Music All the Way

Singer Alif Alauddin
Talks to
Rakibul Hasan

	Courtesy: Alif alauddin

I went to A G Church School, Dhaka. At school, I was very shy and had only a few friends. However, I was quite an attentive student and managed to score good grades in exams most of the time. I was also active with extra curricular activities in school. There was this one time when I was supposed to perform in a cultural show at school. However, when I went on stage, I, suddenly, realised that everybody in the audience was actually looking at me. I instantly became stiff and couldn't sing a single line!

I moved to Bangladesh International Tutorial (BIT) when I was in class four. Here, I finally broke out of my 'introverted' shell and made a lot of friends. I gave my O Level exams from BIT when I was in grade 9, and, then directly got admitted into North South University to pursue my Bachelors in Business Administration. At first, I was having a hard time to blend in with my classmates in the university since most of them were older than me. Nevertheless, I, eventually, adopted the vibe in campus and made some very good friends. I still cherish the memory of chatting for endless hours with my friends about music and other areas of interest.

I can't particularly remember when I first grew a passion for music. I was born into an extended family where my parents and all my uncles and aunts were involved in music. I got my first singing lessons from my mom. Later on, I participated in some workshops at Torongo Lolitokola Kendro, which let me delve deeper into the world of music. The year 1998 was very special for me as I sang for a music video where I covered the famous Bangla movie number, 'Estishoner Railgarita.' It was also the first ever music video to be aired on a private television channel in Bangladesh. Though, at that time, I was not very confident about my singing ability, my father, the renowned music composer, Alauddin Ali encouraged me to a great extent to discover my feats in music. He was also the music composer of my first ever solo album, 'Shei Tumi Ele,' which came out in 1999.

Currently, I am working as the Deputy Editor, Music, at Channel Ekattor. I also play and sing for my band, '14th floor.' I am not much of an organised kind of person and do not plan very much. Nevertheless, all my dreams and aspirations revolve around music!

I actually don't follow any particular genre, but, most of my songs can be traced as pop-rock. I am an avid listener and listen to all kinds of music. I believe, to be an able singer, one has to listen to a lot of music, but the person should strive to create his or her own unique voice. To all the youth, my message would be, always pursue your passion, keep your mind open to the new ideas, but never disrespect our traditional values.