Swapan Basu

Swapan Basu is an Indian folk singer. He is from West Bengal and sings in the Bengali language. Swapan got inspired by his mother to make a career in music, but he was not interested in mainstream music and got drawn to Bengali folk songs. The innocence of the folk music of rural India attracted him to create his music and the festivals (Mela) - an integrated part of our rural culture, are the actual source of folk music. He has always wanted to keep his music away from the popular charts. Swapan is a versatile artist and can play many instruments like - Banjo, Dotara, Guitar, Anando Lahari, Ektara, etc. Basu takes his motivation from John Boyce and Pete Seeger, two folk singers who made their name amongst the great singers. He has sung for a few Bengali movies. He also emphasizes his singing in Bengali to extend his reach in other regions.

Basu did his M. A. degree in traditional folk music in 1984 from Rabindra Bharati University. He started his career-long before getting his degree with his unanimous, vibrant, and mellow tunes. He was selected as the Ujjal Prativa and got appointed as the examiner for an M.A. examination in vocal folk music at the Rabindra Bharati University. He has also done a lot for the rural areas to popularize folk music.

Swapan released his first music album in 1994 – Hiya Majhe Lukiye Chile (Tagore Songs) – 10 songs produced by Song Music.
Bandhuya Hits of Swapan Basu (2002) – 39 songs.
Tarei Khunje Berai, Vol. 2 (2003) – 10 songs
Tarei Khunje Berai (2003) – 10 songs
Patar Bhela (2011) – 10 songs
Cholo Guru (2016) – 10 songs
Ekul Okul (2016) – 10 songs
Mor Maton Aar Deshpremik Nai (2020) – 14 songs
Kathal Kuthar Dotara (2021) – 8 songs

Swapan has also won many awards in folk music – 
He was awarded the National Scholarship by the Ministry of Education, Government of India for Folk music. 
He got awarded the Research Fellowship by the Ministry of HRD Government of India for being an Outstanding Artist in Performing Arts.
In 1991, he got awarded the Golden disk for the outstanding sales of his cassettes. It was an honor to him by his fans and listeners.
He also got awarded by the North Calcutta Junior Chamber and Emami Group of Industries as the Outstanding Young Person of Kolkata for his excellence in music.