Totally Owned!

Photo: Sheikh Mehedi Morshed

Owned has been at the forefront of the revolution that revitalised the rock music industry along with bands like Karnival, Poraho, Conclusion and S!N. Having recently released their second album, 'Owned 2' with critical acclaim, they have been unstoppable as one of the most sought after young rock bands in the country. The Daily Star caught up with the trailblazers before their performance at the Deadpool 2 premier at Star Cineplex!

“We're just concentrating on shooting music videos for our songs in Owned 2,” says AK Ratul, Owned's front man, while biting off a huge chunk of his pizza slice. Having started in 2007, the band now has two solo albums along with appearances in five mixed albums including Republic, Rock 707 and Play it Now. “When we started Jamming at Incursion Music, we were approached by Saadi bhai, the owner, for a show that he was organising. That is how we essentially started our musical careers,” says Ratul. Even though the band has garnered a mainstream audience, they still like to consider themselves as an underground band. “There is no better feeling than to rock out in RCC with an auditorium full of people singing their hearts out,” says AK Samee, the drummer of the band. The halls of Star Cineplex, as expected, started getting plagued by queues formed by people eager to watch the band perform as we carried on the interview in the lounge.

“We'd be lying if we said that we don't do huge shows, but this is ultimately where our hearts are. When it comes down to it, we want to stay true to our loyal fans." The invite-only gig that they did, saw the band invite some of their most loyal fans and well-wishers, and the band played their hearts out all night. When asked about which of their own tracks they loved the most, the answers were quite straightforward. “Bondi, Ashokti, Amorsho,“ said Ratul as he was getting his gear ready for stage. Amorsho seemed to be one of the band's unanimous favourite, while Bishonno Prohor and Oshikar came as close seconds. “Usually Bhabantor is the song that the fans like the most, but I personally believe that we have much better songs,” said Fasih, the guitarist of the band.

The secret to Owned's success is the fact that they always believed in themselves and pushed for originals. “Covers are nice and all, but in order to be remembered, you always have to make your own stuff,” says Pritom Arefin, the band's lead guitarist. The fact that they did exactly that,  and  owned the stage all around the country, speaks volumes about their relentless passion towards their craft.