Miles: The Name of Eternal Love - Haque Faruk

 

HAQUE FARUK’S OCTAVARIUM

Miles: The Name of Eternal Love

The songs of Miles are intertwined with the childhood joys of several generations, stormy concerts, and the dreamy nights of cassette and CD players. Mainly a pop band, Miles delivered timeless songs by blending rock, jazz, blues, samba, salsa, and many other genres. Those songs spread beyond Bangladesh to the whole world. At least twenty of their songs are still sung by people today. Alongside Hamin Ahmed’s melodic guitar riffs and solos with aesthetic vocals, Shafin Ahmed’s sweetness of voice and the groove of his bass guitar, Manam Ahmed’s magical keyboard pieces, and at different times Milton Akbar, Mahbub, and later Turjo’s rhythmic drumming, as well as Iqbal Asif Jewel’s distinctive playing and voice as guitarist and vocalist — altogether Miles has always been a bright name in the pop and rock music of Bangladesh, as well as in band music. Like various Western rock bands, they were the first to bring the taste of large choruses into Bangla songs.

Hamin, Shafin, Shahidul, Kamal, and Nina together formed the band ‘Barrack’ in 1978. But when Kamal and Nina went abroad, that band broke up. The following year, in 1979, Farid Rashid, the vocalist and bassist of the immensely popular 1960s band ‘Lightning’, along with a group of brilliant musicians —Happy Akhand, Kamal Moinuddin, Larry Burnaby, Ishtiaq, Musa, and Robin —formed the band ‘Miles’. The lineup of Miles at that time consisted of Farid Rashid on vocals and bass guitar, Happy Akhand on vocals and piano, Robin on vocals and organ, Kamal Moinuddin on drums, Larry Burnaby and Ishtiaq on lead guitars, and Musa on rhythm guitar. From the very beginning, Miles started performing regularly at the Chameli Restaurant of Hotel Intercontinental. This lineup performed three shows. Then, in the same year of 1979, Hamin Ahmed joined Miles.

Hamin’s joining of the band is quite memorable. At that time, Hamin Ahmed was a teenager. One day, Hamin went to Musa’s house (the rhythm guitarist of Miles) to bring something. Suddenly, Farid Rashid was present there. Musa then introduced Hamin to Farid Rashid. In that brief conversation, Farid Rashid came to know that Hamin and Shafin had a music group of their own. They often practiced at home. Farid Rashid immediately expressed his interest in going and seeing one of those practices. As said, so done. One day, Farid Rashid came to the house at Dhanmondi 28 to see the practice of Hamin and Shafin’s group. At that time, Nider was playing drums with that group. That day, their performance — especially Hamin’s singing and guitar — impressed Farid Rashid very much. A few days later, he invited Hamin to join Miles. Responding to that invitation, with great joy, Hamin Ahmed joined Miles as a vocalist and guitarist.

Hamin’s joining in Miles came at such a time when many of the early members were leaving the band for different reasons. This happened within just 3–4 months of the band’s formation. During this time, Musa and Larry Burnaby went abroad. Because of their absence, new musicians were needed in the band. At that time, Hamin proposed to Farid Rashid about including his younger brother, Shafin Ahmed, in the band. Then, Shafin Ahmed joined Miles as a vocalist and rhythm guitarist. Thus, the lineup became: Farid Rashid on vocals and bass guitar, Kamal Moinuddin on drums, Ishtiaq on lead guitar, Happy Akhand on vocals and piano, Robin on vocals and organ, Hamin Ahmed on vocals and rhythm guitar, and Shafin Ahmed on vocals and rhythm guitar. Hamin and Shafin Ahmed are the sons of two legends of Nazrul Sangeet in the subcontinent — Kamal Dasgupta and Feroza Begum. Their inclusion breathed new life into Miles. In this lineup, they did several shows within two months. But then again came another split. Robin went abroad. On the other hand, Ishtiaq could no longer give time to the band due to his busy schedule.

At that time, Miles had Farid, Happy, Hamin, Shafin, and Kamal. During that period, Miles used to perform five nights a week at Hotel Intercontinental. Most of the audience was foreign. Miles was still performing only in English songs. It was 1982. Because of his various recordings and being busy with his elder brother, Lucky Akhand, Happy Akhand could not give time to Miles. One day at Shruti Recording Studio, the members of Miles were amazed by Manam Ahmed’s keyboard playing. At that time, Manam was very young. His father, Monsur Ahmed, was a renowned music director of the country. The members of Miles then requested this famous music director to allow his son to play with them. With his father’s permission, Manam started playing keyboards with Miles. In the beginning, Manam only came to the shows at night to play keyboards with Miles. At that time, the lineup of Miles was: Farid Rashid on bass guitar and vocals, Kamal Moinuddin on drums, Hamin Ahmed on lead guitar and vocals, Shafin Ahmed on rhythm guitar and vocals, and Manam Ahmed on keyboards.

In the early eighties, mainly with English cover songs, Miles released their first album. All the members themselves produced and marketed this album titled ‘Miles’. It was made at the expense of the band itself. Two years after its release, an audio production company named ‘Madhumita’ re-released this album in 1982. That year was especially significant for Miles. They were invited by Bangladesh Television for about a half-hour instrumental show. There, they performed five instrumentals — three original and two covers — featuring jazz, rock, and folk music. Those were so well received that the name of Miles reached households across the country. BTV began using Miles’ instrumentals in their daily trailers before various shows. Following that, in the same year, when Miles was invited to perform as the first solo band concert at Shilpakala Academy, the auditorium was filled. Miles did a completely sold-out show. In that concert, they performed songs of The Doors, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Stevie Wonder, Rod Stewart, along with two original English songs composed by themselves.

Riding on the success of this concert, Miles was invited to perform in other places, including the Engineering Institute. In 1983, Shafin Ahmed went to England for higher studies for the next seven years. From 1983 to 1987, the lineup of Miles was: Farid Rashid on vocals and bass guitar, Kamal Moinuddin on drums, Hamin Ahmed on vocals and guitars, and Manam Ahmed on keyboards. In this lineup, Miles did many shows across the country. They were still active with their own original and cover English songs. During this time, in 1986, they released their second album A Step Further, all of which were original English songs. The songs of the album included Your Little Trick, Either Ways, Been Too Long, Shadow of Your Smile, Be With You, Long Lost and Gone, On His Own Again, Take My Love, and You and Me. The saxophone was played by Evan McKee. Most of the songs were recorded in the country. During the recording of A Step Further, Shafin Ahmed was still living in London. While there, Shafin recorded two of his own English songs. Those two songs were also included in this album.

In 1987, two founding members, vocalist and bassist Farid Rashid and drummer Kamal Moinuddin, left Miles. For a short period, Shahedul Huda played drums in the band. Later, the famous drummer Milton Akbar joined Miles as the drummer. At that time, the lineup was: Hamin Ahmed on vocals and guitars, Manam Ahmed on keyboards, Milton Akbar on drums, and Khayam Ahmed on bass guitar. Khayam was Manam Ahmed’s elder brother. This lineup did many shows for about one and a half years. During that time, Miles was in a restructuring phase. After Khayam left, Imran Ahmed Chowdhury Mobin joined as bassist. So, from 1987 to 1988, Khayam played bass in Miles, and from 1988 to 1990, Mobin played bass guitar. From 1987 to 1990, after Farid Rashid left, Hamin Ahmed was the vocalist and guitarist in all of Miles' live concerts.

In 1990, Shafin Ahmed returned to the country permanently. At that time, Shafin expressed his wish to play bass guitar instead of rhythm guitar, alongside singing. The band welcomed it. Then, Mobin took the responsibility of Miles’ sound engineering instead of the bass guitar. The lineup then was: Hamin Ahmed on vocals and guitars, Shafin Ahmed on vocals and bass guitar, Manam Ahmed on keyboards, and Milton Akbar on drums. With this lineup, Miles entered the studio to record their first Bangla album. At that time, various rumors were spreading in the music community. Criticism against Miles had already been ongoing, especially because of their English songs. People said Miles could not compose or sing Bangla songs. Out of the desire to respond to such criticisms, preparations began to release their first Bangla album. New Bangla song compositions were created.

In 1991, Miles released their first Bangla album Protisruti. Not only at that time but in the history of Bangla bands, it is among the highest-selling albums. The songs of the album, released in cassette format, spread to every household. In neighborhoods and streets, day and night, songs like Chand tara, Shey Kon Dorodia, Prothom Premer Moto, Gunjon Shuni, and Asha-Nirasha were played. Alongside romantic songs, they also highlighted social and state irregularities in the song Keno Ora Rajpothe. The album was mainly filled with pop music, though guitar-driven ballad rock songs like Supto Bashona were also there. Miles’ popularity then spread beyond the country to Kolkata and other Bangla-speaking communities of India. In 1992, Miles participated in a memorable concert in Bangalore.

In 1993, when Milton Akbar left the band, Mahbub, the noted drummer of Rockstrata, joined Miles as drummer. With him, that year, Miles released their second album, Prottasha. Like the previous one, this was also mainly a pop album, but with blends of samba, salsa, and jazz music. The songs of the album— Phiriye Dao, DhikiDhiki, Neela, Kotokal Khujbo Tomay, Hridoyhina, Swopnobhongo, Jadu, Pahari Meye — again became widely popular. Miles was then at the peak of their popularity as a pop-rock band. Miles was the first band in the country to release their own CD. In 1994, this CD, titled Best of Miles, was released by Disco Recording in Los Angeles, USA.

Miles’ third album, Prottoy, had a more rock-oriented sound compared to their first two Bangla albums. In this album, the combination of pop with rock music was more prominent. Released in 1996, songs like Jala Jala, Frustration, Tumi Nai, Vulbona Tomake, and Ei Shomoy took Miles’ popularity even higher. That year, Miles also did concerts in India and Dubai. As the first Bangladeshi band, Miles toured the USA and Canada. Their fourth album, Proyash, was released the following year. Drummer Mahbub left Miles to settle permanently in the USA. Instead, Syed Ziaur Rahman Turjo joined Miles as the drummer. In 1998, at the Winter Garden’s 31st Night concert, Iqbal Asif Jewel performed for the first time with Miles. Since then, Jewel has been in the band as a guitarist and vocalist. In 1997, Miles toured the USA, performing in New York, Dallas, Oklahoma, Chicago, and Florida. In 1998,

Miles again performed concerts in Kolkata. Several of their music videos were broadcast on MTV. With Turjo and Jewel, Miles released their first album and the fifth solo album of the band, Probhaho, in 2000. The sound of this album was quite different from the previous ones, being mainly rock-oriented. Rock, melodious rock, and hard rock dominated the songs. Some popular songs from this album include Piyasi Mon, Hello Dhaka, Priyotoma, Shesh Thikana, and Polashir Prantor. After the album release, Miles toured the USA and Canada again for two months. In 2001, Miles was invited to a notable concert in India. They performed at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi alongside Pakistan’s band Junoon and India’s band Silk Route.

With the same lineup, Miles released their next album Protidhoni in 2006. In this album, Miles shifted somewhat away from the rock sound of the previous album, blending pop and rock again. Notable songs of the album include Protiksha and Jatiyo Sangeeter Ditiyo Line. In January 2010, bassist and vocalist Shafin Ahmed announced his departure from Miles. He formed a new band named Rhythm of Life with a new lineup. But later that same year, resolving all disagreements, Shafin returned to Miles.

Miles’ last album Protichhobi was released in 2015. The song Priyotoma Megh from the album was well received. In 2017, Shafin Ahmed again left Miles, but later returned.

In 2019, to celebrate Miles’ 40th anniversary, they performed 28 concerts in the USA, Canada, and Australia. This celebration started on June 21 of that year. It ended on December 30 with a gala concert at Bashundhara Convention Center in Dhaka. This grand event was divided into two parts. In the program, several of the country’s popular bands performed songs by Miles for the audience. Among them, Feedback performed Bhalobasho Jare, Souls performed Gunjon Shuni, Warfaze performed Shesh Thikana, Dolchhut performed Jadu, and Vikings performed Shanti Chai. A documentary on Miles’ 40-year journey was shown. One by one, they did 27 concerts in the USA, Canada, and Australia.

The current lineup of the band includes Hamin Ahmed on vocals and guitars, Manam Ahmed on keyboards, Iqbal Asif Jewel on vocals and guitars, and Syed Ziaur Rahman Turjo on drums.

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Published in Shobdo Mukur Bhadro 1432 Edition