Reviving timeless Bangla songs

Sohini Alam, a soulful British singer of Bangladeshi descent, has a firm grip over different genres of music. The lead vocalist of London-based band Khiyo (and Afro-Cuban band Lokkhi Tera) first came to notice when Khiyo's rendition of Bangladesh's national anthem “Amar Sonar Bangla”, went viral on the social media. Sohini's soulful voice and Khiyo's unique arrangement of music has given a new dimension to some classic Bangla songs.

This correspondent recently caught up with her when she visited Dhaka as part of Komola Collective's tour of Bangladesh with their stage play “Birangona”.

Tell us your side of the story behind “Amar Shona'r Bangla”.

Sohini: We rearranged “Amar Sonar Bangla” out of our love for the song, and made a video since we thought it would introduce listeners to our music arrangement. “Purbo Digonte” was a random release; the complete song is in our album. The debut album was released on August 28, 2014 in the UK. I hope the digital release will happen here soon. The album, “Khiyo”, contains two Nazrul tracks, one Lalon song and a few other tracks of my choice.

Tell us about the music you do.

Sohini: I do a lot of genres of music but primarily I specialise in Nazrul Sangeet. I have a soft corner for timeless Bangla songs. And one of the reasons behind forming Khiyo was to revive those songs as the new generation of listeners is not very familiar with them. They don't listen to those songs, and the music arrangement is one of the key reasons. Our generation is fond of western instruments, and we tried to give the old songs a modern makeover so that they draw new listeners.

You lent your voice for Akram Khan's “DESH”. How did that come together?

Sohini: My mother used to teach music among the Bangladeshi community in London, while Akram's mother used to teach dance. I knew Akram as Shubho bhaia from my childhood. However, we lost touch when I moved from England. On my return to London, I used to follow Akram Khan's show but did not knowhe was my childhood acquaintance. One day I met his mother at a show, and only then I came to know that he had become a superstar.

Meanwhile, Jocelyn Pook, the music composer of “DESH”, was looking for a Bengali vocalist, and Leesa apa (Leesa Gazi) suggested my name. Jocelyn recorded a song and sent that to Akram, and he said that the rendition had a “lot of soul”. He did not know initially that I was the singer.

How did you get involved with Komola Collective and Birangona?

Sohini: I am one of the four founder members of Komola Collective. We have a very strong team; Leesa apa writes, Filiz Ozcan is a director, Caitlin Abbott is a designer and I am a singer. We initiated the company so that we can do women-centric works.

Any thoughts about stage show in Dhaka?

Sohini: I would love to, but the issue of sponsorship comes up. It is expensive to bring the band here and hold shows. Hopefully, it will happen someday.