There is a lot that I would like to say about this, but I will restrict myself to just pointing you, gentle reader in the direction of this very well written article which really says everything that I would have, and is much better researched to boot. And then, I will set up links for some of my favourite songs, which I hope you will like. I am not making a top 10 or any other kind of list. These are just some songs that I really happen to like and would like to share with you. They all come under the umbrella of Bangla Band, although which ones should be classified as rock/blues is somewhat open...
to start off,
1. Aaro ekbaar cholo fire jaayi - Fossils, their eponymous first album, possibly 1998. Rupam Islam went overnight to being an icon. They did much more, and better, but this was how they started off.
2. Shei tumi kyano - by LRB. Ayub Bachhu, wanted to create a group called the Little River Band, but had to change their name to Love Runs Blind after he found out that there was an Aussie band by that name. This is an "Opar Bangla" group, ie. Bangladeshi.
3. Prithibi ta Naki Chhoto Hote Hote - by Mohiner Ghora Guli. Once upon a time, there was a genius called Gautam Chattopadhyay. Inspired in part by Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan and other musicians of the age he created awesome music which unfortunately fell be the roadside. This was in part due to the fact that the 70's were the pinnacle of Bangla Adhunik music, as exemplified by the glorious traditions of Hemanta Mukhopadhyay. Noone had any time for 'newfangled' creations like Gautam's. But some people listened, and remembered. Gautam can be legitimately credited with kickstarting the great Jibonmukhi (facing life) tradition in Bangla music. And of course, these days, high profile Bollywood directors like Pritam Chakraborty end up being 'inspired' by the song listed here and have given us this.
4. Mon - by Chandrabindoo. No mention of Bangla Bands can ever be complete without talking about Chandrabindoo, who will probably make it here more than once. These people have been remarkably prolific, alternating wonderfully romantic lyrics with some outrageously sarcastic and evil ones. What they lack is a good vocalist, but they more than make up for it by the sheer 'fundastic' nature of their songs.
5. Sujan - there are many other songs by Parashpathor, but this is one which brings out their affinity for folksy, earthy tunes like no other. Enjoy.
6. Dustu Hawa - since we were talking about folksy earthy music, there is Bhoomi. They started out doing small gigs, but gradually gained a large fan following. They really made it big with Barandaye roddur, but unfortunately I couldn't find a halfway decent track on youtube, so I decided to put this up instead.
7. Tomaye chhute chawar muhurto - by Shahor. This group was formed out of the breakup of Parashpathor, and it brings a lot of Parashpathor's simple elegance in lyrics and mixes it with a more mature, mellow musical style to create something that is unmistakably blues.
8. Barud - by Prithibi. It is time to come back to the more distilled form of rock, and Prithibi, a new group certainly lives up to it.
9. Aadorer Nauko - Also by Chandrabindoo, sung by Shona. Beautiful.
10. Nouar Nouka - by Cactus. This is a band which has been silent for a while: a pity, because they are a talented bunch of people who write as beautifully as they compose their music. It is also worth mentioning here that Nauko/Nouka means a small boat in Bangla.
11. Nishwo Korechho Amaye (Firiye Dao) - by Miles. Just because there has been far too little of Opar Bangla on this list, because Miles is a great band and just massively underrated by most Desi Bongs, also because one stage performance is a must see and finally because this was not a top ten list.
to start off,
1. Aaro ekbaar cholo fire jaayi - Fossils, their eponymous first album, possibly 1998. Rupam Islam went overnight to being an icon. They did much more, and better, but this was how they started off.
2. Shei tumi kyano - by LRB. Ayub Bachhu, wanted to create a group called the Little River Band, but had to change their name to Love Runs Blind after he found out that there was an Aussie band by that name. This is an "Opar Bangla" group, ie. Bangladeshi.
3. Prithibi ta Naki Chhoto Hote Hote - by Mohiner Ghora Guli. Once upon a time, there was a genius called Gautam Chattopadhyay. Inspired in part by Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan and other musicians of the age he created awesome music which unfortunately fell be the roadside. This was in part due to the fact that the 70's were the pinnacle of Bangla Adhunik music, as exemplified by the glorious traditions of Hemanta Mukhopadhyay. Noone had any time for 'newfangled' creations like Gautam's. But some people listened, and remembered. Gautam can be legitimately credited with kickstarting the great Jibonmukhi (facing life) tradition in Bangla music. And of course, these days, high profile Bollywood directors like Pritam Chakraborty end up being 'inspired' by the song listed here and have given us this.
4. Mon - by Chandrabindoo. No mention of Bangla Bands can ever be complete without talking about Chandrabindoo, who will probably make it here more than once. These people have been remarkably prolific, alternating wonderfully romantic lyrics with some outrageously sarcastic and evil ones. What they lack is a good vocalist, but they more than make up for it by the sheer 'fundastic' nature of their songs.
5. Sujan - there are many other songs by Parashpathor, but this is one which brings out their affinity for folksy, earthy tunes like no other. Enjoy.
6. Dustu Hawa - since we were talking about folksy earthy music, there is Bhoomi. They started out doing small gigs, but gradually gained a large fan following. They really made it big with Barandaye roddur, but unfortunately I couldn't find a halfway decent track on youtube, so I decided to put this up instead.
7. Tomaye chhute chawar muhurto - by Shahor. This group was formed out of the breakup of Parashpathor, and it brings a lot of Parashpathor's simple elegance in lyrics and mixes it with a more mature, mellow musical style to create something that is unmistakably blues.
8. Barud - by Prithibi. It is time to come back to the more distilled form of rock, and Prithibi, a new group certainly lives up to it.
9. Aadorer Nauko - Also by Chandrabindoo, sung by Shona. Beautiful.
10. Nouar Nouka - by Cactus. This is a band which has been silent for a while: a pity, because they are a talented bunch of people who write as beautifully as they compose their music. It is also worth mentioning here that Nauko/Nouka means a small boat in Bangla.
11. Nishwo Korechho Amaye (Firiye Dao) - by Miles. Just because there has been far too little of Opar Bangla on this list, because Miles is a great band and just massively underrated by most Desi Bongs, also because one stage performance is a must see and finally because this was not a top ten list.
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