The Statesman
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Listening to Kabir Suman’s latest album and talking to him is, writes Sharmila Ray, like discovering the mind is a photographic darkroom where images flash and spark and grow into the identity of flesh I am with you, you men and women of a generation Or ever so many generations hence, Just as you feel when you look on the river and sky, so I felt Just as any of you is one of a living crowd, I was one of a crowd. — Walt Whitman. A DECADE after the release of his first album in the early 1990s, Kabir Suman’s voice still sings out as fresh and vibrant as the roar of cities, the boom of surf. The recent release of his new album, Dekchhi Toke (Cozmik Harmony) at Emami Landmark made this clear once more. For Kabir the musician, appreciating a work of art is a matter of learning and it is not possible to start from scratch and work out a whole cultural map for oneself without a starting point. “I owe it to Pankaj Kumar Mullick, my father, Sudhindranath Chattopadhyay, Hemanto Mukhopadhyay, Satinath Mukhopadhyay. I also heard a lot of Pat Boone, Jim Reeves and Nat King Cole.” So in terms of style, structure, content, Kabir redefined the rules of modern Bengali songs in the early 1990s, embracing issues that have been cutting and screaming across society, history and truth but waiting to be represented in music
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which, till then, was haloed domain. If to him goes the credit of introducing forcefully modern ballads in Bengali songs, he didn’t come like a splinter from nowhere but had the best of Bengali and International modern music behind him — a tradition that he has churned and made unique use of to his advantage. It is interesting to talk to him about the genesis of his new album. The title song, Dekchhi Toke, was born out of a “layout” where a much older Kabir is seen looking at his 18month-old self, perhaps standing on different meridians engaged in a dialogue. Apart from penning the lyrics and setting them to tune, he has arranged and edited, mixed and mastered the album himself at home. He fondly calls it “a cottage indust ry produce”. Listening to the album one feels that the mind is a photographic darkroom where the images — bullet nachhe/kar nam nisiddha/ Galiber daridra dena/ — flash and spark and grow into the identity of flesh. The whole album is permeated by the idea of fascination, a lucid fascination, at the universal busyness, the continuous generation and degeneration of things. In the composition Kar nam kanchan one gets a strong sense of space and flight, whereas in Nachte chaichi bujhi we find rigour, precision, economy and subtlety. An essence of tribal Africa hovers and lingers in the last stanza. The music of Banda hajir is an adaptation of Bhairavi baul coupled with some musical genres of north India. Each song is an essay where the function of the imagination is not to transform reality but rather, as Kabir would have it, imagination imparting a little more reality to our lives so that the I that dreams, the I that thinks, the I that breathes, the I which creates and destroys, merges together. Asked about his views regarding the current trends in Bengali songs and Bangla Band against a backdrop of dissolving perspectives, Kabir feels that philosophically and politically he supports the Bangla Band because as time changes people try to find their own voice if they can. But when asked as a musician what his views are, he feels that most of the modern Bengali songs lack in the great musical variety that we have. "Overproduction, over-consumption, over-exposure has killed music today,” laments Kabir. The man who brought a fresh departure to modern Bengali songs, created a new notion of performance has slowly and unmistakably acquired a nostalgic value. The young and enthusiastic audience of the early 1990s has also travelled a long path, situated in other locations as they are now. The artist himself has remained unchanged on one crucial score: he dreams in a way, retains that will to dream which has been the source of
much of his best creations. The voice has, perhaps, mellowed but the desire to capture the world of numerous everydays in all their nuances is unmistakable. If we want Kabir Suman to be in our hip pockets and nightstands, we must look elsewhere — there are plenty in the market today. The loss is ours. Just hear him. Adventure waits. You may find a piece of yourself you forgot.
Discussion on this Lifestyle item Disclaimer: These are Internet generated discussion threads for which the The Statesman has no responsibility.
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Other Lifestyle Shades of Black! WHITE HEAT Musical metamorphosis! truly Asia Armrest warfare...! Feng Shui SOLUTION Bamboo blossoms Behind the Ballad
Page views : 23543297 since March 15,2003
Search
in
The Statesman
Web
Sunday, May 15 2005
Home | Classified | Jobs | Matrimonials | Archives | Advertise | Feedback | About Us News Page one India World Editorial Perspective Business Sport Bengal Magazine Sports & Leisure Career & Campus Science & Technology Voices Lifestyle Kolkata Plus Bengal Plus Viewpoint North East Page Orissa Plus Note Book N.B & Sikkim Plus Entertainment NB Extra World Focus
Login
A sound man Username
Listening to Kabir Suman’s latest album and talking to him is, writes Sharmila Ray, like discovering the mind is a photographic darkroom where images flash and spark and grow into the identity of flesh I am with you, you men and women of a generation Or ever so many generations hence, Just as you feel when you look on the river and sky, so I felt Just as any of you is one of a living crowd, I was one of a crowd. — Walt Whitman. A DECADE after the release of his first album in the early 1990s, Kabir Suman’s voice still sings out as fresh and vibrant as the roar of cities, the boom of surf. The recent release of his new album, Dekchhi Toke (Cozmik Harmony) at Emami Landmark made this clear once more. For Kabir the musician, appreciating a work of art is a matter of learning and it is not possible to start from scratch and work out a whole cultural map for oneself without a starting point. “I owe it to Pankaj Kumar Mullick, my father, Sudhindranath Chattopadhyay, Hemanto Mukhopadhyay, Satinath Mukhopadhyay. I also heard a lot of Pat Boone, Jim Reeves and Nat King Cole.” So in terms of style, structure, content, Kabir redefined the rules of modern Bengali songs in the early 1990s, embracing issues that have been cutting and screaming across society, history and truth but waiting to be represented in music
Password
New user
which, till then, was haloed domain. If to him goes the credit of introducing forcefully modern ballads in Bengali songs, he didn’t come like a splinter from nowhere but had the best of Bengali and International modern music behind him — a tradition that he has churned and made unique use of to his advantage. It is interesting to talk to him about the genesis of his new album. The title song, Dekchhi Toke, was born out of a “layout” where a much older Kabir is seen looking at his 18month-old self, perhaps standing on different meridians engaged in a dialogue. Apart from penning the lyrics and setting them to tune, he has arranged and edited, mixed and mastered the album himself at home. He fondly calls it “a cottage indust ry produce”. Listening to the album one feels that the mind is a photographic darkroom where the images — bullet nachhe/kar nam nisiddha/ Galiber daridra dena/ — flash and spark and grow into the identity of flesh. The whole album is permeated by the idea of fascination, a lucid fascination, at the universal busyness, the continuous generation and degeneration of things. In the composition Kar nam kanchan one gets a strong sense of space and flight, whereas in Nachte chaichi bujhi we find rigour, precision, economy and subtlety. An essence of tribal Africa hovers and lingers in the last stanza. The music of Banda hajir is an adaptation of Bhairavi baul coupled with some musical genres of north India. Each song is an essay where the function of the imagination is not to transform reality but rather, as Kabir would have it, imagination imparting a little more reality to our lives so that the I that dreams, the I that thinks, the I that breathes, the I which creates and destroys, merges together. Asked about his views regarding the current trends in Bengali songs and Bangla Band against a backdrop of dissolving perspectives, Kabir feels that philosophically and politically he supports the Bangla Band because as time changes people try to find their own voice if they can. But when asked as a musician what his views are, he feels that most of the modern Bengali songs lack in the great musical variety that we have. "Overproduction, over-consumption, over-exposure has killed music today,” laments Kabir. The man who brought a fresh departure to modern Bengali songs, created a new notion of performance has slowly and unmistakably acquired a nostalgic value. The young and enthusiastic audience of the early 1990s has also travelled a long path, situated in other locations as they are now. The artist himself has remained unchanged on one crucial score: he dreams in a way, retains that will to dream which has been the source of
much of his best creations. The voice has, perhaps, mellowed but the desire to capture the world of numerous everydays in all their nuances is unmistakable. If we want Kabir Suman to be in our hip pockets and nightstands, we must look elsewhere — there are plenty in the market today. The loss is ours. Just hear him. Adventure waits. You may find a piece of yourself you forgot.
Discussion on this Lifestyle item Disclaimer: These are Internet generated discussion threads for which the The Statesman has no responsibility.
No discussions on this item
Other Lifestyle Shades of Black! WHITE HEAT Musical metamorphosis! truly Asia Armrest warfare...! Feng Shui SOLUTION Bamboo blossoms Behind the Ballad
Page views : 23543297 since March 15,2003
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