Nababarsha Special

	Fusion or remix - it's basically music Habib ..................................................... My love affair with music began a long time ago, when I was a little child. Thanks to my father, who has always been an inspiration for me, I was always around very talented people of the music industry -- the likes of Monowar Hossain Tutul, June, Milton, Shahin and so on. As a result, from a very early age I got the feel of music right from within my heart. In my adolescence, I formed a rock band with a few of my friends called 'Renegades', and was also a guest member of 'Arc' (now 'Shadhinota') for a year. Unlike 'Arc', 'Renegades' never gained much popularity, largely owing to the fact that we never got any kind of exposure. The face of the music industry in Bangladesh has since changed (and still is changing) radically. Young people who are forming rock and underground bands now have an opportunity to display their talent since there are people who are willing to give them a chance to do so. With regard to other genres, people and bands such as 'Bangla', Ornob, Balam, 'Warfaze', Bappa Mojumdar, 'Black'; are doing a lot to change the style of the mainstream music in our country. These people are all focused and dedicated to doing something different. I too sought to do something different when I created my album 'Krishno'. The story of 'Krishno' however, did not begin in Bangladesh. As many people know, I studied Audio Engineering at the SAE (School of Audio Engineering) in London. While I was there, most of my friends were from Sylheti, who had a passion for Baul songs -- to them it was like a link to their homeland. Among these people were Kaya and Helal, the artistes who I have worked with in my two albums 'Krishno' and 'Maya'. These people had beautiful voices, but more than that, it was their love for music that drew me towards them. At times we would jam day and night in the little studio I had set up in my home in England. 'Krishno' started as an experiment -- an attempt to fuse the East with the West. I never heard the original tracks of Kaya's songs. It was only in his voice that I heard the songs, and based on the tune, I arranged and composed the rest of the music. Kaya and I were both pleased with the way our little project was developing. A while after that, I came back to Bangladesh for a vacation. When I came back, I brought with me a CD of two songs from the then unnamed album to play to my friends and family. A few of my friends requested a copy of the CD, and I gave it to them. Shortly after that I went back to England and in about a month's time, I had people calling me from back home to tell me that my songs had been released in an album called 'First Prize' under the name of 'Asian Dub Foundation'. Moreover, everyone was talking about the song 'Krishno' and how different it was. Naturally Kaya and I were disappointed to have our 'baby' stolen from us by a couple of pirates, but we were also more determined now to make even better versions of the two songs. As the making of the album came to an end, I also finished my graduation in London. I had it always set in my mind that no matter what, I would come back to Bangladesh and try to do something in my own country. After I came back, I approached 'Ektaar Music', which in spite of being a new name in the music industry, already had a good reputation for the way they encouraged new artistes. 'Ektaar' liked 'Krishno' and agreed to release it, and that is how the whole album came into being. Of course I had some degree of expectation from the album, but the way the public responded to my music (and Kaya's vocals) really took me by surprise. I had not expected the album to go to the root levels, to reach the mass people of Bangladesh. But the fact that I saw a poster of 'Krishno' in a place like Bandorban, humbled me beyond words. The kind of reception my first album received from the public was a huge inspiration for the kind of music I wanted to produce in my second album. Baul songs are a part of our rich cultural heritage and the fact that combining such folk music with western styles could bring it to the mainstream scene was definitely a new discovery. Another surprising thing was the reception that 'Krishno' got in London. It was popular among Bengalis over there, but people of other nationalities also appreciated it, which goes to show that like Indian music, which has gained an audience worldwide, our own Bengali folk songs can also be just as popular if given that kind of chance and exposure. While I will continue to blend Eastern and Western styles of music in my compositions, for my next few albums, I will not be doing any remakes/ remix of Baul songs. Now I want to concentrate on my own original compositions, which will mainly be contemporary music. I want to see how the public responds to different styles, so there will be a degree of experimentation present in my future albums. 'Krishno' and 'Maya', both have received a warm welcome from a wide variety of audiences. However, it is not possible to please everyone and as such there have also been people who have criticised my albums by saying that I have ruined the originality of the songs. Mainstream commercial music is also under criticism by at least some sector of society. Many of my songs are also 'commercial' in the sense that they appeal to a large range of people. In the end however, it is the majority of people, the general public who decide whether or not to like my, or anyone else's music. For my part, I will continue to try to mix quality with commercialism, and I feel that there is nothing wrong with that. I believe that if I want to do something different, and I want the public to like it; and that it what all musicians want to do, regardless of the genre; then I do have to add commercial touches to my music. As I have mentioned before, the face of the music industry is changing dramatically. With production companies willing to take risks with different kinds of musicians and with people accepting such changes, a lot of improvement can be observed in the music scene. Nevertheless, in my opinion, we still have a long way to go, at least our kind of music in terms of quality and success. We are now entering a new year of the Bangla calendar, and standing at the beginning of this Noboborsho, I do hope that we will achieve what we have set out to.

Fusion or remix - it's basically music

Habib
.....................................................

My love affair with music began a long time ago, when I was a little child. Thanks to my father, who has always been an inspiration for me, I was always around very talented people of the music industry -- the likes of Monowar Hossain Tutul, June, Milton, Shahin and so on. As a result, from a very early age I got the feel of music right from within my heart.

In my adolescence, I formed a rock band with a few of my friends called 'Renegades', and was also a guest member of 'Arc' (now 'Shadhinota') for a year. Unlike 'Arc', 'Renegades' never gained much popularity, largely owing to the fact that we never got any kind of exposure. The face of the music industry in Bangladesh has since changed (and still is changing) radically. Young people who are forming rock and underground bands now have an opportunity to display their talent since there are people who are willing to give them a chance to do so. With regard to other genres, people and bands such as 'Bangla', Ornob, Balam, 'Warfaze', Bappa Mojumdar, 'Black'; are doing a lot to change the style of the mainstream music in our country. These people are all focused and dedicated to doing something different. I too sought to do something different when I created my album 'Krishno'. The story of 'Krishno' however, did not begin in Bangladesh.

As many people know, I studied Audio Engineering at the SAE (School of Audio Engineering) in London. While I was there, most of my friends were from Sylheti, who had a passion for Baul songs -- to them it was like a link to their homeland. Among these people were Kaya and Helal, the artistes who I have worked with in my two albums 'Krishno' and 'Maya'. These people had beautiful voices, but more than that, it was their love for music that drew me towards them. At times we would jam day and night in the little studio I had set up in my home in England. 'Krishno' started as an experiment -- an attempt to fuse the East with the West. I never heard the original tracks of Kaya's songs. It was only in his voice that I heard the songs, and based on the tune, I arranged and composed the rest of the music. Kaya and I were both pleased with the way our little project was developing. A while after that, I came back to Bangladesh for a vacation.

When I came back, I brought with me a CD of two songs from the then unnamed album to play to my friends and family. A few of my friends requested a copy of the CD, and I gave it to them. Shortly after that I went back to England and in about a month's time, I had people calling me from back home to tell me that my songs had been released in an album called 'First Prize' under the name of 'Asian Dub Foundation'. Moreover, everyone was talking about the song 'Krishno' and how different it was. Naturally Kaya and I were disappointed to have our 'baby' stolen from us by a couple of pirates, but we were also more determined now to make even better versions of the two songs.

As the making of the album came to an end, I also finished my graduation in London. I had it always set in my mind that no matter what, I would come back to Bangladesh and try to do something in my own country. After I came back, I approached 'Ektaar Music', which in spite of being a new name in the music industry, already had a good reputation for the way they encouraged new artistes. 'Ektaar' liked 'Krishno' and agreed to release it, and that is how the whole album came into being. Of course I had some degree of expectation from the album, but the way the public responded to my music (and Kaya's vocals) really took me by surprise. I had not expected the album to go to the root levels, to reach the mass people of Bangladesh. But the fact that I saw a poster of 'Krishno' in a place like Bandorban, humbled me beyond words.

The kind of reception my first album received from the public was a huge inspiration for the kind of music I wanted to produce in my second album. Baul songs are a part of our rich cultural heritage and the fact that combining such folk music with western styles could bring it to the mainstream scene was definitely a new discovery. Another surprising thing was the reception that 'Krishno' got in London. It was popular among Bengalis over there, but people of other nationalities also appreciated it, which goes to show that like Indian music, which has gained an audience worldwide, our own Bengali folk songs can also be just as popular if given that kind of chance and exposure.

While I will continue to blend Eastern and Western styles of music in my compositions, for my next few albums, I will not be doing any remakes/ remix of Baul songs. Now I want to concentrate on my own original compositions, which will mainly be contemporary music. I want to see how the public responds to different styles, so there will be a degree of experimentation present in my future albums.

'Krishno' and 'Maya', both have received a warm welcome from a wide variety of audiences. However, it is not possible to please everyone and as such there have also been people who have criticised my albums by saying that I have ruined the originality of the songs. Mainstream commercial music is also under criticism by at least some sector of society. Many of my songs are also 'commercial' in the sense that they appeal to a large range of people. In the end however, it is the majority of people, the general public who decide whether or not to like my, or anyone else's music. For my part, I will continue to try to mix quality with commercialism, and I feel that there is nothing wrong with that. I believe that if I want to do something different, and I want the public to like it; and that it what all musicians want to do, regardless of the genre; then I do have to add commercial touches to my music.

As I have mentioned before, the face of the music industry is changing dramatically. With production companies willing to take risks with different kinds of musicians and with people accepting such changes, a lot of improvement can be observed in the music scene. Nevertheless, in my opinion, we still have a long way to go, at least our kind of music in terms of quality and success. We are now entering a new year of the Bangla calendar, and standing at the beginning of this Noboborsho, I do hope that we will achieve what we have set out to.