Obaidur Rahman :
Obaidur Rahman is a Dhaka based Bangladeshi singer/musician/songwriter and very recently this young singer has came out with his self-produced debut double albums, titled, Prahelika-1 & Prahelika-2, both of which contain 15 of his original songs. Already the albums have made quite a stir in both the music communities of the capital as well as amongst the music lovers of the nation. Uniquely, unlike other contemporary albums by solo artists, Prahelika-1 & Prahelika-2 are entirely acoustic guitar based studio albums, the first of its kind in the history of Bangladesh’s music scene.
And not only that, all the songs of these two albums have been written, tuned, composed, produced and arranged by the singer himself where he penned down all the lyrics and played all the instruments like acoustic guitars, lead and bass guitars, drums and percussion that went into making his debut double albums. Not to mention he sang each and every song from his albums all by himself.
The albums Prahelika-1 & 2 are self-published albums and the songs mostly talk about the singer’s inner-spiritual quests, experiences, i.e. his strengths, limitations and finding peace and serenity within his own self, in the great vicinity of this majestic Universe.
The lyrics as well as the melody of the songs are the singer/musician Obaid’s take and understanding of life in general, the struggles, ambitions, dreams, his longing for positivism and efforts to better himself as an individual by fighting off all sorts of negativity and pessimism and listeners can easily identify themselves with these magnificent songs. Prahelika-1 & 2 skilfully reflect, as personally depicted by the singer himself, the contemporary settings that are embedded with challenges, struggles and how one aspire to be grand by triumphing over all adversities, obstacles, melancholy and pain. But regardless of the theme, however, some key characteristics of the entirely acoustic guitar based albums are that they are very confessional, absolutely sincere and very serious. In other words basically the very perspective of the singer himself, on life, world and the things he goes through.
Both Prahelika-1 & 2 have some notable creations like Ekakittwo, the brilliant track that opens up the Prahelika-1 album that has amazing finger-guitar plucking and some brilliant lead guitar works, an equally just and lovely bass line and evenly precise but very simple percussion. Cheeromlan, the second track from Prahelika-1, has an infectious guitar intro followed by a flourishing full-fledged music that will surely keep the listener attentive throughout the song. Right before the beginning of chorus from which song ends, Chiromlan has a lead-guitar line which is uniquely simple yet exceptionally hooky, passionate and amazingly complimentary to the song itself. Not to mention the utterly genius way the song fades away and settles down right into the heart and soul of the listener. This is followed by the song Birotto, the 3rd track of Prahelika-1. With its deep, pensive and thoughtful lyrics and mesmerizing composition, Birotto is one of the most melodious and intimate songs of the album where the listener can easily soothe into the contagiously beautiful scene of the song.
And then comes Dosh, the fourth song of the first album which talks about the effects of divorce on a child, written from a little gir’s point of view. The lyric is a movingly sad one. It is the only song in the album where music-wise, only the rhythmic strum of acoustic guitar accompanies the entire song with slight but apt works of shaker and tambourine as for percussion. And this utterly simple composition tremendously fits with the loneliness that has gripped the poor little girl, whom the song is all about. It is a very well written song with strong social message on the effects of divorce on children and a therapeutic one at it, especially to those whom the song Dosh may concern and it will certainly concern many. The 5th track Mounata, accompanied by a fairly dark lyrics and a very intimidating musicianship, is the amazing progressive number that has a compelling musical vision and a fierce musical extravaganza itself. The song starts will a brilliant guitar opening accompanied by a matching drum work and since then Mounata is a dazzling flavor of musical evolution within itself. Aguntuk, the 6th track of the album, is a catchy and wonderfully written ballad that the listeners might wake to find how the singer have lost his soul and fear he might just be a stranger to all, a forlorn take on loneliness. With beautiful lyrics, Aguntuk is very melodious song itself with hooky rhythm guitar riffs, wonderful lead and a song voiced out very beautifully by Obaid. And then again on somewhat a contrary, Alo, the second last song of the Prahelika-1, talks about positivity and hopefulness towards love, happiness and enlightenment despite of the fact that artist Obaid is somewhat a slave to his emotions, but eager to battle out his demons and long to make it towards prosperity and enlightenment. The last song of the album Prahelika-1 is called Bhoy which is unique in its own rights, is a soothingly vibrating harmony of a song that has classy beginning, a radiant bass guitar solo, a groovy and infectious chorus and everything in between to make Prahelika-1 a great listening.
Prahelika-2 is also very much a compliment to the first album. This particular album kicks off with a soothing song titled Adhar. The title itself represents what the song is all about as it is quite dark in nature but the melody and over all composition makes it one of the best songs of both albums. The impressive guitar works, including bass, a catchy chorus and a wonderful ending makes Adhar a true standout of a song. This song is followed by a track called Ekhono which has one of the most beautiful lead guitar works of the entire album. Ekhono is somewhat a progressive song that talks about fears and uncertainties and the song consists of several parts where each blends with the other very beautifully and with astonishing brilliancy. With entirely acoustic guitar works, the progressive elements of this song create a unique vibe that rings into ones spiritual radio even after the song is finished in the material radio. The 3rd track of the album is called Bimurto which is a nice but not so simple guitar plucking based song that has been amazingly furnished by a superb electric bass guitar lead, finger plucking based solo lead guitar works and a very balanced percussion beats. The song talks about overcoming all the adversaries in life and making it towards the lover’s light once and for all. This track is followed by a song called Pashobik. This song has a very calming rhythm guitar works that accompanied by a string of soothing acoustic leads and a very groovy bass line and drum beats. This is one of the most definitive alternative songs of the album but has a surprising element of ear friendly mellow musical vibe, which also makes it one of the best songs of Prahelika-2.
Ebong O Aar is a brilliant progressive composition that is unquestionably one of top most musical creations of Obaid, considering both Prahelika-1 and Prahelika-2. This song, about 5 minutes or so long, lyrically melancholic, like most of the other songs of the album, contains a full fledged alternative flavoured guitar riffs, spectacular rocking leads guitars at the end and a surprising pop induced middle part, all systematically and meticulously put together with sheer brilliance to make this song a must listen. Brohmogrostho is the 2nd last song of the album Prahelika-2. This song is social commentary on the state of world that is presently plagued by violence and anarchy and the artist’s thoughts and comments on all these meaningless wars, political hypocrisy and the sufferings of common man. This song truly represent the global restlessness that exists today in terms of paranoia steered international politics and the countless of armed conflicts that are diminishing the chances of a global peace and how these negativity are gradually destroying the betterment of mankind in general. This song begins with an upbeat guitar plucking and drumming that is eventually progressed into a slow rhythmic acoustic guitar riffs which get picked up again with brilliantly composed pre-chorus part that has some of the best guitar works of the entire song.
The chorus itself talks about the fear of nuclear/atomic warfare and the chorus lyric is wonderfully blended by soft guitar plucking with smooth bass lines and interestingly upbeat drum works. The last song of the album is called Shikarokti. This is a fitting song to end a very marvellous album. Apart from a mesmerizing chorus line, which is further tempted by comforting lead guitar work, this song is a great one to listen to late at night when the hours are sparkled by the neon city lights.
It is important to mention that the albums are self-published albums and not released from any record label or production house. Also all the songs of Prahelika-1 & Prahelika-2 are legally owned by the artist Obaid himself as per Bangladesh government’s copyright law. All in all, Prahelika-1 & 2 are great works of music that the artist Obaid has so devotedly created. As far as his musical influences are concerned, according to the artist himself, Obaid is mostly influenced by 80’s hard rock music as well as the mainstream pop music of that wonderful era. Beside that, music from the early 90’s grunge and alternative movement and rock music from late 60’s and 70’s also educated him on elements that precisely influences in the making of some good, decent music. Aside from the fact that these are self-produced albums by the artist where he played all the musical instruments that went into making these albums along with writing all the music and lyrics of it, Obaid also is responsible for the artworks of the albums as well. All the illustration of the albums including the covers of both albums has been painted by the artist himself. This is undoubtedly a great accomplishment by the artist Obaid.
The listeners and admirers of good music will surely love the soulful and comforting creations of Obaid who made a pretty impressive effort with his albums, which will indisputably inspire and soothe the listeners with their lyrical warmth and harmonic compassions. The CDs of Prahelika-1 & Prahelika-2 are available all over the nation and international listeners can check out the album online as well. n
