The sound of people rushing to take a break, sit. Amid the hustle, a young girl seemed to encapsulate this sound, the rush was within herself as her brown eyes darted back and forth while she played with the metallic bracelet that hung off her wrist. The restless girl with silver hair had a tale to tell, the story of Fairooz Nazifa.
Singer, songwriter, painter, and martial artist, in 2015 Nazifa's life took a drastic turn in just three days. On a whim, the 17-year-old sat in front of a camera laughing as she recorded her first YouTube video, a cover of the song “Riptide” by Vance Joy.
“When my career began, I had no idea it would start. My first youtube video was a cover of ‘Riptide'. The song was so catchy I had to record it,” strumming her fingers, her eyes glinted with joy. Reliving a moment bygone the singer says, “I picked up a ukulele and practiced for 3 days, went to a friend's house, and the camera was pointed at me, so I sang. I did not, expect the response it got. I came back from Karate practice and I saw my social media– it just blew up. I saw Zohad bhaiya from Nemesis, Salman Muqtadir, Shanto bhaiya AKA Beatbaksho and so many other people sharing it. I honestly never thought anything like that would happen. Getting that support from so many people pushed me, and here I am. I never expected to be here.”
The artist initially lacked confidence, expressing that prior to this her exposure to music had been limited with no “musical practice until seven years ago.”
Humble in her gratitude, Fairooz Nazifa shares an anecdote of how she ended up recording the song “Tumi Hina” with multidisciplinary musician Fuad Almuqtadir which has accumulated over 2 million views on the Gaan Bangla TV YouTube channel, “Since I was really new to it. I didn't think I could do projects of my own, or get work. Then one day, Fuad bhaiya calls me and he tells me ‘I have this opportunity, you should definitely do it'.”
A long way from her starting post, Nazifa, now with eight years of musical experience under her green karate belt; currently involved with several ongoing projects. The singer states, “Amzad Hossain, Mohsin Mehdi, Ehsan Rahi, they teamed up and asked me to sing a song that they co-created together. That's coming out very soon. I released a song with talented producer Ekram Wasi. There's also Coke Studio. I'm looking forward to these releases coming together harmoniously, I've been waiting for this feeling for a while. I can only experience it fully with my audience, my listeners who accept and support me.”
Fairooz Nazifa's single written by her, “Resuscitate” was released on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music on June 23. Her song “Ghum Ghum” with Coke Studio Bangla released July 23.
The artist interlinked her hands, as a shy smile on her face with evident disbelief she calls back on her experience being approached for the Coke Studio project, “When they first approached me I was like ‘Woah, what?'”.
“The story behind how I gave my demo is actually quite dramatic. I initially thought It wouldn't happen at all. So, I did not check the weather before heading out. Lo and behold 5 minutes after I got on the bike, it started pouring. Like spirals of wind– jhuk jhuk rain. When I finally got to the studio, I was drenched from head to toe. The studio was Shuvendu Bhaiya's home studio. His wife was sweet enough to lend me some clothes. They treated me with khichuri, cha. The weather, the khichuri, everything kind of came together. It was finally the perfect ambiance to sing,” stated Fairooz.
Calling the opportunity a “beautiful experience” the artist expresses, “They treated me like family, I felt really safe. It can get really overwhelming, working with people you've never met. The way that they approached me, the way that they communicated with me, made it easier for me to work.”
Highlighting her appreciation to the people who have supported her, Fairooz Nazifa mentions, “Particularly I'm grateful to three people, one is Rushnaf Wadud, who talked to me before I came to Dhaka. He trusted in my talent. Another, Zubair Hossain Chowdhury from Indalo. There's Fuad bhaiya. They're such incredible musicians, to me they're legendary. I am insanely grateful for them, they made me fall in love with the music scene even more.”
Attempting to express her “truest emotions, as much as possible” with her current projects, the artist reflects on her growth as a musician, “This is just the start of my journey, this won't be the end of it. I want to make my friends, the people that have supported me– in simple words I want to make them proud.”
Synchronizing the many aspects of her life, the musician had to juggle, “I had to balance a lot. I had to balance my job, my studies, and doing undergrad. I also had a lot of other projects, recording, doing ads, modeling gigs, I had to do everything that I could do, to earn. I tried as much as possible and I want to try harder.'
Denoting the many obstacles in pursuing any passion, Nazifa acknowledges the role of many generations of musicians who have carved out her current path. She states, “Our older generations have worked really really hard to give us the space that we have. There are definitely obstacles in our music scene. I have so much respect for them because I know that unfortunately this is not widely accepted, there's a lot of growth that needs to happen in Bangladesh. But it is growing, thanks to the people who pushed for it. Also because of newer generations who are working to make more music, that's out of the norm, beyond the box.”
Steadfast in her principles, Fairooz Nazifa expresses, “There are hardships in everything, when everything is bleak and dark, only hard work is going to pay off. I don't want to dwell on the negatives. I want to push through, work hard and find my way out.”
