A breezy evening of timeless hits

Melodies and groove galore: Symphonium on stage at The Nest. Photo: Saurav Dey

Symphonium is not yet a familiar name in the music scene, and naturally so. The band, formed six months ago, has done only a handful of shows. But any doubt over their musical skills vapourised during their sound-check, as the band geared up to host “A Blast from the Past” at The Nest in Gulshan, Dhaka last Thursday night. Led by former Feedback member Zakiur Rahman, the seven-piece band did ample justice to the title of the concert, delivering neat performances of a wide range of all-time hits, on a timeline spanning from the '60s to the mid-'90s.

Zakiur Rahman, a doctor by profession, said the main reason behind starting the band was: “The music within a musician never dies”. Although he remained busy with his professional duties after returning from overseas, Zakiur said he gradually got back in touch with a number of musicians, and at one point decided to do something in an organised manner. Sporting the quintessential old-school rock star get-up -- jeans, unbuttoned shirt on a T-shirt with a fedora to top it off, holding a lefty classic sunburst Les Paul, Zakiur said that the sound of his band was essentially founded on melody, adding that they were really looking into doing covers of classics from the '70s, '80s and early '90s, a time he feels has gone missing from the playlists of today's young music enthusiasts.

With Murphy and Lusha on vocals, Russel on lead guitar, Rubayat on bass, Shafayat on keys, Rumi on drums and Zakiur on guitars and vocals, the band said that they would open and close the show with Bengali songs, with Pahela Baishakh just around the corner. Lusha's smooth voice did fair justice to Mousumi Bhowmik's “Ami Shunechi Shedin Tumi”, before the band kicked into gear. “Right Here Waiting” was next on the list with Murphy on the mic, followed by John Lennon's “Imagine”, sung by Zakiur, in a very acoustic set-up. John Denver's “Country Road”, Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood's “Summer Wine”, and Lionel Ritchie's “Hello” followed, as the audience got into the groove. Madonna's “La Isla Bonita” was next on the setlist, getting a few in the audience to their feet.

As the night grew older, the band brought out hits after hits, from blissfully melodious tracks like “Hotel California” (Eagles), “You are Not Alone” and “Give in to Me” (Michael Jackson), and “Careless Whisper” (Wham!) to funky old numbers like “Daddy Cool” (Boney M.) to the typical pop-rock numbers like “Someday” (MLTR).

At a time when a new band almost exclusively means young musicians trying to produce extravagant sounds influenced by a wide range of music, Symphonium is a refreshing breeze, and is certainly a name to look out for in concert lineups.