Aspiring for soothing serenades
Nafis Kamal's album to be launched

NAFIS Kamal, who will be launching his second cassette "Onubhabey Eka" at the Alliance Francaise on 29th April, says," I have been interested in music since the age of five. Today I'm into various types of songs as I like experimenting. My basic background is that of Nazrul Geeti having been in "Kochi Kachar Mela" for a long time, studying under Shukumar Borua. Later on, Edelbert Baroi guided me. Gradually, as my interest in music varied, Mohammad Hannan helped me. Hannan is a ghazal expert and he trained me with great care.

"My favourite singers are Gagjit Singh and Mehadi Hassan, and the song that I like best is "Ye tera ghar ye mera ghar". My earlier Nazrul Academy background, when I was a student of class seven and up to Metric, made me appreciate songs like "Kheli cho ai bishsholoye" "Anjali Lohomor", and "Bhoter rakhal" (sung by Arup Ghoshal), I kept my interest in Nazrul geeti along with that of ghazal at the same time. As for Rabindra shangeets, of them all I like "nobo jiboner aye jatra pothey" "Gram chhara aey ranga matir poth." And "Ora shukher lagi chahi prem". In this too Shukomar Borua guided me through regular training." Speaking about his television performances, he said that he has sung two pop songs, "Elo melo" in 1988, and more recently "Maajh rater gaan" both of which appeared in "Ittadi".

Asked which type of modern pop music he liked best, Nafis says, "I myself am not a member of a band and pop songs of our local bands don't move me in the slightest bit. They are noisy and rowdy gatherings of young people where they are out for easy-come pleasure and a chance to flaunt the latest cuts of clothes. The pop songs are often repetitive of the few successful earlier hits. There are not much variations in them."

He adds, "Yes I've performed on stage for musical soirees but these have not been many as they are expensive to organize. As child, however, at Government Laboratory High School, I had made a name for myself with my singing."

Speaking about his cassettes, Nafis says, "I've tried to experiment, combining eastern with western music. In this type of fusion music I have tried to mix blues with raggae, soft rock and western pop with eastern music. The eastern influence on my music are from the late fifties like Akhter Begum, K L Saigal, and the thumris of that time. I make an effort to comprehend their words. If I cannot fathom the meaning myself, I ask others who have more knowledge in this matter"

Speaking about his albums, Nafis says, "there are twenty-eight songs in them. My favourite among them is 'elo melo' (which I sang on TV too) 'Maajh rater gaan', 'Udashi groho', 'Tomar chithi' and 'Aey to nambey ratri. The themes of the songs combine romance, nature and the pleasures of every day life. I try to bring in both the pathos and ectasy of life."

Nafis adds, " I naturally do not consider myself a perfected artist as yet but I've tried my best to enter the innermost core of music. At a later stage of life my friends inspired me to train myself further in this field. More than anyone else, it was my mother who encouraged me to devote myself to music, going so far as to finance my albums. She herself, was drawn to music ever since I've known her. She may not have been a successful singer herself but she made all arrangement for my own pursuit of music. She not only guided me into the field of music but insisted that I should practice regularly. She made sure that I had the necessary accompaniment of 'harmonium', 'tabla', guitar, keyboard, flute etc. When I practice, Kollol and Shemol, my friends, play their instruments along with me.

The amount of time I spend on my singing depends on my studies. Normally I sing half an hour a day but during exams. I skip my singing."

Talking about fusion music, Nafis says, "I enjoy the eastern rhythms in them that I can easily detect. My favourite group is 'Renaissance' and apart from that I care little for other local bands: the chaos that often follows our band performances ruins the fun of it all. I don't sing for people who want to go amuck at night. I want peace and harmony around me. Loud, blaring music annoys me, to say the least. For me good music involves good, soothing lyric and tune: the interest in it should be retained even if I've heard it often. I think that music is an integral part of relaxation and stirring of passion whether we are in the east or west."

Asked if he gives the lyrics of his songs, Nafis says, "My songs have been written by others." He adds, "Incidentally, it's difficult for me to perform at will as I need an orchestra of about 25 people. While singing, I can only play the harmonium or the keyboard. Violin, keyboard, congo, guitar (lead and base) etc all go into this. I have only lyrics of my own, namely, "Bhalo theko tumi" and "Aye to nambe ratri". Kawser Ahmed, and Md Rafiquzamman are among my lyricists."

"It is not easy for me to perform on a commercial basis as I have recently graduated in Management and Marketing, and I'm now doing internship at the South East Bank," Nafis continues.

Dwelling once again on the state of pop music in Bangladesh, Nafis once again stresses that he is frustrated with its level. "Repetitions prevail. I find no variations in the outright copies. In contrast, the music of the maestros of earlier days like Manna Dey, Shumon Chattapadya and Nakib Khan touch your heart, mind and soul in the manner that local band music never well."

Has he struggled a lot? Yes. Nafis says that for quite a while his life comprises only studies and the studios where he sings. He adds, "I never work in the same studio all the time as I have numerous directors in places such as in 'Art of Noise', 'Promix', 'Music Man', and 'Digitone'.

He adds, "It's only when I began to make albums that I became dead serious about my singing as now I have my regular listeners to consider. However, singing to me is a hobby. My family wouldn't like it otherwise."

By Fayza Haq

Nafis Kamal is one of the most promising singers around. Still in his early twenties the talented singer has become quite well known among the music aficionados. One of his audio cassettes is ready for release and in future he wants to release a few more. Unlike many of today’s singers Nafis Kamal has a sound grounding in music. He learnt classical music and Nazrul Geeti at an early age. "Though none of my family members were singers or heavily into cultural activities they always encouraged me in my musical pursuits. I participated in many music competitions and did reasonably well". About today’s music scene Nafis is not too happy. "The songs of yesteryears had a certain melody and a distinct quality in them which makes them still worth listening to. Nowadays, most of the songs the songs we listen to fails to touch the soul," commented Nafis. What sort of songs does the young singer likes, "Actually, it depends on the mood. I like all genres of good music. It can be anything from Rabindra Sangeet to a band song. I also like classical genres like thumri. I am also very fond of Western music. From classical to rock, my choice is all encompassing.. There are so many singers I like that it would be difficult for me to name one or two," he said. His first cassette is a reflection of this point of view. He has tried to go for fusion. Nafis does not like to be branded as a singer of a particular style. As my choice of music is not limited to a particular area I have tried to include as much variety as possible in my cassette. There are 13 songs in the cassette and most of them have a certain quality, which separates them from the monotonous noisy numbers, which are being passed off as music these days. In the songs his grounding in classical music comes to the fore. In the future too he wants to produce more quality music. However music will remain a passion and hobby for him. Nafis believes while it is possible to take up music as a career at present, one has to make a lot of compromises in order to be a successful commercial singer. And he is not ready to make the compromises. "I would rather not release any cassettes than compromise with music. It would be like selling my soul." He is also very sorry about the copied songs. Well, as long as there are sincere and devoted singers like Nafis Kamal there still is hope regarding Bangladeshi music.

by Syed Mehdi Momin