati.^[19]

OK North East

In 2017, Deka co-founded a travel information and activity center for North-east India called OK North East in Guwahati with branches in Umiam and Bangalore. The company took up projects to bring foreign tourists to not very well known to unexplored places in the North-east. The company has been taking up tasks to help villages in the North-east through the means of sustainable development along with providing training on soft skills to the villagers.^{[20][unreliable source?]}

Honors and awards

Year	Awarded by	Award	Nominated work
2013	Mumbai Shorts International Film Festival	Best Music Video	Aawaz – speak up against sexual violence[21]
2014	Hollywood Shorts Reel-14	Best Music Video	Aawaz – speak up against sexual violence[22][unreliable source?]
2014	Noida International Film Festival	Best Music and Best Music Video	Aawaz – speak up against sexual violence
2014	Global Music Awards	Bronze Medal	Aawaz – speak up against sexual violence[23]
2015	Songdew	Renault Free The Music Award	In recognition of outstanding contribution to indie music
2016	Fabindia and Songdew	Weave Your Sound	Eastwards[24][unreliable source?]

Deka has been invited as a guest and judge for some of the major music competitions and events in India. Some of the notable events where Deka was invited as a judge were Ananya '10 at Kammavari Sangha Institute of Technology (KSIT), 12th Inter Collegiate Youth Fest at Channabasaveshwara Institute of Technology (CIT), Spring Fest at Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT),^{[25][unreliable source?]} Alcheringa at Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT), Rock Hammer at Indian National Autocross Championship (INAC), Consensio at Royal Group of Institutions and Idea Rocks India Talent Hunt,.

Discography

#	Album Name	Language	Year
1.	Prahar – Tumi Kowa Kothabor	Assamese	1998
2.	Saayaan	Hindi	1999
3.	Mor Ei Dekh	Assamese	2000
4.	Friendship	English	2001
5.	Goalporia Lokageet (Goalporia Folk Songs)	Goalporia	2005
6.	Tomaloi	Assamese	2006
7.	Timeless[26][unreliable source?]	Multilingual	2012
8.	EastWards	Instrumental	2015
9.	Funked	Instrumental	2020

Single compositions

English

• "Ticking Clock" (Jimmy Thang) (2022)
• "Moving On" (Catherine Khiangte) (2020)
• "Assam Skies" (Featuring Char Seawell, Catherine Khiangte) (2019)
• "Little Love Little Peace" (Featuring Rittique Phukan (Voodoo Child)) (English) (2017)
• "How Else Can We Sing This" (for the band – Eastern Fare) (English) (2010)

For ChaiTunes Project

• "Assam Skies" (Featuring Char Seawell, Catherine Khiangte, Karen Weed) (English) (2019)
• "Niyoror Xur" (Featuring Mayukh Hazarika) (Assamese) (2019)
• "Anuron" (Featuring Rupam Bhuyan, Queen Hazarika) (Assamese) (2016)
• "Aakaxok Subo Khojo" (Featuring Antara Nandy) (Assamese) (2015)
• "Xaare Aasu" (Featuring Queen Hazarika) (Assamese) (2015)^{[27][unreliable source?]}

Other languages

• "O' Ajon" (Featuring Maitrayee Patar, Rishan Doley) (Mising) (2022)
• "Nixobdo Nilim" (Assamese) (2014)
• "Aawaz – speak up against sexual violence" (Featuring Ritwika Bhattacharya, Queen Hazarika, Antara Nandy) (Bilingual) (2013)
• "Tere Bin Nahi Lagda" (Featuring Ritwika Bhattacharya) (Hindi) (2012) (tribute to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan)^{[28][unreliable source?]}
• "Bidaai Dilo Bidaai" (Featuring Ankur Deka) (Assamese) (2012)
• "Ganga" (Featuring Ritwika Bhattacharya) (Hindi) (2012) (tribute to Dr. Bhupen Hazarika)^{[29][unreliable source?][30][unreliable source?]}
• "Samajavaragamana" (Featuring Suchethan Rangaswamy) (Sanskrit) (for the band – Veenar) (2010)
• "Saviganasu" (Kannada) (composed only the guitar part for the theme song of a Kannada serial) (2010)

Featured tracks

• "Eastwards feat. Suchethan Rangaswamy" (instrumental) (Featured in the albums Timeless; Heritage Hues – Music That Celebrates India by Songdew; 'Strings Attached' by Music Aloud.)^{[verification needed]}

Music videos

Year	Title	Music	Artist	Director
2019	Assam Skies[31][unreliable source?]	Jim Ankan Deka, Char Seawell	Char Seawell, Catherine Khiangte	Tarunabh Dutta
2017	Anuron	Jim Ankan Deka	Queen Hazarika, Rupam Bhuyan	Tarunabh Dutta, Debjani Hazarika
2015	Aakaxok Subo Khojo[32][unreliable source?]	Jim Ankan Deka	Antara Nandy	Parmita Borah
2015	Xaare Aasu	Jim Ankan Deka	Queen Hazarika	Parmita Borah
2014	Nixobdo Nilim	Jim Ankan Deka	Jim Ankan Deka	Parmita Borah
2013	Aawaz – speak up against sexual violence[33]	Jim Ankan Deka	Ritwika Bhattacharya, Antara Nandy and Queen Hazarika	Parmita Borah
2012	Tere Bin Nahi Lagda	Jim Ankan Deka	Ritwika Bhattacharya	Parmita Borah
2012	Xobdor Porisoy[34][unreliable source?]	Jim Ankan Deka	Jim Ankan Deka	Parmita Borah

Documentaries

Year	Title	Role	Note
2010	Shillong	Director, Music Composer	Short documentary
2011	Nagaland – journey through the choir of clouds[35][unreliable source?]	Director	Short documentary

Television series

Year	Title	Role	Director/Music Director	Language	Channel
2006	Balidaan	Music composer and background score	Narayan Sil (Director)	Hindi	Doordarshan
2010	Saviganasu	Guitarist for title song	Bharath BJ (Music director)	Kannada	Kasturi (TV channel)

Short films

Year	Title	Role	Director	Language
2011	Uninvited	Music composer and background score	Parmita Borah	English