Meet the man who made us groove to a Sylheti song

Music has the capacity to liven up a wedding, make patients dance in hospital wards and, in general, bring captivating energy into our lives.

Muza is that artist who is consistently producing such energetic music. He recently came to the spotlight with his sensational remake of the Sylheti folk wedding ballad 'Noya Daman'.

Muza is a 23-year-old artist from New York, US. He was born in Sylhet. His music aims to fuse Bangladeshi folk songs and instruments with music today's youth can relate to and, most importantly, dance to. 

"I used to love listening to music as a child and I also had an interest in poetry. So I started off by writing poetry when I was eight-years-old. Then, I produced music and then finally I started singing," Muza said. 

'Muza' is technically a musical duo. The second person working in the background is Gabe, who is Muza's best friend. He helps with the musical composition, album artwork and more.

Detailing, Muza said, "While I do most of the work, Gabe is behind the scenes helping me with everything. He helps with imagery, finding the right sounds and anything else that's needed. He's my best friend and we've been friends for 10 years now. Gabe is the first person who believed in me and actually pushes and drives me. So, I define 'Muza' as a band because we're a team." 

'Noya Daman' is Muza's biggest hit and the song went viral for all the right reasons. According to Muza, this song became so popular because it allowed people from the subcontinent to groove to something familiar and peppy.   

"My target audience is both Bangladeshis and non-residential Bangladeshis. When I do folk music, I don't want to eliminate the older generation. This is why I'm trying to bridge that gap so everyone can enjoy my music. But when it comes to my original songs, it's mainly for the younger generation," Muza explained.

Muza's dedication towards local folk music is not a one-off fluke though. The young musician is not new to infiltrating the background music at holud functions. The story behind Muza's 'Lilabali' is also worth reading.

"You know how they always play Indian music at Bangladeshi events? I think it's because Bangladeshi pop music options just aren't catchy enough, so people go for Bollywood music," Muza said, adding, "I made 'Lilabali' on a whim. I included bright themes like 'Laal shari, laal gari' and I incorporated local sounds as well," he told us.

Muza feels really happy about how well-received 'Noya Daman' was among the Bangladeshi crowd.

He said, "It's primarily a Sylheti song and this Sylheti song suddenly became a Bangladeshi song, regardless where in the country you're from. It feels incredible to become viral this way and I'm overwhelmed."

When we asked Muza to describe the process of making these hit singles, the defining element, according to Muza, was "fate".

"I start by finding the artists and it's like fate, like it's meant to be. I found Tosiba on TikTok and asked her to send me a sample and collaborate on the song. 'Noya Daman' is a song that's in triplet format and as a producer it's really difficult to pull that off. 

"So I asked my friend, Mim Haque, to give me a ukulele and flute because these go well with folk songs. I was trying to turn a folk song which goes 'verse-after-verse' into a commercial pop song which goes 'verse-chorus-verse'. I took Tosiba's vocals and brought it all together according to my vision," Muza recalled.

The people closest to Muza are his friends who work with him to make his musical dreams a reality. Muza shares a warm bonding of friendship with them.

"When I first started music, Gabe was the one who pushed me to pursue it. He thought I was really good at it and saw the potential in me. When I first started, I was bad at it and I was really bad at singing and producing as well. But he still believed in me," Muza said. 
"Other people who have always supported, guided and believed in me and my musical endeavours are Iqbal Ali, Nafeez bhai from Qineticmusic Music and Russell Ali bhai from Warfaze. These people also support, guide and believe in me," Muza said gratefully. 

It gets better though. The child whose voice is featured right before the beat drops in 'Lilabali' and 'Noya Daman' is also part of the team. 

Muza's face lit up as he introduced his nephew, Zaydin, as his biggest fan.