It’s not surprising to find some of the most prominent Bangladeshi artists from London.
That’s where the British Bangladeshi community has successfully nurtered not only nature Bengali culture and traditions, but even excelled to produce bands like Khiyo, which is led by Sohini Alam, a British Bangladeshi vocalist trained in classical music.
He understudied another prominent Bengali vocalist Moushumi Bhowmick from India’s West Bengal. “Khiyo”, which is an alphabet of Bangla, also includes Olver Weeks on guitar and piano while Ben Heartland is on bass.
This track is actually a modern rendition of Bangladesh’s national anthem, “Amar Sonar Bangla”. written by Nobel laureate Rabindranth Tagore. Surprisingly, this rendition caused much controversy and debate among old schoolers in Bangladesh because of the way the verses were used even though there wasn’t any lack of sincerity or passion in its interpretation.
I personally consider this as one of the most beautiful renditions of the national anthem.
Khiyo’s first self titled album was released in late 2014 and has become a major hit in Bangladesh and in the Bangladeshi diaspora in the United Kingdom.
We’re hoping to hear something new from the group soon.
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