Rhythm of Love: In conversation with Honya Yanlem

Honya Yanlem who considered herself a person who only sings behind the four walls of her room has recently released her debut single ‘Caught in The Middle’.
Shy Honya Yanlem who is from Mon district says she grew up listening to Hindi songs more than English.
Her debut ‘Caught in The Middle’ is all about the state of life where one struggles to make decisions. It’s about having both happy and sad moments, darkness and light in one’s life.
Honya says she has plans to release Hindi songs in the days to come.
Read on for more insight that Honya Yanlem shared about her musical journey with Eastern Mirror

EASTERN MIRROR: Let’s start off with a little background information. How did you get into music?
Honya Yanlem: Well, I have always been interested in music ever since I was in high school. I used to listen to Hindi songs more than I listened to English songs. Gradually my interest shifted from Hindi to English and here I am.

EASTERN MIRROR: Your biggest support.
Honya Yanlem: My family has always been my biggest support in whatever I do but when it comes to music, it was my friend Moba Inggang (who is also a musician) that literally pushed me to come out of my shell and record a song.

EASTERN MIRROR: When was the first time you performed on stage? And what was the experience like?
Honya Yanlem: Whenever I had the opportunity to perform on stage, I would always turn it down since I always felt like I wasn’t good enough. The first time I ever performed was 13 years back during the Youth Musical Ensemble in Dimapur. It was all going great until the power cut off suddenly when I was in d middle of my second song( laugh) . Maybe that was my first and last performance on the stage with a huge crowd.

EASTERN MIRROR: Your strengths and weaknesses?
Honya Yanlem: My family has always been my strength and of course the God I pray.
Well me being a shy person and not having enough self-confidence are my biggest weaknesses.

EASTERN MIRROR: What is your debut single ‘Caught in The Middle’ all about?
Honya Yanlem: My song ‘Caught In The Middle’ is all about the state of life where we struggle to make our decision but we are left confused and indecisive. It’s about having both happy and sad moments, darkness and light in one’s life. Some parts of the video also highlight my interest in photography (Even though am not good at it)

EASTERN MIRROR: Any musical experiences that you would like to share with your fans?
Honya Yanlem: Well I love singing but I don’t go out and perform anywhere so I don’t have much to share or talk about. But what I realised lately is that singing inside the four walls of our room is very easy but when you go out recording a song, play live on stage it’s not the same anymore. I also realised that so much of time, money and energy is spent on practicing, recording a song and making a video.

EASTERN MIRROR: If given a chance to perform with an artist, who would you choose and why?
Honya Yanlem: There are lots of artists I wish to perform with if given a chance. But when it comes to really doing it, I would like to perform with the ones I can be comfortable with and with whom I can blend well.

EASTERN MIRROR: To become a successful artist what according to you is the biggest challenge one has to deal with in the present scenario?
Honya Yanlem: Building up an audience, Maintaining consistency in our performances, with fans, in updating and upgrading our music according to what the situation and generation demands and also making our mark because there are many who are far better and ahead of us.

EASTERN MIRROR: Any upcoming releases?
Honya Yanlem: Well it has been just a month since I released my debut single, so I think it will take few more months to record my second. I’m planning to try a Hindi song in my next if everything works out well.