Arekta Rock Band: Music to break free from the shackles of the mundane

When was the last time you listened to an album as a whole? No one's got time for that, it's just the tide of the world now. In this day and age, singles sell.

Young and talented musicians in the Dhaka music scene in recent times have been sporadically releasing masterfully composed singles. 'Arekta Rock Band', however, chose to stand against the tide. The band is releasing a feature album 'Ghum Paranor Gaan' composed of eight original tracks.

As lead guitarist Ifaz Abrar Reza explained, "Honestly, it was time. To give you a little bit of context, when we started Arekta Rock Band, it was never about forming the best rock band in the world. We pretty much said to ourselves, 'let's just be a studio band for now.' We'll make music, spend Thursday nights chilling and see what happens."

"We know that people don't listen to albums anymore. That is why we had a singles-based approach for all this time. But the songs from the album have something different to offer. We were working on our music and it just felt the time was right," he added.

If their earlier music are anything to go by, you will observe a certain thematic similarities in the concept and the lyrics of the tracks. Their music urges listeners to break free from the shackles of their present mundane city lives and transcend into something more. 

The lyrics are primarily written by vocalist Riasat Azmi. He said, "The themes are relatively similar in this album as well, even though each song tells a different story. I write lyrics pretty allegorically. I think they resonate with us as individuals and the stage of life. It's basically about the inner urge to rescue someone from the darkness and rise up to a better place through the power of music."

"We feel like we are more grown up now, both as individuals and as musicians, especially after the pandemic. We understand ourselves better now," he added. 

Regarding the progression and arrangement of the tracks, Ifaz said, "The album starts off on a high note. It eventually comes down only to go back up again. It's not as if there are a lot of transitions in the songs. Some are loud, some are soft. We never thought of taking the listener on a journey from one song to the next."

'Ghum Paranor Gaan' had equal input from all five members. They have all worked on other projects in the past, but it's only now that the band feels they struck the right chord as a group.

When it came to the 'pre- production' phase, the initial heavy lifting was taken care of by Ifaz. He made notes of raw ideas and initial recordings. The band took their music to the practice pads and eventually to the studios to provide the final touches. 

The mixing, mastering and final production was done by Ekram Wasi, a band member of Trainwreck and Conclusion.

'Ghum Paranor Gaan' releases today, 25 November, at 'Arekta Rock Show' – the band's first ever solo show. The concert will feature them performing full setlists and collaborating with certain guest artists in between. 

Some big names in the industry are expected to show up at the event, including the likes of Dio Haque, Jamshed Chowdhury, Raef Al Hasan Rafa and Conclusion.

Tickets are priced at only Tk 300, which is comparatively low when compared to other shows in Dhaka. This is because all of the band members are big advocates for 'Pay for your music'. 

"We always advocated for paying for the music you listen to. Arekta Rock Band has always had the support of the people when we needed it. It's them who have brought us to where we are today," explained guitarist Sakib Manzur Zihan. 

"The biggest chunk of our audience is aged between 18-23 years olds. For them to afford Tk 300 is a lot. There are conveyance costs. There's food. At the end of the day, that 300 ends up being a 1,000. We want all of them to show up. If someone is unable to afford it, they can reach out to us and we will grant them free entry. We just want everybody's presence," he added.