Powering through setbacks

Sabbir, Muhin, Konal, Ronty, Beauty, Nowrin, Salma, Liza, Putul  are all popular names in our music industry. They are ubiquitous on television, radio or stage shows. What's common among them is that each can be said to have arrived after winning reality shows. The Daily Star recently arranged a musical adda with the nine singers of this generation. The young musicians talked about their music,  problems in the industry and more. Excerpts:

What's your take on the music you do? Do you think your songs will remain relevant in 10 years?

Konal: We hope so. We do music targeting young audience. If their tastes remain the same, our songs will still be contemporary after a decade. We are yet to win the hearts of senior audiences who prefer timeless songs.

Salma: I believe our songs will remain popular. Though not all of our songs are meant to live forever, some of those will continue to be remembered.

Muhin: We are doing music for the present generation. And it'll live with this generation even when they grow older.

Sabbir: Our industry is in a transitional stage where musicians from four generations are working together. We like to think every one of us has some songs which will stay evergreen.

Beauty: We are more or less singing original songs, and our audiences are accepting them. I firmly believe some of those songs will get a special place in our audience's hearts.

Ronty: Even though we are struggling to do good music, there are songs that have permanent place in the audience's hearts.  

We never get bored of singers like Sandhya Mukherjee, no matter how many times we hear their songs. Do you think the songs you sing have the same power?

Sabbir: There are many such singers whose songs are soothing to the ears. Those singers have mastered music after years and years of practice. Singers of this generation do not spend as much time on practice. 

Nowrin: Nowadays singers do not think of  putting in that much effort in singing.

Konal: Singers of this generation try to finish singing as quickly as possible. This applies to us all.

Ronty: Music is like worship. But these days, singers don't worship music; they just do it for sake of doing music.

Sometimes you sing songs of golden days; what's it like to perform those?

Konal: We choose to sing such songs because of their timeless appeal. Their lyrics and tunes are so good that we become one with them when we are singing.

Nowrin: I think we have to spend more time rehearsing and less time performing these songs.

Beauty: Even at this age, we want to listen to and perform such songs.

It's sometimes said that singers who come from reality shows cannot survive  in the industry. What's your take on that?

Ronty: You cannot blame reality shows. Many singers come to the industry through different gateways, but not all of them survive.

Sabbir: All of us are from reality shows, and we are doing quite well. The struggle to produce quality music is the same for everybody, though.

Salma: I would say we are doing well, and we have a strong place in the music industry. 

Nowrin: Talented singers will dominate the industry. The rest will disappear from the scene sooner or later.

Liza: Making music is not everyone's cup of tea. We need to work really hard to do well.

What happens when nine young musicians get together? Impromptu jamming and selfie sessions.

What are the biggest constraints holding back our music industry?

Muhin: There are many deep-rooted problems. Producers and audio companies maintain a distance from lyricists, composers and singers. This is a big problem. In India, singers, composers and lyricists are getting their due royalties and respect. But we are not even getting a minimum reward after doing an album.

Sabbir: We want to work with renowned composers, but cannot do that due to financial constraints. Who will sponsor us? There's no one to stand beside us.

Ronty: The industry is replete with problems. When we make an album, companies want us to do music videos. Shooting a music video requires a lot of money. Also the audio companies do not give us the option to work with composers of our choice.

Konal: I think there's a lack of transparency in the industry. But problems will prevail and we have to face them. The audio companies do not promote an album, they promote a single track. Also, television channels and radio stations air only the title track; the rest of the tracks go into oblivion. The music industry is a commercial place, there's little place for art here.

Salma: We have to go through all kinds of problems. I believe as long as there's good music, the audience will listen to it.

Is there any distance between singers of your generation and senior artistes?

Sabbir: A great distance. When we sing their songs on television shows, they complain that we have distorted their music, but when we sang in front of them on reality shows, they appreciated us.

Ronty: We don't want any distance, but seniors are maintaining a distance from us. However, I think we are also partially responsible for that.

Muhin: We need inspiration. We expect that senior artistes will instruct us and show us the way. We want to learn from them.

Nowrin: We are here to sing, not to fight with anyone. We want senior artistes by our side.

Liza: Good relationships with senior artistes are necessary for us to create good music. We want to work together.