Bangla Musical conquest in Germany

Bangla’s musical conquest in Germany

Band Bangla, one of the leading folk-fusion bands in Bangladesh, conquered the hearts of thousands of international music enthusiasts last week in Germany performing in a series of concerts titled ‘Your Voice Against Poverty’ which also included international music heavyweights Bono Vox, the lead musician of U2 and Bob Geldof. Starting June 1, they performed in four concerts around the country. They performed in a concert on June 1 at Halle (near Leipzig). On June 4, they performed in Berlin for the Bangladeshi community, on June 6 they performed in another concert organised by an anti G8 and anti capitalist organisation called Rostock Attac in Rostock, before the finale and grand gala event. Bangla performed songs like Nodir kul er lagi, Tui pagol tor mon pagol, Haar kala and more. The tour for Bangla was jointly sponsored by Netz Bangladesh, a German NGO dedicated to reducing poverty in Bangladesh and Herbert Brunnmeier, a German rock star. Bangla achieved great popularity and reached new heights as they earned the honour to perform in a major concert alongside some of the biggest icons in world music, Bono Vox, Bob Geldof and Youssou n’ Dour, the Grammy winning Senegalese music legend. It was their last show on June 7 in Rostock, Germany, organised by an anti-poverty movement with the help of Bono. ‘Your Voice Against Poverty’, a six-hour-event, also featured some Germany’s biggest acts including Die Toten Hosen and Seeed from Berlin. Around 20 bands, comprising of artists from countries such as Uganda, Mali, Senegal and Nicaragua, performed in a tightly scheduled line up where film clips on big screen, depicting poverty and hunger in developing countries, were presented between the acts. A strong 85,000 crowd were kept on their feet. ‘It was an event of a lifetime,’ exclaims Anusheh, the lead vocal of Bangla. ‘I had never seen such a big stage in my life. The back stage it self was as large as a sports field while we had our private tent with plush sofas and all expensive accessories.’ ‘We stayed in five-star hotels and moved around like real international rock stars,’ says an excited Anusheh. An absolutely flabbergasted Buno, the bassist and one of the vocalists of Bangla, says, ‘What a massive stage we performed at. The sound, lights, stage arrangement, technical support and other props were unbelievable.’ Bangla performed the songs Namaj Amar and Takdum Takdum in the concert, informs Buno. ‘We were amazed to see the African bands up close using their folk and tribal instruments which produced amazing sounds,’ says Ornob, one of the leading members of Bangla. ‘The crowd was also an open-minded one and they were very enthusiastic and responded well to our music.’ Anusheh however informs that their spirits were dampened by the perception of Bangladesh that went around the place. ‘It was designed as a P8 programme, meaning the poorest eight in the world, as opposed to G8, and Bangladesh was one of them,’ she says. ‘As a representative of Bangladesh I protested that aid is like aids for our country and it cripples us and that we require more investment. However, it went against the theme of the show,’ she says. Bangla performed with Anusheh as the lead vocalist, Ornob – guitar, esraj and vocals, Buno – bass guitar and backing vocals, Kartik – dotara, guitar and vocals, Nazrul Islam on dhols, and Ishmail on drums.