Pritom Hasan’s ‘Shorgohara’: The right balance of ballads and bops
Around a week ago, Pritom Hasan's EP "Shorgohara" was released on streaming platforms, consisting of songs with boppy synth sounds and cinematic vocals, a perfect mix of the old and new. The 6-track album baffled me since its release, as it is very hard to pinpoint the exact emotion it makes you feel.
According to Pritom, "Shorgohara" is an art piece and I couldn't agree more. The tracks all tie together in a beautiful pop-ish blend of synthwave and Bengali melodic vocals—Pritom's signature style. The track list begins with the song "Paliye Jabo" featuring another talented artiste, Masha Islam. Pritom's soothing tenor is well balanced by Masha's airy voice, weighed out by the instrumentals at the back, making your head bop instantly.
The song that really caught my attention was "Morey Jak". Now, I don't know if it's a trick of the trade or the artiste's own hidden message to keep the most catchy and pop sounding song in the middle of the track list, but keeping this song in the middle felt extremely refreshing. "Morey Jak '' comes after songs that are rather mellow but have building melodies and then it is followed by an absolute banger. Keeping the best song, decidedly by the artiste or the label, in the middle of the track list is a tactic typically used by musicians. That is usually reserved for albums released on streaming platforms or in mediums (eg. records, cassette etc) so that audiences don't skip to the single/promoted track right away, dividing the number of streams and making sure that the fans listen to all of the songs. Albeit, sometimes it is none of that at all, it might be the artiste making a statement or leaving an easter egg for the fans to find.
"Morey Jak" has a quintessential 80s synth-pop chorus with the right beat drops. Hearing the song will instantly make you think of other global pop artistes, which I find to be a marvelous thing. Most often Bangladeshi new-gen artistes find it difficult to venture into the popular charts due to the grip that folk or local sounds have on the industry. Even when they do, they're compared with foreign pop artistes, unable to shake off the 'sampled' label. Which makes it really hard for good songs to break through and reach a wider audience. I believe Pritom Hasan is the type of artiste, whose artistic album—one that's purely made out of passion and new sounds—deserves to reach a wider audience.
Maybe it's because I'm always looking for stories or that Pritom Hasan is one himself, but the tracklist definitely tells the story of a person's journey in love. The titles of the songs can line up to tell you exactly where the individual is on their journey, from wanting to escape, to bargaining or even to accepting their fate.
Regardless, the attention to detail is fairly amusing. The EP ends with an outro, a very dreamy one at that. Pritom's protagonistic voice paired with the reverbing guitar melody at the back surely transport you to an ethereal realm, where the hero has finally submitted to defeat. I can surely see the song being featured on a tragic film about extraterrestrial lovers, never bound to be.
"Shorgohara" is an EP with a fresh take, despite its inspiration from older music. Fresher in a perspective of the local music scene, where synth-pop or any other sub-genres of pop haven't been explored on a mainstream level. Overall, the EP features both groovy ballads and bops, making it a delight to listen to irrespective of the weather or mood.