Getting the Spiritual High - Band Lalon releases second studio album Khyapa

Getting the Spiritual High
Band Lalon releases second studio album Khyapa

Faizul Khan Tanim

Khyapa, the recently released album of Lalon, the folk-fusion-rock band is a rich blend of folk (mostly Lalon geeti) lyrics, warm and powerful guitar sounds, acclimated bass lines and smooth drumming accompanying the arresting vocals.

Their music has expanded from mediocre compositions to more retro and stylish folk-fusion-tinged rock. Khyapa consists of eight profound mood pieces whose visionary proclamations, mystical queries and arcane answers of Lalon are weaved in a poetically heightened Nakshi Kantha like imagery.

Like archaeological site post cards boasting tales of sacred fortunes, these fusion rock numbers are framed in musical settings -- Khyapa, the song from the album for example revolves around answering the immortal question once asked by Lalon himself in his heavily admired song “Milon Hobe Kotodin-e”.

Vocalist Sumi recalls her tutelage from Guru Shafi Mondal, “I strongly believe from my education that Lalon's ideology and spiritual realisations were conveyed to his unprejudiced devotees in three forms -- messages, questions and their answers. It took a good two years effort to realise that the song Milon Hobe Koto Din-e is one such question whose answer was amusingly camouflaged inside the eternal words of Khyapa. It is simply magical when one comprehends such a sacred hymn”.

With influences from contemporary rock the album has enough variation to keep the listener enthralled incorporating beautiful chords and riffs to keep the songs interesting.

Their hard rock number Shudha Shindhu is another memorable track having an exciting dose of raw and aggressive vocals, heavy rock sounds and specks of rural melody -- three minutes fifty-six seconds of proof that, deviating from the conventional use of ektara, the use of guitars, drums and other instruments has not robbed the timeless song of its mystical intensity.

The over all music production - sound and mixing - of this album not only outshines their debut compilation but gracefully differs from many other bands of the same genre that have produced substandard material through excessive experimenting and engineering in the same genre.

Many new generation listeners prefer traditional folk songs not to be sung in a solitary dorod/dhong (conventional style) rather with more interesting tunes, capturing the essence of the lyrics without distorting its original melody, something 'Lalon', the band has done.

On stage, the band's performance is equally explosive like the CD, deliciously packing the songs with hypnotic notes and cosmic echoes that prove to be absolutely bewitching.

*This article was first published in The Daily Star - http://www.thedailystar.net/magazine/2009/12/01/music.htm

Lalon Breaks Free :-) - rock band Lalon releases their 2nd studio album

Lalon Breaks Free :-)
By Faizul Khan Tanim/www.amaderGaan.com

The preaching and philosophy of Lalon is indeed so powerful that even the stones could not hold them. The “awareness” did not want to be protected inside the carved statuettes…not even in the form of exclusive sculptures. So, they have finally broken free and came to cater our craving for Lalon’s ideology and spiritual realization.

Lalon lives within these five individuals in a rock band called Lalon and his immortal poetry of philosophical significance this time affectionately advocates peace through rock presentations.

I would like to remember today's gig as Somi the front man of Lalon rocking a concert just like Dolores of The Cranberries rocks every stage she is on and I humbly wait for that day when an international artist would be addressed ''hey, there goes the Somi of our country''.

Her good looks and boyish charms - short hair, big black bindi on forehead, scarf neatly messy round the neck disappears to her singing prowess like a feline's proud crusade.

I hope by now music aficionados can expect the expression of music delivery i'm talking about. Well, their softer songs like Krishno Prem-e are equally and abusively beautiful as their hard rock number Shudha Shindhu.

When I read the CD sleeve album title Khyapa – meaning angry in Bangla – it relayed truly a fierce image and their performance at their album launching ceremony gave me immense kicks without substance abuse. Kept me thinking of a human bomb detonating on stage, delivering stylish and melodic aggression as loud as the ''weapons of mass destruction'' and as big and beautiful as a utopian dream where Lalon (The Leader) strumming Ektara and crying ''give peace a chance''.

Hold on! The CD does not get its proper respect if someone is not reckoning the guitar artist Leemon – an urban bard ish character, who has the right amount of psychedelic energy stored in his fingers and most importantly, he delivers them with grace.

The production, sound and mixing of this album not only outshines their debut but elegantly proves how too much experimenting and engineering can lead to substandard outputs. Kudos to the band for both my bad earphones and stereo speakers will be entertained until the next best folk fusion compilation releases.

Prithibi Bakte Boshechchey

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Bheshojo Bhrom-e

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AKIL er Jonno Bhalobasha

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*Akil himself and enjoying birthday cake from my brother. He Left us on August 28 2009 at around 5:00 AM

Rock band BLACK from Bangladesh - http://www.youtube.com/YourBlackTube

http://www.youtube.com/user/YourBlackTube

BLACK – the band from underground who came OVERGROUND and released their own youtube channel......wickeddddd innit? :-)

check out http://www.youtube.com/user/YourBlackTube

Now, these rock beasts boasting Wolverish features from Dhaka kicks in the right amount of adrenaline in to the atmosphere...be it through your headphones or at a raging rock concert. I mean their rock solid guitar riffs, solos, heart pounding drums n bass topped with growls and screams - they have successfully mastered the 'rhythms of rock', 'moods of melancholy'....and all those emotionally justifiable lines like 'when I touched her, I felt the best part of me touched'.

And here they are, once again...with all their official music videos, footage and all the necessary clippings to keep them rolling inside rock heads and ballad belles. And here is what BLACK wants to do:

*Emotionally sizzle you with all their latest updates, behind-the-scenes, ob-scenes (haha!)

*Post interactive and visual demos of newly composed clips, jams or whatever the hell they feel like

*Most Importantly – interact with fans, give hi5s, book faces and say out loud – what would you prefer, drink n drive or spliff n fly??

http://www.youtube.com/user/YourBlackTube