How was Bangla Five founded?
Sina: After I completed my solo album, I started getting a lot of offers for performing live. Anik and I used to perform together in many shows, and Mehedi (the drummer) was in my previous band. One day in 2015, we got an offer to perform at the Teacher Student Centre of Dhaka University. The concert was a protest against repression. I asked Anik who would play bass, and he replied that there is a kid called Rafin who is a good bassist.
Anik: I did not know Rafin very well. At that time, he had just arrived from Khulna. He had told me that he wanted to do live shows. So I asked him to send a video recording of his playing. He sent that video, which showed that he had the skill. He just needed guidance.
Sina: Anik knew him (Rafin) at the least. I did not know him at all. I asked how we would perform together without any practice. Anik’s reply was “let us send the song links. He will come prepared.” We met Rafin just five minutes before getting on stage.
After the performance, nobody was able to tell that this was a newly formed band.
Anik: I have done shows with Sina, but I never performed with Mehedi before that show.
Sina: After a good live performance, the band members can feel the vibe within the group. We felt that the line-up was in synch. We agreed that we would proceed with that line-up. So, from 2016, Bangla Five’s journey began.
What is the story behind the name?
Sina: We felt that, since we were going to be a band, we should treat the group as such. We considered many names, and I proposed the name Bangla Five. Everyone liked it. The logic behind the name is that it does not refer to exactly five people.
In Bangla we have an expression, “jona pachek,” which means five or fewer people. Some people ask, “There are four of you in the band, so why call it Bangla Five?” We respond that the fifth member is the listener.
A song’s journey does not end after it is sung. Someone has to hear it. After the song reaches someone’s ear, the journey ends. Therefore, whoever is listening to our song is helping to complete the song’s journey.
Every audience member is our fifth member.
CD cover of Bangla Five debut album 'Confusion,' which the band hands out to their fans as memento | Courtesy
Is there any one singular theme that connects all of the songs of ‘Confusion?’
Sina: Yes. If you hear them one after another, they will sound very different. However, each song speaks about duality; meaning the lyrics are about the contradictions or conflicting realities of our life. For example, a person decides to take a CNG to office, as he/she does not want to be late. But after the CNG ride, he may regret the decision, as the cost of the ride may prevent him from buying essentials for his family. Similarly, there is good-bad, happy-unhappy, or night-day.
So, even if the songs of “Confusion” sound different, they are similar in one sense, that they have these conflicting realities.
One song’s lyric reads: “irrespective of the wealth of the parents, sky is the limit for their hopes and dreams (in regards to their children). There is strong watch over those dreams, by our parents, in the guise of honour and respect.”
The majority of people in this country are middle class. We have seen in our families that our parents have big dreams for our future. However, the parents do not want their children to be anything other than a doctor or an engineer, or other professions that are considered to be successful. So this is where the “strong watch” is cast by our parents, over our dreams.
The lyric for another song of the album was taken from a poem. The lines are such that, “we want the bird to return to its nest, so we have ensured that it is dusk.”
What is the symbolic meaning behind the bird?
Sina: The bird is a symbol for anything that we find joy in. A few days ago, two brothers who are close to us, had a terrible accident. The younger one passed away. When the older brother regained consciousness, and got to know about his younger brother’s death, he shared a Facebook post, on which he wrote the chorus from the song we are discussing. In that post, he also wrote, “I had no idea that this song will have so much relevance to me so soon.”
For that brother, his dead younger brother is the “bird.” He will find joy, when that “bird” returns. This is another aspect of our songs in the “Confusion” album, which is that the lyrics are very relatable to us regular people.
Sin Hasan singing at the live performance of Bangla Five, at 'Heem Utshab' of Jahangirnagar University | Courtesy
One other observation I had while hearing the songs of album is that you do not want people to categorize your songs into any specific genre. Will that continue in future albums?
Sina: Well, we are never concerned about the genre to which our music belongs when composing a song. We want the songs to be relatable or have some meaning for the lives of listeners.
Anik: One word I like to think about while composing a song is euphonic, which means “pleasing to the ear.” So, if I make a song, and I do not like hearing it, then I feel that it is not good work. I believe in a philosophy that “whatever work you do, do not ever hurt your soul.” If my soul does not like something, even if the people like it, I do not want to make it or help create it.
We are very satisfied with our debut album. We are happy to have made four songs. We are happy with the sound quality. We find them euphonic, and the fact that people are listening to them and liking them is a big bonus for us. We do not want to just cater to a target audience who listen to a specific genre. We believe in making music for the masses, so our music should be enjoyable for people from every corner of society. If our music fits a specific category, then it becomes a product.
Sina: When the lyrics demand that we should sing the song in a soft voice, with a melodic music, we make the song like that. Similarly, songs which are about teenage angst are expressed with the same rage that a child may feel towards their parents during a rebellious phase.
When will we see another album from Bangla Five?
Sina: This year, we will focus just on marketing our debut album. On the side, we will continue composing songs. We want to make the next album in a different manner. We want to make it without using the cliché formula of studio recording. We might experiment a lot for our next album.
Officially, we will begin work on the next album from next year.
Anik: After we completed this album, our audience generated expectations based on it. Until we feel that we can at least meet the expectations set by our debut album, we are not going to begin work on the next album.
