A candid talk with Naquib Khan

There are few musicians who can claim to be as accomplished as Naquib Khan, who has bagged several accolades throughout his career. Currently a part of the band Renaissance, the singer added another feather to his hat recently, as he was selected as the Vice-President of Bangladesh Sangeet Parishad. The Daily Star catches up with the famed artiste for a conversation.

Congratulations on being elected as the Vice-President of Bangladesh Sangeet Parishad for 2018-2021! Tell us more about the organisation.

Thank you very much! Bangladesh Sangeet Parishad is a national organisation, which consists of musical artistes and works for their benefit as well. Samar Das was the founding president of Bangladesh SangeetParishad. Since the new committee has just been elected for three years, we look forward to planning what we are going to do for our tenure.

We know that Renaissance is coming out with a new album after a long time. When can we expect it to launch?

We plan to release it in February, 2019. At the moment we are recording the songs, which have already been written and composed. However, we are taking our time in the recording sessions since we do not want to compromise with the sound. Unfortunately, since we all have day jobs, we only get to record on weekends.

What kind of music can the fans expect from Renaissance in the new album?

The flavour and sound that Renaissance is known for will be pretty much intact. However, since we are producing an album after 14 long years, there are bound to be some changes. The industry has moved forward quite a bit, and so shall we.

Do you listen to music produced by the current generation of artistes? Do you think that they are doing well?

I do listen to recent music, but I do not have any favourites at the moment. I have loved the fantastic work done by Arnob, Bappa and Nemesis over the years. However, I feel like we are not currently producing songs which can be talked about indefinitely for years to come, like our classics.

Do you have any message for the fans of Renaissance, who are eager to get their hands on the new album?

I want our songs to be the message! (Laughs). They will include patriotic, romantic and somewhat philosophical tracks that I hope fans will love, as they have done for years.