Maqsoodul Haque will be performing on Friday with the band Aronno at Mermaid Café in Gulshan Friday evening. Maqsood, known as Mac, is a well-known figure among fans in the country’s rock fraternity.
Maqsood began his musical career in 1976 as the lead vocalist of popular band Feedback. The song “Melai Jairey,” written, composed and sung by Maqsood, has, over the years reached to an iconic stature. Later, Maqsood formed a new band “Maqsood O Dhaka” in 1996. The versatile singer, with his different projects in popularising baul music, has made a niche for himself in the cultural arena of the country.
Dhaka Tribune caught up with the veteran musician:
What songs are you performing on Friday?
The evening is about English cover songs. I will appear in two sets, once with band Aronno and again with my own band Maqsood O Dhaka. We will be playing all the 60’s and 70’s blues, and also will pay tribute to JJ Cale. We will also perform songs of Dire Straits, Bob Merley, Eric Clapton and many legendary blues songs.
What is the reason behind performing with band Aronno?
Aronno is a talented and promising band. The vocalist and guitarist Dipto is very much into blues. So, I call him a “bluesicain” instead of musician. I always appreciate and inspire good musicians to flourish in the music arena.
Tell us about the experience of performing live shows:
Well, I have been performing in live shows right from the beginning of my career and still am very much on the loop. I understand the crowd, its attitude and demand. I enjoy performing live and it takes effort to stimulate the crowd, which I think I am quite successful at.
Also I render western pop, rock and reggae cover tunes to suit the crowd’s mood and while performing in the countryside of Bangladesh, I always play Bangla tracks, as the crowd demands it.
You started your music career in 1976, what is your take of today’s musicians?
I would say, there are a dozen of good musicians and groups in the industry currently, namely Nemesis, Cryptic Fate and a lot more. They study and follow music. In this era, talent and technology blends, so it is a good thing that musicians are being very much versatile.
