Music of Sikkim ranges from traditional Nepali folk music to Westernized

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former descri ...

. The ethnic communities, Lepcha, Limbu,

Bhutia The Bhutia (; sip, Drenjongpa/Drenjop; ; "inhabitants of Sikkim".) are a community of Sikkimese people living in the state of Sikkim in northeastern India, who speak Drenjongke or Sikkimese, a Tibetic language fairly mutually intelligible w ...

, Kiratis and

Nepalis Nepalis (English: Nepalese ; ne, नेपाली) are the citizens of Nepal under the provisions of Nepali nationality law. The country is home to people of many different national origins who are the descendants of immigrants from India, ...

constitute the music which is an ingrained part of Sikkimese culture. The main traditional style is the Indian folk music known as

Tamang Selo Tamang Selo ( Nepali: तामाङ सेलो) is a genre of Nepali folk song sung by the Tamang people of Nepal and is widely popular among the Nepali-speaking community in Nepal, in India, and around the world. It is usually accompanied by t ...

, This music of the Tamang community is performed to the rhythmic sound of “ Dhamphu”, a musical instrument. Western-style pop is popular in the region of Assam and Sikkim, as well as western-style foreign music styles. Hira_Devi_Waiba

''Tamang Selo''

This is a musical genre of the

Tamang people The Tamang (; Devanagari: तामाङ; ''tāmāṅ'') are an Tibeto-Burmese ethnic group of Nepal. In Nepal Tamang/Moormi people constitute 5.6% of the Nepalese population at over 1.3 million in 2001, increasing to 1,539,830 as of the 2011 c ...

and popular amongst the Nepali speaking community in West Bengal and Sikkim in India and around the world. It is accompanied by Tamang instruments, the

Madal The madal ( ne, मादल) or maadal is a Nepalese folk musical instrument. The madal is used mainly for rhythm-keeping in Nepalese folk music. It is very popular and widely used as a hand drum in Nepal. The madal has a cylindrical body with a s ...

, Damphu and

Tungna The Tungna (Nepali: टुङ्ना) is a plucked string instrument from the Northern Himalayan region: Nepal, Tibet, Sikkim and Bhutan. It is made from a single piece of carved wood. The front hollow body (which serves as the sound-box) is c ...

, although nowadays musicians have taken to modern instruments. A ''Tamang Selo'' can be catchy and lively or slow and melodious and is usually sung to convey sorrow, love, happiness or day-to-day incidents and stories of folklore.

Western influence

Sikkim along with other northeastern states is a centre for western-style music in India. Tribal Rain, a highly popular Nepali acoustic experimental band is from the Sikkimese town

Namchi Namchi is a city and the administrative headquarter of the Namchi district in the Indian state of Sikkim. The appellation Namchi means ''Sky (Nam) High (Chi)'' in Sikkimese. Geography Namchi is located at . It has an average elevation of . ...

. Hip-hop, K-pop and

Rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

music is most popular among teenagers and the youths of Sikkim.

References

{{Music of Asia Culture of Sikkim

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Silig ...

Himalayan music