Bangladeshi rock or Bangla rock (Bengali: বাংলা রক)

Rock music of Bangladesh. It originated in Chittagong with Souls, which was formed in 1970.^[1] Distortion, electric and bass guitars and drums are used, sometimes accompanied by piano or other keyboard instruments. In the past, it was accompanied by saxophone, flute, violin and bass violin.

History

Origin (1960s–1970s)

Bangladeshi rock began in 1960 when a handful of self-taught musicians joined to create original songs. Their efforts resulted in the birth of the Bangla rock scene. In 1963, Zinga Goshty was the first^{[citation needed]} orchestra band in Bangladesh, formed in Chittagong by a group of students from Chittagong College.^[2] Pioneering groups during the late 1960s included Windy Side of Care (M. Fazle Rub, Alamgir, Rafique Mazhar Islam Saju, Rafi Omar, and Khwaja Shabbir Quader), the Lightnings (Neo Mendis,Noel Mendis) Rambling Stones (Zafar Iqbal and others), Ugly Phases, Time Ago Motion (Robin and others), Fire in Ice (Selim Alam, Reza Ahmed, Chhoton Islam and Habib Zafarullah Mithu) and Insex Dui (a band with American students studying at the American School in Dacca). They performed without expensive instruments or sound systems.^[1]
Azam Khan (Uchharon), a.k.a. the Legend, a.k.a. the Imaginative Composer, emerged during the 1970s. Happy Akhand's "Abar Alo Elo Je Shondha" was a popular song, and his premature death was a blow to the musicians he influenced. Akhand's contemporaries include the late Firoze Shahi, Ferdaus Wahid and Fakir Alamgir. Many old bands are still active, including Souls (1970), Feedback (1976), Miles (1978), Nagar Baul (1980) and Warfaze (1984).^[3]

1980s

Although early Bangladeshi rock is characterised by romantic songs and mellow tunes, the scene began to change during the 1980s. Warfaze was a progressive band during this period. Feedback was another band, who released the albums Ullash and Mela. From the mid 1980s to the early 1990s, hard rock became more popular. Sumon of Aurthohin described the metal-music era: "It was around 1986 when Miles performed hard rock in Dhaka. They performed songs of Iron Maiden which was rocking to people. The next concert was a mind blowing performance, in which they covered several numbers of Iron Maiden and they did very well indeed!" The band was called Rock Strata, and it was followed by Warfaze. Different Touch was also active during the late 1980s and early 1990s, playing "Sraboner Meghgulo". Nova (1986) and Renaissance were bands from the same period. The era also witnessed the emergence of artists such as Ayub Bachchu (who created LRB) and solo performers Tapan Chowdhury and Kumar Bishwajit.^[4]

1990s

The early 1990s was arguably the most productive phase^[5] of Bangladeshi rock, featuring bands such as LRB and Ark. Cryptic Fate and Maqsood O Dhaka were other notable groups from the era.^[5]
The heavy-metal scene further developed during the early 1990s. "Mixed album Hooray was, back then, a huge inspiration and boost for many celebrated bands from today", said Shakib of Cryptic Fate.^{[citation needed]} Warfaze and Rock Strata also released albums. Another band was Winning, which later disbanded.
In 1993, Sumon left Warfaze; he, Piklu (of the disbanded Rockstrata) and Jolly Roger became Aurthohin. That year metal bands such as Cryptic Fate, Mysteria, Dethrow and PsychoDeth also emerged, playing at underground shows. Shironaamhin, formed in 1996, is still active as of 2013. Around 1998, Koprophilia, Clovermind and Spanking Monkeys began playing alternative music. After a period of turmoil, around 1999 Artcell (formerly Tantrik), Metal Maze, Migraine, Black, Wire, Scarecrow and Nemesis surfaced.^[5][6]

2000s

By the early ears of the 21st century, bands such as Black, Artcell, Poizon Green, Kronic, Reborn, Scarecrow, Dalchut and Nemesis became active on the Bangladeshi music scene with the release of debut albums and songs. Newer bands emerging during this period, such as Stentorian, Arbovirus, Shohortoli, De-illumination, Shunno and Lalon, also became established. The era also saw the revival of the Chittagong rock-music scene. Although the city is considered the birthplace of Bangladeshi rock it declined during the 1990s, when most local musicians and bands began moving to Dhaka for more opportunity and better facilities. During the early 2010s, the Bangladesh Music Bands Association (BAMBA) and the Chittagong Music Bands Association (CMBA) began organising rock concerts in the city, which gave exposure to local underground bands. This resulted to the emergence of new rock bands in the city, such as Hemorrhage and Blunderware.^[7][8]