Blues Communications scaling new heights

Over the last few years, Blues Communications has established itself as the premier event management company of the country, specialising in grandiose musical and cultural programmes. From being the event manager of the monumental Bengal Classical Music Festival (BCMF), the world's largest classical music festival, to organising groundbreaking events like Jazz & Blues Festival and Sufi Music Festival, they have facilitated fusion, ghazal, theatre or contemporary world music events in Dhaka. The company has also organised international events at prestigious venues.

Now, Blues Communications is all set to present a four-day South Asian Music Festival at the MasterCard Theatres at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. The event will feature Bangladeshi stalwarts like Rezwana Choudhury Bannya, Laisa Ahmed Lisa, Luva Nahid Choudhury and Shama Rahman, as well as legends of Indian Classical Music -- Pt. Shivkumar Sharma, Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pt. Birju Maharaj and Dr. L Subramaniam.       

The CEO of the organisation, Farhadul Islam shared with The Daily Star various aspects of contemporary world music, their current and upcoming events and the organisation's dedication to organise world-class music festivals both at home and abroad. Excerpts:

“During the maiden BCMF, there was no existence of Blues Communications. I worked for Bengal Foundation to organise it. Following the successful festival, we figured out that tasteful events are in high demand. We launched Blues incorporating young minds. Our basic idea is to introduce Bangladeshi audience with different flavours of entertainment in high standard. We used to produce shows in different parts of the world. Since 2013, we have produced shows at global venues like Wembley Arena, different venues in Singapore, Sydney Opera House and Royal Albert Hall.”

“The audience wants new experiences every time and Blues tries to produce unique things at every event. Without the right technical facilities, whatever an artiste performs, it bears little fruit. We have brought state of the art equipments for our concerts that are used at the biggest concerts in the world.”

“The success of any festival comes with addressing as many artistic parameters as possible. The logo that we designed for the last year's BCMF by ikigai - which is a Bangladeshi design collective, earned us A' Design Award, one of the most prestigious design awards in the world.”

“Blues believes in providing the Dhaka audience with the different taste and flavour of international standard music and presentation. We are trying to provide a strong platform to our Bangladeshi artistes in Singapore where renowned Bangladeshi artistes will share the stage with living legends. We are trying to introduce the cultural heritage of our own to the world. The festival is taking place at a city where alongside South Asian Music, the music of Pan Asia and the world is welcomed. In the near future, we hope to tour with this South Asian Music Festival around the world.”

“We have a handful of events coming up soon. Jazz & Blues Festival Dhaka will be there, and we're planning on some surprise elements for the next episode. We are keen on organising a theatrical performance on October 25 titled 'Kaifi Aur Main' showcasing Indian poet, lyricist, screenwriter Javed Akhtar alongside Shabana Azmi. We are also planning a grand event to mark the birth anniversary of legendary Ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh.”

“In recent times, we have executed and witnessed some amazing events like Digital World, Power & Energy Week, Global Forum for Migration & Development, DPAICC, World T20 Opening Ceremony and many more. I believe it's probably the best time for our Honourable Prime Minister to encourage more incentives into the event management sector, since it will help this industry flourish and build up the country's image. If we are allocated a big venue for holding such festivals, we will be obliged. It's very important for us to engage the youth in entertainment and culture, so that the young generation does not get derailed.”