If anyone could make the people of Bangladesh united to sing “ ছায়ারা সরে যাবে, জানি সূর্য উঠবে” in this scorching heat and 40 degree weather, it would have to be Black, more specifically the original lineup that sang “Amar Prithibi”. And if everything goes right, we will hopefully see that exact scene on 10th May’s Rock and Rhythm 4.0 concert where they are officially reuniting.
It has taken the internet by a storm and understandably so. It is one of the biggest events in this nation’s rock landscape. The social media has been buzzing since the hints and the notice equally if not more than when the news of Atif Aslam’s concert came out.
But who is “Black”? Why is it such a big name in Bangladesh?
If you don’t know who Black is, no need to feel bad. We got you. It is understandable as it is a fairly older band. While its contemporaries Artcell or Cryptic Fate have performed on and off in concerts, Black has been lowkey in their presence. Especially after the initial hype of popular band members leaving by 2011, people’s low attention span kept them under the radar except for a loyal fanbase. However songs like “Mittha”, “Chinho”, “Tumi ki Shara Dibe” and the classic “Amar Prithibi” were still on everybody’s minds.
Black is one of the biggest alternative rock bands in Bangladesh. It won’t be too far off to say that they introduced this genre and popularized it to the general public since launching in 1998. Before them there were bands like Ark, Miles, LRB, Warfaze who released some of the best rock music that still holds relevance to this day. But the sound Black made was different from any of the previously mentioned bands. Black’s western grunge influences were very clear with sounds similar to that of Soundgarden, Alice in Chains or Pearl Jam. It was fairly new in Bangladesh’s music industry and captured the general public’s attention instantly.
The origin of Black is a story of bonding over music. The core founding members Jon, Tony and Jahan went to the same school. They often vibed over similar taste in music that turned into jamming sessions until one day they decided they wanted to do this seriously. After Pearl Jam released their album “10” , they thought it’s time to finally launch the band and started recruiting members, either from other bands or from random chance encounters. In fact, Tahsan was recruited into the band because they needed a keyboardist and a friend of a friend of theirs knew someone who could play the keyboard.
What made “ Black” so famous?
Their counterparts Artcell or Cryptic Fate (together they sometimes were called ABC’s of early 2000s rock) made very different kinds of music, mostly progressive metal.
While the songs were incredible, it wasn’t something groundbreaking in the industry. Whereas, when Black released their first album, people were awestruck because you didn’t get to hear their kind of music in Bangladesh at that time.
The influence of Pearl Jam or similar bands were prevalent but their music was incredibly versatile. You couldn’t just categorize them into one specific sound. If you take the fan favorite first album “Amar Prithibi”, the album starts with a sample of Beethoven’s Fur Elise. With songs ranging from folk, grunge, metal, the album ends with a blues inspired Dukkher Rong
Of course, good things rarely last forever. After gaining a huge following and critical acclaim over their first two albums and some other singles in band mixes, their run came to an end, well, at least their original line up did.
In fact they haven’t had the lineup of Jon Kabir, Tahsan, Tony, Jahan and Miraz since 2005. Fans have speculated many reasons for this fallout. While the most common statement released by the band was an accident that occurred in that very year which left them emotionally shaken, there are a lot of other factors that we need to consider here. A permanent patella injury caused Miraz to leave the band but Tahsan’s departure raised a lot of questions.
In an interview Jon said that the accident made them reconsider certain things, specifically what they wanted from life because they saw how unpredictable and fleeting life could be. But if that was the case why was it that they all kept pursuing music just separately? It understandably didn’t make sense to fans.
Tahsan went on to become a big brand on his own pursuing his own music, modeling and acting career. Jon has stated that Tahsan’s leave was a business move, rather than a matter of music, as he wanted to grow big and do something on his own and Black wasn’t doing it for him. Fans speculate that Jon and Tahsan clash, whether over personal or professional matters, was the primary reason for the band’s breakup.
After Tahsan, the others carried on with the band adding and trialing new members and releasing “ Abar” and “Self-titled”, both of those were adored by people. But of course, the lack of Tahsan’s soft vocals that perfectly complemented Jon’s was obvious.
If that wasn’t enough, in 2011, Jon took a break from the band and started focusing on his own projects. He started his own band “Indalo” which became incredibly successful with hits like “1996”, “ISD”, “Obosheshe” and “Ekanto Golap” as well as focused on his solo projects. You could see Jon Kabir in Natoks too.
Jon’s departure was undoubtedly very shocking as he was one of the core members of the band and he was very vocal about his passion towards music and the band. Jon didn’t clearly state a reason for it except saying that it was to pursue his own musical ambitions that didn’t quite go with the band’s sound. However, in an interview with Tony and Jahan that spilled quite a bit of “tea”, they have insinuated that Jon got a bit too cocky because of being the frontman and essentially the “face of the band” and getting paid the same as others.
However, these are all speculations, statements for the sake of controversy or friendly gossip. None of it is confirmed. All that we know is whatever they make, their undeniable musical talent and passion for music will result in some incredible creations. For now, be prepared to be blown away in one of the biggest events in the musical history of Bangladesh. They will be accompanied by timeless music from many other fan favorite bands like Cryptic Fate, Recall, Popeye, Oni Hasan and Old School that shaped the personality of millennials and are now being passed on to newer generations. If that’s not enough to make you go, I don’t know what is. So tell me, are you coming?
