#Infected by Arbovirus

Photo: Shihab Khan

They came, they played, and they conquered! What started out as just two friends jamming with guitars, evolved into one of the most influential rock bands of our country. Like a virus, this band infected hearts and minds of rock-music lovers. We were left in a trance by their heavy sound, mesmerising lyrics and amazing on-stage performance. Over the years, they have gifted us with some amazing and notable rock anthems such as Omanush, Utooradhikar, Jalo Agun Jalo, Hariye Jao, Shohor and many more. The band now includes five of the best musicians of our country including Asif Asgar and Shuharto Sherif on guitars, Aldane Alam on bass, Nafeez Al Amin on drums and Sufi Maverick on vocals. Today, they are coming out with their third album Bishesh Droshtobbo. Keeping all that in mind, as the band gets ready once again to conquer listeners from all walks of life, we, the Star Weekend, caught up with the rock and roll legacy— Arbovirus.

Arbovirus has a very humble beginning. Both the guitarists, Asif Asgar and Suharto Sherif, were school friends and started playing the guitar together. “After a series of passion playing, we took the matter seriously enough to form a band,” says Asif Asgar. Back then, the band had no permanent bassist, while their friends, Himel and Shovon, were on drums and vocals respectively. Sufi joined the band back in 2003 and interestingly enough, he was introduced to the band by the Artcell bassist Cezanne. “In 2003, after Sufi joined us as the vocalist and we got Jishan as our bassiest and Tanim as our drummer, Arbovirus had a solid lineup for the first time.” After one year, Arbovirus roared into the music arena with their first single Aartonad. “This actually helped open all kinds of doors for us. We were getting a lot of big gigs. This was the time when the underground music scene took place at the Russian Culture Centre and we almost became a regular performer in that venue,” says Suharto Sherif. Between 2003 and 2004, Arbovirus released three singles in total. Later, their debut album 64m 53s was released in the year 2006.

After the release of 64m 53s, every rock music lover chanted the name Arbovirus. This album gifted us songs such as Ja Icche Tai, Prithibir Sesh Prante, Adhar O Ishor and more— songs that we still have on our playlist. However, soon after the release of the album, Arbovirus faced a dilemma as two of their members, Jishan and Tanim, left the band. “Though some might think we went on a hiatus, the truth is we were always working on our music. We performed on whatever gigs we could find on a regular basis and kept on releasing singles through the ROCK SERIES mixed album projects coordinated by Iqbal Asif Jewel,” says Sufi Maverick. After sometime, Aldane Alam and Nafeez Al Amin joined in as the bassist and the drummer and next, Arbovirus released their second album Montobbo Nishproyojon.

Since their second album, Arbovirus became one of the best rock acts of the country. They have smashed guitars on stage, painted their bodies and even pranked Bangladesh Television. Each of their performances included surprise elements which left the audience in awe. “Enjoying music on your headphone or home audio system is purely an auditory experience. But when it comes to live performance, it's both an audio-visual experience. So it better match up to people's expectations. If they don't know what to expect, why not set a standard for them?” says Sufi. This rule is applicable when it comes to writing lyrics as well. “Even then, we have always tried our best not to repeat the same lyrics in different songs. The same thing is applicable for the stage acts. We always try our best to surprise our fans, whether it is by smashing guitars, or playing drums via video call.” says Nafeez.

What is interesting to note is that, a lot of their numbers, other than a rock sound, also incorporate nu-metal, grunge and funk roots. “This happens because the five heads of Arbovirus have totally different musical tastes,” says Nafeez. In most cases, their songs are shaped via jamming sessions, where they play randomly until they find elements which can be made into a song.

After three years of the release of their second album, Arbovirus is now ready with their third album. “From the very beginning, our song writing is highly influenced by contemporary issues. From the de-stabilised political phase, school life nostalgia to the emptiness of losing loved ones over time, we have tried to portray them all through this album,” says Aldane Alam. From a single word of a song to the guitar tone that was used, Arbovirus has tried to leave a signature mark through the album. 

Today, as Arbovirus gets ready to gift a glorious New Year present to all of its fans and listeners, we from the Star Weekend congratulate them on the release of their third album. May the horns of rock and roll bestow its magic upon the musical virus Bishesh Droshtobbo.