“There was a time when waking up to the sound of riyaz was a regular thing; singing was an integral part of Bangali family life, something embraced by everyone.
“Nowadays there is a guitar player in almost every household, which is wonderful, but I wish there were more tabla, esraj, violin and flute players as well.”
These are the wistful observations of Sohini Alam, lead vocalist of the London-based band Khiyo, popularly known for their interpretation of the national anthem, which caused controversy because of its use of Western and local instruments, much to the dismay of purists.
Musical genes
Sohini belongs to a musical family. She was trained by her mother Hiron Alam and aunts Jannat Ara and Ferdous Ara, the latter being a leading Bangladeshi exponent of Nazrul Sangeet.
So it comes as no surprise when she says: “I am not at all a fan of auto-tuning. You should be able to sing. If you cannot sing it, you probably should not record your voice.”
Born in the United Kingdom, she was raised in London until the age of nine. After the passing of her mother, she moved to Dhaka and lived here till she was 17.
In her teenage years she saw singing as a pastime rather than a prospective career. Later on, she began singing professionally, and four years ago she decided to pursue music full-time.
The glass slipper
It was 2009 by the time she started singing for theatre productions. A memorable show was performing at the Tara Arts’ Christmas pantomime in London. Pantomime is a Christmas tradition in London; they are light-hearted plays, usually based on children’s fairy tales.
Sohini’s challenge was to compose a Bollywood-style score to accompany a production of Cinderella.
“Pantomimes have a very particular aesthetic: singing, dancing, comedy, and music; it’s all very English. But this was Bollywood-style Cinderella; it was set in India. Cinderella and her mother wore kameez and lehenga. The musicians were on stage and the characters acted out the lines that I sang. You have to remember that the lyrics were in English, and we had to sync them with popular Bollywood tunes. For example, we used the tune of “Pahela Nasha” to accompany a love scene –writing English lyrics to go with it.
“You have to change voices; so versatility is a must,” says Sohini.
Banding together
She met Oliver Weeks while doing a show in London. Oliver, who was already involved in a band called “Parapar” with seasoned singer Moushumi Bhowmick from Calcutta offered to jam with Sohini.
Sohini formed the band Khiyo with Oliver in 2007. The other band members are Ben Hillyard and Derek Scurll.
Sohini is also the lead singer of the band Lokkhi Terra, an Afro-Cuban-Bengali band led by Kishon Khan, a Bangladeshi-born British jazz pianist and composer.
“London is a place where you find people from diverse cultural backgrounds, and where language is not a barrier. I studied in Texas, so I have Latin friends. I was influenced by their music. When working with Kishon, I tried to find similarities between Bangla and Cuban music,” she says.
True fusion
Sohini rues the way the term “fusion” has become cheapened.
“What it has become now is you just tack on two lines of a raga [a melodic mode used in Indian classical music] to western beats, play some rap over it and call it a “fusion.”
“Ideally it should not be instant. What happens with us is my band members and I sit together with food, and start eating and playing. It is like you sit with your set of musical knowledge, next to a person who has his own set of knowledge.
“For example, I sing a Bangla song and tell Oli [Khiyo’s guitarist] to play. I come up with what I have acquired so far and so does he. Then we look for the commonalities between both, and see if they work together or not. If it does then we expand. This is how we try out several songs. It is not just about a number of beats matching together, it’s much more organic than that. It has to flow naturally and touch the soul.”
The band is currently working on its first album, which is expected to hit the market in July this year. The album will contain a few Nazrul Sangeet numbers, and songs from Tagore and Lalon.
Sonar Bangla
When asked about her musical preferences, Sohini mentions patriotic songs. She says: “Maybe it’s because I live abroad. The patriotic songs remind me of my country, my nana’s place. I do not need a special occasion to listen to such songs because they resonate in my memory.
“Moreover, I love to listen to Tagore’s Amar Shonar Bangla, which is also the national anthem, lying down with my eyes closed. It reminds me of my country; it reminds me of the mango trees in my nana’s yard.”
The ebullient vocalist wants to embrace traditional music on an international platform, and makes the suggestion that other contemporary musicians do so too.
“We have moved away from playing local instruments. I like it better with our own instruments that are indigenous to this part of the world, like the sarod, flute and dhol. We have amazing players of these across the country. Rock-metal is fine; but exploring Salil Chowdhury and Sachin Dev Burman is not a bad idea either. I am not suggesting a rock version of Burman, but I like to think about its influence.”
