Sound Sculptor

A DJ of Bangladeshi origin who is now based in London,Zaman was instrumental in the growth of the Asian Underground Movement in the UK during the ’90s. “It was a time when people were experimenting with different kinds of sound; sounds from their travels. The experiences were real,therefore the music is a real experience,” says Zaman.

Zaman documented the sounds he heard during his sojourns. “When I first started composing,I was recording a lot of live sounds — be it doors,windows or shutters. This was my creative exercise as opposed to sampling records,” says Zaman,adding,“If one was travelling from London to Kolkata,with a touchdown at Turkey perhaps,one got a story there. So how could a traveller write this story through sound,has always been the question,” he says.

He has extensively sampled records and collaborated with artistes from around the world,including Indian names such as Prabir Das Baul,Ananda Shankar and Raghunathan. “I sample records because that’s the music I’ve grown up listening to. There was a lot of Bengali folk and film music,spoken word and poetry,” says Zaman.

He says that his parents used to listen to the songs of revolutionary Bengali poet Kazi Nazrul Islam. “I took a liking to it in my formative years. His songs had a child-like quality and could speak directly to me,” says the DJ.

On being asked about the significance of the name “State of Bengal” and if his music has a political stance,Zaman says,“Politics is just a word. It is intangible; just a bunch of goons running the system. It has no bearing on me. As far as Bengal is concerned,it is a psychological stance. The separation of Bengal was deliberately done. I am concerned with the promotion of Bengali-ism; the feeling of unity over the pangs of separation.”

As for his upcoming album,Zaman says that it was put together on a software called Nanostudio,where he wrote on the “skeleton tracks”. Appreciative of how technology allows musicians to stretch the ambit of sound,he says,“The medium is relatively newer,hence it allows me to write fresh and new music.”

Zaman also plays acoustic instruments,specialising in percussions. He recounts how he toured Paris with group of African women who played the djembe.