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Notching up Miles

Brace yourself for a dose of Bangla rock music today

STARTING SMALL Miles had humble beginnings in 1979 playing at the Hotel Intercontinental at Dhaka. Today the band has a big fan following

The number of rock bands that have lasted together since 1979 around the world can be counted on a couple of hands, give or take a few fingers. Considering that fact, it's quite an achievement that Miles, a band from Bangladesh has lasted that long and "at the top of charts," as their lead vocalist and bassist Shafin Ahmed insists.

Today along with Ahmed the band comprises Hamin Ahmed (guitar and vocals), Manam Ahmed (keyboards and vocals), Iqbal Asif Jewel (guitar and vocals) and Syed Ziaur Rahman Turjo (drums). They will perform today at a concert, Rock Baji, sponsored by Levi's. But it is not their first performance in Bangalore because our very own city played host to their first ever concert in India back in 1992.

Miles had humble beginnings in 1979 playing at the Hotel Intercontinental at Dhaka. It was 1982 before it had its first public concert. The same year it brought out its self-titled album in English. The second album, A Step Further, was also in English but the band moved on to Bangla for its third album, Protisruti (1991). Protisruti was a smash hit and the band has one of the biggest fan followings in Bangladesh even today. It has gone on to perform in the U.S.A., U.K., Australia, and in India several times. Starting out as a rock/hard rock band, it has moved on to create its own style of music that includes elements of pop, blues, Latino, jazz and techno.

In a freewheeling telephonic interview with MetroPlus, Shafin Ahmed traces the history of the band, its present form and gives a glimpse of what we can expect from it in the future. Excerpts.

What can you recollect of that performance in Bangalore in 1992?

That was our first visit to India and it was to a non-Bangla-speaking region. We played at an engineering college, that's all I can remember. But we did not expect a crowd of 7,000 to turn up. It was quite interesting. They had a pretty good idea of what they wanted and I feel south Indians like rock music. That's why you have so many foreign bands coming down. So, we were able to meet the requirements of that kind of an audience.

Interestingly, the set you played in Bangalore was an all-English one. But today you primarily play Bangla and with a mix of a variety of genres. Can you trace the journey?

Miles was formed in 1979 and it is over 25 years old. It's quite long time and there are not many bands in Asia that have lasted that long. When Miles was formed people said we were the best band in Bangladesh and they still talk of us. We have thrived at the top all these years.

We initially played for our own pleasure. So, we used to try to play whatever we listened to. But the market later demanded Bangla music and our fans expected Bangla songs, so we gave in to their demands. That decision catapulted us to the top.

Initially when we played at the hotels, we played music with quite a lot of diversity. Stevie Wonder to Weather Report to Santana and samba. Some were very difficult and that gave us an insight into western music. So, when we started our own compositions we were able to put everything together. But ours is still a very eastern melody. Our instruments have matured because we can apply any feel such as blues scales. We can do it because we have done it for many years, we are not shooting in the dark; we know what we are doing and why we are doing it.

Quite a number of Bangla bands are now performing in India. Why hasn't the Indian rock scene taken off?

It is quite amazing that rock/band music has not taken off. I guess there is not enough support from the audience. Bands are trapped in college campuses and the national media is not supporting them. In Bangladesh 46 per cent of the population is below 21, so when we started we created a revolution. The number of bands and quality is increasing. Even the "distortion of culture debate" raised by the conservatives is over.

Another problem in India is film music is taking away investment that can be used to support other music. And the satellite channels are not helping at all. They promote the same film music day in and day out. It will have an effect on listeners even if they don't like it.

Where does Miles go on from here?

There is still plenty to do because there is no end to learning in music. We want to probably make our next album English because the urban audience in Bangladesh is ready for it and probably make a Hindi album, which people will appreciate as there is a vacuum for it in India.

The concert will be held today from 6 p.m. onwards at Ambedkar Bhavan, Millers Road. Tickets, priced at Rs. 350, Rs. 250 and Rs. 150 (balcony), are available at Levi's stores in Sigma Mall, Eva Mall, Forum Mall and Commercial Street, all Pizza Corner Outlets and K.C. Das (Church Street and J.P. Nagar).

ANAND SANKAR

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