Rock music of West Bengal
Music of West Bengal | |
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Baul Song Performing in Birbhum, West Bengal | |
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Religious music | |
Ethnic music | |
Traditional music | |
Media and performance | |
Music media |
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Regional music | |
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Rock music of West Bengal originated in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The first known Bengali rock band, and India's first rock band, was Moheener Ghoraguli.[1][2][3] In modern times, in this type of music distorted electric guitars, bass guitar, and drums are used, sometimes accompanied with pianos and keyboards. In early times the instruments used in modern times were also accompanied by saxophone, flute, violin and bass violin.
History
Origin (1960s-1970s)
Bengali rock in Kolkata originated when the first band Moheener Ghoraguli was formed and played in many concerts. The band was inspired by Bob Dylan and many other western artists. Their music was a mixture of a wide variety of influences, including the Baul and folk traditions of Bengali and rock.
Emergence (1990s)
Most of the Bengali rock bands in Kolkata were formed after the 1990s. The bands in this era started using many types of effects like distortion, wah wah, flanger, phaser, and delay in their music.
Krosswindz, a Bengali rock band based in Kolkata, India, was formed in 1990, and have played all over India and abroad, helping to urbanize and popularize the rock music of Bengal. Krosswindz have recorded ten albums, the highest number ever recorded by a Kolkatan rock band. The legendary Bengali rock band Abhilasha was also formed during this period. Their first album, a mixture of delightful rock and melody, was released by the original band members in 1997. Many bands like Bhoomi, Cactus, Parash Pathar, Chandrabindoo, Hip Pocket, Fossils, and Lakkhichhara were formed later in this era. Fossils and Cactus have also brought Bengali metal into this era. Both Fossils and Cactus are regarded as the best Bengali hard rock bands, and they have toured all over India and abroad. All their albums and singles have been successful.
In 1994, the opening of Someplace Else (a pub which also hosts live music) changed the rock scene in Kolkata. Now it hosts live music for approximately nine hours every night.
New millennium (2000s)
Many bands formed in the 2000s were influenced by guitar-heavy music. As metal became popular in the 2000s, many bands like Insomnia, Agnish, Alienz, Crossroads, and Underground Authority started playing heavy metal and alternative music.
Chronic Xorn was the first band from Kolkata to record a heavy metal album. Death Destruction Sermon is their latest album, released in 2010, it consists of six tracks, and the full-length version of the album is 25 minutes 45 seconds.[4]
As computer technology became more accessible and music software advanced in the 2000s, it became possible to create high quality music using little more than a single laptop computer. This resulted in a massive increase in the amount of home-produced electronic music available to the general public via the expanding internet. Many underground metal bands like Nitric Dreams and Crystal and the Witches from Kolkata also started recording and releasing singles on their blogs.
To encourage the Bengali rock scene, the Bangla Rock Magazine was started on July 3, 2013, covering exclusively Bengali rock.
2014 marked the emergence of new bands like Blood, Delete, Revolution, Cross Chords (First Experimental Band in Bengal), Dialect, Road Roller, Alo, Mysterious M, and Adhyay. After, 2015 Corridors and Shuktara came up with their new sound in the Bangla rock scene, "funk rock."
In 2017 Sanket released their album called Biplab.They are doing "grunge core" in kolkata or entire west bengal.Sanket's guitarist Tana have a big contribution to this band.Heavy distortion,fast melodic solos,off count riifs are the significance of Sanket..
Popular bands
Popular bands from Kolkata:
Year formed | Band name | Genre | Language | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1970 | Moheener Ghoraguli | Bengali rock | Bengali | ||
1990 | Abhilasha | Bengali rock | Bengali | ||
1990 | Krosswindz | Bengali rock, fusion | Bengali, English | ||
1991 | Chandrabindoo | Bengali rock | Bengali | ||
1992 | Cactus | Bengali rock, hard rock | Bengali | ||
1998 | Fossils | Bengali rock, hard rock, metal | Bengali, English | ||
1998 | Kalpurush | Bengali rock | Bengali | ||
1999 | Bhoomi | Bengali rock | Bengali | ||
1999 | Lakkhichhara | Bengali rock | Bengali | ||
2000 | Charondol | Alternative rock | Bengali | ||
2000 | Eeshaan | New Age Bengali rock, Bengali rap rock, hip hop, dance rock | Bengali | ||
2000 | The Missing Link | Bengali rock | Bengali | ||
2001 | Prithibi | Bengali rock | Bengali | ||
2001 | Escape Velocity | Classic Heavy Metal Rock | Bengali, Hindi, English | ||
2002 | Deenga | ||||
2002 | Insomnia | Bengali rock, alternative | English, Bengali | ||
2002 | Maadal [5] | All women Bengali folk band (Sarmistha Chatterjee and others) | Bengali | ||
2004 | Agnish | Bengali rock, New Age rock, hard rock, rock n roll | Bengali | ||
2005 | Rikterskale | Bengali hard rock | Bengali | ||
2006 | Alienz | Bengali rock, progressive metal | Bengali, English, Hindi | ||
2006 | Atmahatya | Bilingual Metal, Bengali Metal, Death Metal, Groove Metal | Bengali, English | ||
2006 | Kanvas | Alternative rock, folk rock | Bengali, Hindi | ||
2006 | Pinknoise | Experimental rock, alternative rock | English | ||
2006 | Prachir | Alternative metal, hard rock | Bengali | ||
2006 | Pseudonym | Alternative rock, hard rock | English | ||
2007 | Chronic Xorn | Metal, metalcore | English | ||
2007 | Five Little Indians | Alternative rock | English | ||
2007 | The Svitch | Classic rock, rock n roll, blues, pop rock, country | English [6] | ||
2008 | Calcutta Blues | Bengali rock | Bengali | ||
2010 | Underground Authority | Alternative rock, rap rock, hard rock | Hindi, English, Bengali | ||
2010 | The Grooverz | Alternative Rock, Experimental Rock, Hard Rock, Groove Rock, Folk, Progressive Rock, Alternative Metal | Bengali, Hindi, English | ||
2011 | Blood | Bengali heavy metal | Bengali | ||
2011 | Fakira | Bengali folk rock | Bengali | ||
2012 | Redemption | Alternative and Progressive Rock Band, Kolkata | Bengali, Hindi, English | ||
2012 | Delete | Progressive rock/metal, hard rock | Bengali, Hindi, English | ||
2012 | Prohor | Bangla rock | Bengali | ||
2012 | Smooth Distortion | Bengali Heavy Metal & Alternative | Bengali | [7] | |
2013 | Cross Theory - India | Progressive Experimental, Alternative Rock, Hard Rock, Metal, Blues, Fusion, Experimental Electronic Music | Bengali, Hindi, English | ||
2013 | Reboot | Alternative | Bengali, Hindi, English | ||
2014 | Alo | Bengali folk rock, alternative rock | Bengali, Hindi | ||
2014 | Jack Frost | Indian rock | Bengali, English | ||
2015 | Adhyay | Alternative Metal, Heavy Metal, Bangla rock | Bengali | ||
2016 | Shuktara | Alternative Rock, Experimental Rock, Hard Rock, Groove Rock, Folk, Progressive Rock, Alternative Metal | Bengali, Hindi | ||
2016 | Goshai Gang | Bengali rock n roll | Bengali | ||
2017 | Folk Band Proyas | Bengali Folk | Bengali |
See also
References
- ↑ "A five man musical journey of countless Miles". The Times of India. Jun 22, 2003.
- ↑ "When music feeds a city's soul". The Times of India. Dec 20, 2010.
- ↑ "Song of the stallion". The Times of India. 2011-07-30.
- ↑ "Chronic Xorn - Death Destruction Sermon". iTunes. Jul 27, 2010.
- ↑ http://www.maadal.org
- ↑ http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31812&articlexml=BACK-TO-THE-GROOVY-60S-18062015103005
- ↑ www.smoothdistortionofficial.com
Further reading
- "Mass Funeral-Meet ATMAHATYA, a bi-lingual death metal band in the city making some serious noise". The Telegraph. October 27, 2007.
- "School of rock-t2 Rising Rockers Atmahatya emerged as the zonal winners of Campus Rock Idols 07". The Telegraph. November 27, 2007.
- "Kolkata rockers turn to jazz tunes". Hindustan Times. December 8, 2010. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012.
- "Bangla band music getting global recognition". Hindustan Times. July 21, 2006. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013.
- "Bengali music bands rock in India and abroad". The Times of India. Dec 20, 2010.
- "Let's rock 'n roll". The Times of India. Aug 19, 2001.
- "Rock along, Kolkata". The Times of India. Jun 19, 2008.
- "Rockilution reaches Kolkata". The Times of India. Sep 30, 2007.
- "Five musketeers in Kolkata". The Times of India. Jul 27, 2010.
- "We will... we will 'rock' Kolkata!". The Times of India. Jan 19, 2010.
- "Rock-er-thek entertain Kolkata". The Times of India. Jan 10, 2011.
- "Rock mela". The Telegraph. March 9, 2008.
- "TAKE FIVE". The Telegraph. July 17, 2010.
- "Ready to rock". The Telegraph. May 20, 2008.
- "Rock on hold". The Telegraph. August 19, 2007.
- "CAMPUS ROCK". The Telegraph. January 29, 2011.
- "Kolkata Autumn Music Festival 2010". The Telegraph. September 23, 2010.
- "Banks back on Broadway". The Telegraph. August 11, 2010.