BRINGING PEOPLE CLOSER THROUGH THE AGES

Music is a universal language that connects through emotions. It sometimes helps express feelings that cannot be expressed in words alone. And that is the reason why it has been the primary mode for expressing romantic contemplations, feelings that most people struggle to articulate in speech, through the ages.

From the days  of Azam Khan to today's trend of dedicating music through radio stations and live TV shows, music has been present in expressing romanticism through time. While once presenting mixtapes containing songs with just the right amount of hint in the lyrics was the best way to reach out to a loved one, the metamorphosis today has given the practice a new shape.

Globally, it is the biggest trend right now for couples to attend music festivals, like the Glastonbury Festival, that come with its perks like outdoor camping for days, a magical ambience and most importantly an experience of a lifetime. These festivals get sold out a year ahead with people coming in from all over the world, showing how sought after and important these events are in bringing people closer.

The trend has been picking up in Bangladesh too, though not in as much a big scale as we see globally. With the many concerts sprouting countrywide, the music festival concept in Bangladesh is at its nascent stage with miles to go. But the trend is immensely popular among the youth, especially in urban areas, given the lack of venues and options for recreational activities to participate in.

The trend has also given rise to a new generation of musicians who are not afraid to experiment with genres. Fusions are in absolute vogue and electronic mashups are also catching on, drawing inspiration from global gurus. Such projects are at an exemplary
state now.

Misha Ali, an electronica artist in Bangladesh, says, “Artists needs to stop thinking about getting appreciated by the masses and rather focus on developing the taste of the audiences. Only then can we produce quality output that has a market.”

But for this trend to go big, it requires immense patronisation and support in order to commercialise these endeavours and take it to a greater audience. We can already see a glimpse of such initiatives being taken by Closeup, a global brand that talks about intimacy and confidence between the opposite sex, through their latest initiative “Closeup VOLT”, an electro-rock concert that is targeted towards the youth and the contemporary musicians. The core proposition is to bring people closer and nothing does that better than the common language of music, a tool that is intensely engraved in the daily lifestyle of the youngsters today. The event will be held on December 27, 2014 at the Hall of Fame, BICC in Dhaka. The concert is out to set standards for this rising genre and give the audience an experience that is on a par with the global scale, if not better.

In the modern world, music is no more just limited to the expression of love. It has transformed into the only mode that connects souls through experiential splendour. And Bangladesh is not far away from catching on with this global trend. We wish to see more of such initiatives in the near future and we hope that Bangladesh will also have a bustling, diverse live music scene – one that builds the ground for people to meet, share and come closer.