‘Kichu Kichu Kotha’: A compelling ensemble to cherish the essence of music

June 26: Lockdown augmented by coronavirus pandemic brought innumerable sufferings to humanity. Tears, starvation, sufferings and death loomed large over the distant horizon. But as every aspect has got something or the other to offer, so did the pandemic. COVID-19 protocol being in place, maintaining ‘social distancing’ became the order of the day. However, from this pain of isolation sprang forth the saplings of creativity. Subhankar Roy of Silchar made use of this isolation and came up with a melodious blend of euphoric sound that when listened with apt attention would transcend time and space and take the listeners to a serene sojourn.

‘Kichu Kichu Kotha’- a semi-classical Bengali song cover sung by 13 singers and accompanied by 5 instrument players. This video was made keeping in mind the pandemic outside. All the artists recorded both their audio and video on their phones. Mix and Mastered- Sound Kitchen Studio. Hear this beautiful song to cherish the essence of music.

The emerging Silchar logos SR Official and Sound Kitchen Studio recently came out with a cover of the 2015-hit “Kicchu kicchu kotha”(from the film Lorai,originally sung by Arijit Singh and Kaushiki Chakraborty). The music video has received widespread appreciations from netizens near and far.

The track takes off with Prantik’s skillful acoustic intro with Dhrubajyoti on the keyboard. After an introductory aalap by Brototi, Bibhabasu and Rajdeep get the track going with the wind behind Priyanka setting the tempo for Debayan’s tabla and a classy overlap by Baishali setting it up beautifully for Subhankar and Succhhandam to take the first stanza to the touchline. A sense of melancholy descends with the pensive chords from Rohan’s guitar accentuated by Tanmoy on the cajon. Parboni with the greenery in her background draws you into the second stanza, Panchatopa lifting the tempo allowing Krishna and Aniket to delight with their command over the higher notes.The last line is sung beautifully by Sarmistha, the tabla in the background conjuring up memories of a happier time. The wind is the vector for unspoken words, unexpressed feelings and unsent letters. The emotions in the track stay with you long after Kuntala closes off an unbelievable collaboration with “Baatash tokhon neerob chithi/ Pathaye bohu door” and the credits roll down.

Subhankar “The Stutter Boy” Roy speaks to Way2Barak on the project

W2B: How do you feel at the excellent response to your music video?
Subhankar: It feels awesome. I started my page few months ago and it’s growing so fast that I haven’t expected.

W2B: Why this song in particular?
Subhankar: Actually I wanted to select a semi Classical song and make it’s cover taking some of the Classical singers of Silchar and my friend Parboni Choudhury suggested me this song. And this song is so beautiful.

W2B: Absolutely.great selection.How did you decide on the sequence of the singers?
Subhankar: It’s random. I have given 2 lines to each singer and selected one line which was the best one.

W2B: Great. You must be very pleased with the final product. Tell us about the parts you shot in open air.
Subhankar: Due to quarantine, I decided to do the whole video by staying at home. And thus I asked all the artists to give me their part of the video and I edited it. Some did it outside and some did it inside but the shots were amazing.

W2B: Exactly. The video is very well made. How much time did you take to complete the project? And who were the people responsible for the musical arrangements?
Subhankar: It took 18 days in total for the whole production. The 5 musicians namely Prantik Dey, Rohan Dey, Tonmoy Paul, Dhrubojyoti Roy and Debayan Dey made the music so soothing and it got mixed and mastered in Prantik’s Studio called Sound Kitchen Studio.

W2B: Amazing work from all of you. So what’s next for you? Do you have any plans for the near future?
Subhankar: Ya working on some projects. I released a poster yesterday. Let’s see how much it involves the audience.

W2B: All the best for the future.Last question.What role do you think music has played in these gloomy times as a consequence of the pandemic?
Subhankar: It played a very big role for us. We can listen to music anytime and feel relaxed apart from going outside. Moreover it connected a lot of musicians who have tremendous talent together and made our lives a better one.

Special credit for the interview & write up goes to Dr. Himabrata Das