Representing traditional Bangla music worldwide

Sohini Alam, the vocalist of Khiyo—a fusion band of British and Bengali descent that was formed in London, England— recently sat down with me to talk about all things music. Having grown up primarily listening to the Bangladeshi underground scene, I was extremely curious about learning about Khiiyo's interpretations of different traditional Bengali songs.

I wanted to start off talking about Khiyo's version of "Amar Sonar Bangla", which had many people talking for days upon its release in 2012. Some see it as the peak of Khiyo, so I wanted to know your opinion about this.

 I think we all knew that that would be the peak for the band. Because there's nothing we can do that will ever be of that stature. So, the best thing about that is, once you know you've reached the peak, you can start to relax. So, once we knew that, the pressure was off and so we just continued to make music in our way.

Now, there are a lot of people who have a problem with songs, mostly classical, that are remade or redone in some form of fusion? What would you say to these people?

 When we made our songs, we felt that it was an appropriate way to show our love for these classic Bengali songs. The fact that some people found it controversial was a surprise to us as well.

 Now, I can only give my perspective on this matter, as I cannot dictate what someone else's perspective should be. I think any time you are not enjoying a certain type of music, you should just turn it off. I think you should only listen to songs or consume media that makes you happy. In my case, I listen to and make the type of music that represents my existence and journey.

Would you say that your background as a British Bangladeshi has shaped your music in some form?

I'm a third culture individual that was born in the UK, to a family that has been making the music of Bangladesh, in Bangladesh. Which means that, while I have a great respect for tradition, that's not how I hear this music. I feel that, with every story, if you don't tell your own, somebody else is going to tell it for you. And then if you don't like it, there's nothing you can do about it.

Could you tell me a bit more about Khiyo's upcoming album?

With this new album, half of the songs will be rearrangements of traditional Bengali songs. But then, the other half will be original songs. So this is kind of an evolution for us. The album launch will be at the Rich Mix in London, on July 15, with the international launch taking place on July 22.