::: Star Weekend Magazine :::

Interview

Fossils Rocking Dhaka

Elita Karim

On November 9, Clapper Events brought together some of the biggest names in the country for the first ever Bangla Rock Fest to be held. Thousands of music lovers thronged the Basundhara Complex grounds to watch bands like Miles, Warfaze, Artcell, Black, the D Rockstar champion band Power Surge and Fossils all the way from Kolkata.

Rock in both Bangladesh and Kolkata seemed to have gone through similar levels of evolution over the past. Bangla rock has now become an integral part of Bangla music, creating a new dimension all together in both the lands. However, there is still a very thick line that separates them from the musicians here in Bangladesh - existence of a proper legal system where music and musicians are concerned, the practice of intellectual property law, less piracy, a stronger royalty system, better media coverage and one can go on and on. Maybe, the grass is better on the other side, or maybe not.

In the three days that Fossils spent in Dhaka at the Westin Hotel, some of the members of this band actually claimed that they could find no difference, whatsoever, between Kolkata and Dhaka.

Fossils playing at the Rock Fest.

Is this your first time in Dhaka?
Yes, this is our first time here in Dhaka. We never got around to visiting the place earlier, but are glad to be here now. However, we have always been very much aware of the music scene here in Bangladesh. For instance, when Feedback came out with their album in the year 1992, I have been a great fan (says Rupom). Since then we have been listening to LRB, Miles, Maqsood and many more bands. We would meet them whenever they would come to Kolkata to perform.

Rupom our band member has a radio show and he interviewed Artcell when the band had flown to Kolkata for a show last month. The response was massive!

What is the contemporary scene like in Kolkata?
Almost everyone in the new generation of musicians is opting for the rock genre. We create music and do not know how to compare these musicians or rate them in any way. However, as far as the CD sales are concerned, Fossils happen to be way on top in the market rating.

How was your first press conference upon arriving in Dhaka?
The press conference was very interesting! The questions that the reporters asked were mind boggling yet a lot of fun (the band members smile). For instance, one of the reporters asked why Bangali bands tend to anglicise their words and accents while singing in Bangla. From the looks of it, we realised that this was probably one question that many happen to ponder upon.

What we believe is that, not everyone pronounces Bangla or any other language to its perfection. I, as a vocal, should definitely realise my limitations and try to improve my pronunciation as much as possible, however while singing I pronounce words the way I do while speaking, it is as simple as that. Being a vocalist does not in any way make me the ultimate linguist or a maestro of languages.

What are the little culture shocks that you received during your stay in Dhaka?
As we mentioned earlier, we haven't discovered any major differences between Kolkata and Dhaka. Except (says everyone together), that the roads here are smaller as compared to the cars, which are very big in size. There are two kinds of taxis seen on the road, a bigger one, and a smaller one. The best part about the whole thing is the Kachi Biriyani that we had a while ago. We went to Fakhruddin's Biriyani in Gulshan 1 and had the best lunch ever.