Rock icon and lead singer of Miles, Shafeen Ahmed recently dropped by at DS Café. Phones rang constantly as fans sought to touch base with the singer.
Shafeen, whose career spans a little over three decades, had a lot to share with his fans. Excerpts from the conversations:
Sakib, Eskaton, Dhaka: What inspired you to step into the world of music?
Shafeen Ahmed: Being the son of Kamal Das Gupta and Feroza Begum, my connection with music has been inherent. I have grown up with music, which made it only natural for me to delve in it. With some invaluable lessons from both my parents, I started paving my own way.
Mishuk, Rajshahi University: We have interacted on Facebook at times. We have a programme at our university up ahead; it would be a pleasure to have you here.
Shafeen Ahmed: It was nice to get an invitation. However, I will not be able to make it, I’m afraid. If I get a chance, we’d definitely meet. Stay well, and good luck.
Loni, Banani, Dhaka: Your mother, Feroza Begum, is a pioneering Nazrul Sangeet artiste. What got you interested in rock and not Nazrul songs?
Shafeen Ahmed: As a child, I took lessons in Nazrul Sangeet from my parents. My practice included a bit of classical music as well. Later, however, I got more into western music. With time, I started practising and covering those songs. When we started creating original Bangla songs, we realised that these two genres — Bangla and western — could create an amazing combination. This fusion earned us astounding popularity. Our music has been appreciated by Bengalis all over the world.
Ranu, Narsingdi: When was Miles formed?
Shafeen Ahmed: It was formed in 1979. We have been walking steady for 32 years now.
Masum, Narinda, Dhaka: You seem to be into fashion as well. Do you always wear brand-name jeans?
Shafeen Ahmed: I must say there is always a lot of talk about what I wear. My fans tend to follow my style. I buy jeans from Bangladesh, but sometimes when I do go abroad, I buy clothes from there too.
Oni, Mogbazar, Dhaka: Have you been working on any English song lately?
Shafeen Ahmed: Yes, we have worked on some English numbers of late. You might have heard five such songs, which are going to be included in the next album, “Protichhobi”. Apart from that we have also done another English song, since there seems to be an audience for that. The music and lyrics were by me. It will air on the radio shortly. This song, however, probably won’t be included in our next album. We do have an earnest desire to work on a music album featuring only English numbers. We will definitely start working on it once we are done with the Bangla album.
Sohel, Dhaka: What would I need to do to be a musician?
Shafeen Ahmed: Rock or Metal, whichever genre of music you like, should be practiced with utmost dedication. Give it as much time as possible and never stop pursuing it. Give yourself some years. When we started, we didn’t have all the options available now. We reached where we are today only through hard work.
Sayma, Dhaka: To what extent did your parents influence your music?
Shafeen Ahmed: If we write down the history of Bangla music, my parents’ names are bound to be mentioned. So their influences were inevitable.
Samia, Gazipur: In recent times, some of the older bands are breaking away. The vocalists seem to be more interested in going solo. What’s your take on this?
Shafeen Ahmed: It was prevalent at one point of time, when the audio companies were financing a lot of mixed albums. These albums were appreciated by the audience too. The production companies were interested in featuring vocalists of bands on the mixed albums. However, lately the whole scenario has changed. These days, people are more interested in bands. The number of concerts nationwide and the huge turnouts indicate that.
Ronim, Rampura, Dhaka: Dhaka City Corporation has been divided into two parts. How justified do you think this decision is?
Shafeen Ahmed: On a humorous note, maybe from now we will all be getting new addresses! Questions like which part of Dhaka are we living in are soon to emerge. However, the decision has been sanctioned. I believe it should have been done by the judiciary, with valuable opinions from the experts, since this one decision is going to make a big difference in everyone’s lives. Arranging a public poll would also have been logical. I was surprised at how hastily this whole matter was handled. In only four minutes, this decision was sanctioned with no thought to the future.
Sagar Chowdhury, Sylhet: How can someone be a good singer? What does one have to do in order to be a tabla Player?
Shafeen Ahmed: At first, obviously you would need to learn how to play tabla. Keep trying. Practice has no alternative; take lessons from an expert. Dedication is vital, and of course one needs to be a good person as well.
The Daily Star: How did Miles begin?
Shafeen Ahmed: It started a long time ago. We first started performing at Hotel Intercontinental, which later became Sheraton, and now Ruposhi Bangla. Back then, there were not many venues to perform at. Concerts were still an unfamiliar trend here. BTV was the only TV channel. Thus, under such conditions, getting to play five days a week at a five star hotel was a big opportunity. That was the start of our journey. Even though we started our journey in 1979, we started performing in public from the year 1982.
Tahera, Malibagh: When did you first start planning for an album?
Shafeen Ahmed: The thought of launching an album came to us in that very year, 1982. That is a very memorable year for us, since that was the year when we first took part in a concert at Shilpakala Academy. Our first album was in English.
Ratan, Chittagong: Is music still as good as it was in the old times?
Shafeen Ahmed: I do not want to comment on it. However, good music is still prevalent. In the long run, only good music will prevail.
Courtesy of The Daily Star
