The popular Bangladeshi music show Dhaka Sessions released their latest episode on Tuesday, in which JISR - a Munich-based ensemble - performed in collaboration with popular local singers Labik Kamal Gaurob and Baby Dewan. The episode was produced in collaboration with Goethe-Institut Bangladesh.
JISR (the Arabic word for bridge) is a music ensemble comprising of some of the best musicians of Bavaria, who perform music to echo a genre that encompasses a mixture of Moroccan musical traditions and European jazz. The group features seven musicians, who each play various instruments and sing together. JISR was founded by the charismatic linguist, singer, daf and gembri player Dr Mohcine Ramdan.
It is worth mentioning that a member of JISR, Roman Bunka, is a part of #Embryo - the pioneering German rock-jazz and world-music group, where he broke new grounds with his Eastern-influenced guitar playing and compositions. Another member Marwan Fakir is also a Moroccan.
In the episode, four members of JISR, Labik and Baby performed two tracks; “Wah Wah,” a Moroccan folk love song, and Fakir Lalon Shah’s “Jaat Gelo.” In the episode, Mohcine gave vocals and played gembri and daf. The other three musicians from JISR were Roman Bunka, who played guitar, Gergely Lukacs, who played the trumpet, and Marwan Fakir on qraqeb and violin. Labik and Baby predominantly sang in “Jaat Gelo”, but provided back-up vocals for “Wah Wah.” Labik also played the dotara and Baby played mondira.
This episode was a lovely reminder of the magic that happens when musicians from various continents come together to make music. The performance of “Wah Wah” transports the listener to the folk gatherings in Morocco, but the listener will also get fleeting imageries of European Jazz scene, with the addition of guitar, trumpet and violin. The vocal was given by Mohcine, and backup vocals were given by the rest of the musicians from JISR and Labik.
Labik, Baby and Dr Mohcine sang together in “Jaat Gelo,” and the enthusiasm for the song was palpable in their voice. Labik states in the video, that this song was performed to remember the ongoing struggles faced by the people of Ukraine, and also to remind everyone to stop creating divisions among themselves.
Regarding the collaboration between JISR and the Bangladeshi singers, Dhaka Sessions’ Producer Chotu Khan said, “There was instant synergy between the two groups. You could not tell they practised together for no more than an hour. Labik is a seasoned talent who has performed around Europe, and he really knows how these kinds of collaboration work. And Baby is equally experienced to make this collaboration work. Collaboration in music is about making ‘space’ for each other’s music. That is exactly what happened in this session. The two groups gelled almost automatically, and performed the tracks as if they had been playing together for months.”
JISR was invited to perform in Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy by Goethe-Institut Bangladesh, and the show was held on March 22. This event was organized as part of Goethe-Intitut’s “The Sound of Faraway Lands” project.
In order to perform for that event, JISR arrived in Bangladesh on March 20, and on the very next day (March 21) recorded the session for Dhaka Sessions, in collaboration with Labik and Baby.
In regards to how this episode came to be produced, Chotu said, “Goethe-Institut contacted me and informed me about JISR. They were conducting their ‘The Sound of Faraway Lands’ project to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the publication of Herman Hesse’s widely popular novel ‘Siddhartha.’ They told me that JISR was coming to perform in Bangladesh in March, and asked if I would feature them in one of the episodes.
“Since, Dhaka Sessions is about featuring both popular and ‘undiscovered’ talents of Bangladesh, I said if collaboration could happen between JISR and local musicians, then this could be done. JISR was happy to agree to this collaboration. I would like to specially thank the Goethe-Institut Bangladesh for making this episode happen. I would also like to thank Baby apa and Labik for their contribution.”
Chotu also told the Dhaka Tribune Showtime, that he would love to create space for such collaborations in the future as well, given the opportunity.
Dhaka Sessions was started by Stone Free band’s lead vocalist Chotu Khan, who felt that there is a need for a music program, that will first explore musical genres in Bangladesh heard by the current generation, and it will also explore the full spectrum of the arts that exists for the Bangali Diasporas.
Dhaka Sessions’ episodes consist of music recordings, interviews of artistes, writers and creative personalities of Bangladesh. According to Dhaka Sessions’ YoutTube channel description, the platform discovers and promotes talents of Bangladeshi origin, and archives the words and spirit of distinguished Bangladeshi individuals who create and practise various arts.
Dhaka Sessions is powered by bKash, and the recordings are hosted by The Bookworm.
