A Music Graduate! - Binay Kumar Panda

“Though I am an Odia by origin, I was born and brought up in Nagaland, and stayed a major portion of my life in North East. I have been into music since the age of 4, and later, studied my Bachelor’s and Master’s in Music from Bhatkhande Sangeet University in Lucknow. In 2012, I shifted to Bhubaneswar and I’ve been on and off in the city since then.

I’ve worked as a teacher and as a resident artist for clubs. My last job was in the club, "Echoes". My passion towards music has been multifaceted, and I’ve always tried to work with music as a whole. I did my expertise in vocals and then studied many instruments. I also studied my DJ and other production courses. Now, I sing and perform as an acoustic artist, and I spin the DJ and recite the poems that I write. Travelling to, and living in a lot of places has made me multi-lingual as well!

My first performance was when I was 9 years old, and I’ve been performing ever since. I have performed in classical parishads, gharanas, the Hornbill festival, IITs, Amity and various college fests. I was also the choir master in the Lotus Temple, Delhi, and that was when I got to perform with Atef Sedaqoui, the renowned French vocalist, when he had been to India for his tour.

My father has been a very strong support for me. He used to wake me up in the morning for riyaaz since I was a kid, and even though it was forceful for me back then, it became a discipline for me in my later years. In the future, I hope to do what I’m doing now, but in a magnified manner.” – Binay Kumar Panda.