KAZI FAISAL AHMED

Tell us about yourself.

I am a musician who has been playing guitar since 1995. I never took any formal guitar lessons; I learnt playing through books and watching videos of guitarists. Aside from music, I have also been working in the corporate field. I am currently working as the Chief Operating Officer at Creinse.

How did your career in music begin?

I made my first band after my SSC. We had many names, but ultimately, we decided to go with Metal Maze.  Aside from Metal Maze, I was also approached by Pentagon to play for them. When Fuad came to Bangladesh, I also joined Fuad n friends. I did projects with many different bands. I also made guest appearances for Aurthohin, Warfaze and Cryptic Fate. Metal Maze was my main band for over twenty years, but unfortunately, I realised that it wasn’t working out with them. So, I announced that Metal Maze was disbanding, and after seeing that announcement, Artcell gave me an offer to join them. That was back in 2018, and since then, I have been with Artcell.

What was your main inspiration to be a musician?

When I was a student, I used to paint a lot. When I told my family that I wanted to play guitar, they said that I can only pursue one hobby. So, I stopped painting and focused on music. Since then, I have been doing music.

Tell us about the ‘20 Years of Artcellism’ show.

Twenty years is a really long time for a band, so we are really excited about that concert. Even though I joined Artcell recently, I started my own musical career around the same time as them. Since Metal Maze, Artcell and several other bands started around the same time, we were all friends. We are very fortunate to do a show to celebrate our 20th anniversary. I must also mention that the fanbase we have enables us to do something like this. We have loyal fans who will do almost anything for the band. Having fans like that is a very big deal for us. This is something we all have been looking forward to for quite some time now. We will be making sure that this concert is not just a show; we will try to make it a different kind of experience for the fans.

What qualities are necessary for upcoming musicians?

Upcoming musicians need to have more patience. Without patience and practice, no musician can make it. They also need to train their ears to understand which songs are good.

What is your favourite music-related memory?

Getting my first electric guitar has to be my favourite memory. I saved up a lot of money for a long time to buy an Ibanez guitar. I still play that guitar now.

Do you have any message for the readers?

I would like to request the readers to attend more concerts. We have to support our local artists, and to do that, we must buy tickets and attend their shows. Everyone needs to give value to the artists and support them.