Chirkutt performed ‘epic fusion’ and won accolades. The band members spoke to Shrabasti Mallik about their movie projects and scope of indie music back home
As morning sunshine splashed over lawns at Purana Qila, the historical monument woke up to a musical note. Artistes from various south Asian nations thronged the site to perform rehearsals before staging packed concerts at dusk. As we rammed the pathway towards the main venue, we precisely heard tobuo golpo niye eka hatire (Still I walk alone with a story). “Is the sound rightIJ” asked Pintu, one of the lead vocalists of band Chirkutt, waving his hands in wonder. The session longed for over an hour letting the Bangladeshi band belt its hits one after the other.
Though Chirkutt forayed into music scene over a decade ago, it earned recognition four years back with hit album Chirkuttnama. The members constituted the band at campus (Dhaka University) as they played at several varsity gigs. However, the journey has been full of surprises, ups and downs. “We took almost eight years to gain recognition. We quit our jobs and decided to become full-time musicians. It’s when we started devoting more time to our projects,” said Emon, who plays guitar, banjo, ukulele and mandolin.
Preeteelota, another vocalist in the group, interrupted and reminded how they took off on an embarrassing note. “We were extremely excited about Chirkuttnama but our hopes vanished into thin air as the recording house refused to release even a single CD in the market. Dejected and disappointed, we then decided to start live gigs to promote the album. We received terriffic response across the country,” she said. They soon featured on a national television which opened new avenues.
Their first came to India to participate in India Music Week in 2012. “Here we got to interact with 50 bands from 17 countries. Then we travelled to festivals in Sri lanka and Norway. The Norway tour resulted in the release of their international music video from Oslo. We collaborated with Norway rock band Casa Murilo wherein we sang Bengali part in track Trams and Empty Street,” he informed.
In India, MTV has broadcast their videos khajna and katakuti several times. All through their struggling days, they had the constant support of their families. “That was what took us through all our hurdles. That apart we also stick together and encourage each other all the time. I guess when you have that kind of a support and a bond, every difficulty seems very little,” said Preeteeota.
Their performance last evening was attended by President Pranab Mukherjee. “This is the biggest opportunity that we have ever received,” said the singer who performed popular tracks like Katakuti, Kanamachi and Kochonar Gaan. “They are a mix of modern and contemporary music. But all the songs are very lyrical and has a goof rhythm to it,” mentioned Preetilota.
Chirkutt performs “epic-fusion”. “Our blend different kinds of music. We do not restrict ourselves to one particular genre; we make all kinds of music. Whatever interests us, we go ahead with that. Spontaneity and improvisation have been our strong points. We are inspired by Rolling Stones to Pink Flyod and Manna Dey to Shyamal Mitra,” said Pavel, who plays drums and percussions.
From Emon’s classical touch to Pavel’s contemporary beats, their compositions tear down the musical boundaries. The Eastern vocals with Rokon’s bass form hybrid rhythms that please the ears. Over the years, they have dabbled in Nazrul geeti, folk, rock and contemporary. “The trick is to bring all these elements together cohesively,” Rokon told us adding, “We would be holed up in our studio 24/7, working on our songs over and over again and without even realising, we come up with a good fusion. Of course, we will always keep trying to create and perfect our songs. So that we can proudly say that we are not defined by strict genres and barriers.”
Back home, they are busy scoring background music for a Bangladeshi movie. Preetilota said, “It is something new to us because we are not used to working within a theme, something which the director wants from us. It is a challenge but we are enjoying every bit of it. Also this is the first time in our country that an indie band will be scoring music for a feature film.”
It’s hard to churn out quality music with limited resources in a pop-dominated mainstream music industry like that of Bangladesh, claimed the band. They believe that many Bangladeshi artistes have scope for international exposure. “Music is a very powerful weapon,” said Pintu. “And we plan to utilise it fully and we hope that it stirs up passion and patriotism in fellow Bangladeshis.”
When asked about their plans of collaborating with other artistes, Preetilota said, “We always look forward for collaboration. When we collaborate, the world seems like a bigger place. Music has no border.” The band felt that initiatives like the South Asian Band Festival should be taken more often because, “music has a unique power of bonding people like nothing else.”