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Mouno Shonchar
with
Sabrin Kriti
বিপুল
তরঙ্গ
Bipul Torongo
words and melody Rabindranath Tagore
featuring Jiryis Murkus Ballan on buzuq
সোনার
হিন্দোলে
Shonar Hindole
words and melody Kazi Nazrul Islam
featuring Niloufar Shiri on kamancheh
and Jiryis Murkus Ballan on buzuq
এত
আনন্দধ্বনি
Eto Anondodhwoni
words and melody Rabindranath Tagore
আমি
বাঁধিনু
Ami Badhinu
words and melody Atul Prasad Sen
featuring Niloufar Shiri on kamancheh
voice
kamancheh
buzuq
artwork
production
Sabrin Kriti
Niloufar Shiri
Jiryis Murkus Ballan
Dhruba Chandra Roy
Teerath Majumder
A few words
Our motivation behind creating this EP was to offer a new way of experiencing Bangla songs created by composers such as Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, and Atul Prasad Sen. Sabrin Kriti and I set out on this journey in 2017 when we started experimenting with unconventional instrumentation and arrangement techniques to interpret these songs. Some of those experiments turned out better than others. Both of us have had the good fortune of growing up with the rich and diverse musical traditions of Bengal. Kriti, a versatile and virtuosic singer who has been performing since she was six, recorded several of the songs she had learned over the years, and she did so without any instrumental accompaniment. We analyzed the words and the melodies to better understand their significance and the ambiance we needed to create. Then I began designing the electronic sounds, recording the instruments, and putting the pieces together.
Through my PhD program, I came to know the two wonderful instrumentalists who contributed immensely to the EP. Although they come from very different backgrounds than mine or Kriti's, we were able to harness the commonalities and build our musical language from there. Recording posed some technical challenges, chief among which was recording Jiryis Ballan remotely when he was in Nazareth (yes, "the" Nazareth). Thanks to a browser-based
recording platform, we were able to overcome that obstacle. Both Jiryis and Niloufar Shiri have been such great support throughout the project. Remote sessions, retakes, and more retakes! It's a wonder they don't hate my guts yet.
The artwork for the EP, as you may have discerned, has truly made this work whole. The depth of Dhruba Roy's understanding of the songs and his own art form is difficult to escape. One rarely comes by an artist, especially someone as young as him, who has developed a style so unique that it compels the viewer to re-evaluate their aesthetic preconceptions while inviting them to bathe in its emotional intricacy. It has been a real pleasure working with him.
I hope you enjoy the EP as much as we did making it. Please feel free to get in touch with any feedback.
I would like to express my gratitude to Medici Circle Scholarship and our patron. Without their support, it would have been difficult to bring the team together and organize this project in the middle of a pandemic.
–Teerath Majumder
Gallery
"Such a lovely EP!! I listened to it 4 times through on the first day. Congrats to you all."
-Renon Pepke
"Majumder deftly blends his Indian classical training with his prolific sensibilities as an electronic producer and sound designer, carrying the tracks from their cinematic outros to orchestral turns and cacophonic swells."
-The Wild City