Renbeni Odyuo ~ Making Sweet Melody

Everything makes her sing, or so she seems to indicate as Renbeni Odyuo sits with no air of pride around her despite being a young achiever. As a little girl, she dreamt of becoming an entertainer.

Today, she is seen more on stage than elsewhere, impacting change through her voice.

But that talent of hers doesn’t seem to grow in the family, because, interestingly, nobody in her family is into singing. Yet, naturally gifted with a beautiful voice, she grew up singing in Sunday school, church, events and festivals. It was probably when overwhelming requests for her performance started flowing in for several occasions that made her think, ‘People actually like my voice and I should do something about it.’

However, she confesses, “I never told myself I am going to be a singer”.

But her big break in the music world happened when she won the Naga Idol 5.10 during 2010 while she was still a student of KL Bajoria College Shillong, waiting for her BA results.

“With singing, I can do so much,” she states confidently as she delves deeper into details and also remembers how the reality show groomed her personality, her style, her music. “For a while, I forgot it was a competition because it was so much fun,” she says, even as she shares, “I have also learnt to take criticism after I started being there on stage...you know, it takes a lot to be judged.”

When she got her due recognition, she didn’t want her tryst with music to end with Naga Idol. Maybe, that’s how her debut album “Essence”, which she fondly dedicates to her parents, came alive. With this new venture, she is also officially a songwriter now having written all the songs in the album herself, apart from two collaborations.

“I’ve always been interested in writing, and was wondering how to express myself,” she says and feels that song-writing is the perfect form of expression in writing for her.

Renbeni is also the Brand Ambassador for NSACS RockAware, which, she confesses, was very unexpected. She admits that at first she had wondered, “Can I carry this off?” But after she started the journey, she says she has learnt so much about the HIV cause as well as about Nagaland itself. Giving an honest comment about her tour to all the districts of Nagaland, she said, “Those of us in Mokokchung, Kohima and Dimapur are so spoilt.”

“I learnt about my State……go to government colleges in the remote areas of Nagaland and all they ask for is a proper toilet, or windows……….it was really emotional for me...in that environment I was supposed to tell them about HIV/AIDS. But even in that condition, they need to know that HIV is a serious issue,” she explains.

Further into the journey, she was offered a job as Youth Consultant by NSACS but she thought, “If I can use my music to spread the message, I can still be a part of it” and declined the offer, which only shows her dedication to singing.

Renbeni does not consider herself a conventional singer even as she adds, “I’ve always wanted to be different. I love acoustic, grew up listening to alternative rock during my college days, and waited for my graduation to make any decision, and now I know I can do so much with singing.”

Has there been any influence on her singing? And she is quick to reply, “Mariah Carey is still an artiste that every aspiring female musician looks up to. Among others, No Doubt and Garbage inspired me.”

She aspires to continue singing, professionally, she adds, though admitting that sometimes it is hard. “We don’t have a proper industry; I don’t know if we have a real music industry…...just trying to sell music is very hard. Making music is easy but selling it is hard, but I don’t want to stop making music, and I advice my fellow musicians not to stop because we are part of the change”, she thoughtfully puts across.

“Commitment is important. If you want to make it happen, you have to perform like it is your last,” she asserts strongly.

She knows that there is still a lot to be done to really have a music industry in the State even as she points out, “To have a proper industry, it does not just take artistes and musicians but management, sound engineering...good sounds, lights, managers, etc.” She says that musicians outside know what they are worth, and are not scared to negotiate the price for their shows. “It is time, people pay respect for our work and we get paid for our efforts. Only then, we can say we are into it professionally”, she insists emphatically.

The NSACS Brand Ambassador has indeed come a long way. Not many people know that she did try modelling and as a kid walked hand in hand with Miss Nagaland Contestants. She also walked the ramp and modelled for Fashion Polytechnic Students in Shillong and the State as well, many of which earned her the Best Model. “This really boosted up my confidence, helped my performance, but I just felt it wasn’t for me.”

And so, it was singing for her. She says that she would love to learn the piano and teach music someday.

For aspiring musicians, she says, “It is important for an artiste to perform. You need to believe in your talent and practice and practice. You have to be versatile. You can talk all you want, people are going to get fed up but singing sounds nice and feels nice.”