Sadi Mohammad Shahnewaz

Fresh off his latest release with Indalo, “Kokhon Ebhabe Ekhane Ke Jane”, Jon Kabir joins us for One Minute Please! In this rapid-fire interview, Jon had only one minute to answer the questions.

The almost non-existent stand-up comedy scene in Dhaka is kept alive by the endeavours of two gritty comedians – Ahmad Ashik and Amin Hannan Chowdhury, with their ragtag band of funnymen.

Over the years, the band music industry of Bangladesh has not only gifted the most talented musicians and memorable songs, but arguably the most passionate fans.

It is rare for a musician to receive the level irrevocable and unconditional love from the fans that Saidus Salehin Khaled, popularly known Bassbaba Sumon, has accumulated in his illustrious career. A bona fide legend in Bangladesh’s band music industry, he is a virtuoso on the bass guitar, earning him the moniker of Bassbaba. The beloved Aurthohin frontman has beaten cancer, and recently, a deadly spinal injury after spending the better part of three years in tremendous pain while in recovery. Now, the musician is back on track, fueled by the love of his fans, and his passion for music – as he talks to The Daily Star for more.

Adnan Al Rajeev’s “YouTumor” lit up this year’s Eid with its unique presentation and message, musician turned actor Pritom Hasan at the forefront as the gullible and (un)fortunate Don. Pritom not only nails the character, but puts his own twist to it, resulting in a captivating back and forth with seasond actor Ziaul Hoque Polash. We talk to the young star for his experience, future plans and more.

In the upper echelons of art, music is perhaps the only entity that unites and divides at the same time, based on language and nationality. While phenomenon like South Korea’s mercurial K-Pop scene has attained global popularity by sticking to their own language, there is no denying that English’s accessibility in the current world makes it easier for an international audience to relate to an artiste.

The recent incident regarding Pori Moni is a perfect example of how eager many netizens are to blame and jump to conclusions, with the 29-year old film star saying she was subjected to harassment, attempted rape and murder.

Nafeez Al Amin, besides being arguably the most energetic drummer in the music industry, had become a fully-fledged craftsman with Beshi Joss Customs a few years ago. What it originally started as a passion project for the Arbovirus drummer, is now a workshop of dreams for all sorts of musical instruments, especially custom-made guitars.

Chances are, you are already familiar with Afia Tabassum Borno, owing to the numerous television commercials and billboard ads that she has starred in. The English department student from ULAB has now etched her name in history, having starred in an important role in Abdullah Mohammad Saad directorial “Rehana Maryam Noor”. The film is the first Bangladeshi project to be officially selected in the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.

Progressive band Messianic Era have seen their share of vicissitudes throughout the years. The talented underground band, inspired by the likes of Dream Theatre, Opeth and Porcupine Tree, will release their self-titled debut album on June 18.

As the entire country celebrated mother’s day on May 9 with pictures, felicitations and tributes to the women who raised them, National Award winning actor Chanchal Chowdhury was harassed on his Facebook account for following a different religion.

When I turned on the song titled “Doura Picchi”, the last thing I expected was to curl up in a corner and ponder about my insecurities – but that is exactly what the six-minute song did to me. The EP, also titled “Doura Picchi”, is designed to catch one off guard, especially if it is their first time listening to The Attempted Band.

At the time of writing this article, Shunno’s latest single “Behula” has been ‘trending’ as number one on YouTube’s music segment for the past 6 days. The music video, animated by Antik Mahmud, touched a million views almost instantaneously, and the song recently crossed the four million milestone.

For a musician as young as Dameer Khan, emotionally charged love ballads might be commonplace. However, it is the execution where the talented artiste proves why he is deemed as the future of the Bangladeshi music industry, in his latest EP – “For We Are Distant”.

It will not be a stretch to say that releasing new music is easier than ever before—with little to no hurdles if you have a song ready to go, and access to either a third-party distribution app, or a manager who has access to the same.

Young musician and producer Dameer Khan recently released his latest track, “Amar Jaan”. The song’s music video is unique, consisting of footage from his parents – Zareen Durdana and Shahbaz Khan Pilu’s wedding.

Nadia Dora’s earthy voice lends itself perfectly to folksy music, but the talented singer does not want to shy away from any genre that comes her way. Her recent releases, “Kolija Ki Shingara” in Zee5’s “WTFry” and the title track of Kajol Arefin Ome’s “Viral Girl”, have resonated with the audience. We catch up with the young artiste for more.

The definition of a ‘podcast’ implies that it is primarily made for consumption in the audio format – on the road during commutes, while working on something ominously mundane or just closing your eyes to listen to a no-holds barred conversation between two people. However, the popularity of podcasts has outgrown its mould, and a particular Bangladeshi spin on it has become one of the most must-see content on the internet right now. Music and television star Jon Kabir talks to us about his latest podcast, titled “I started a Podcast”. We talk to Jon about his latest endeavor.

The Covid-19 pandemic rendered the music industry into disarray for the first few months, one which it tried hard to fight back. Even though the year is musical activities were largely limited to online releases and ‘live’ concerts on social media, we did see a number of notable releases from artistes.

The latest renditions of songs uploaded through your studio page are mind-blowing. What other projects are you working on now?