Best of the web: Amadergaan.com
Sunday, 23 November 2008
Kazi Rubait Imam
Amadergaan.com has gone a long way from its humble beginnings, six years ago, when it was merely a chatroom on the IRC network! It served one simple purpose, providing a platform, for people to get together and talk about music. From there came a site, with a forum in 2002, or a bulletin board system or BBS as it is usually called, and some downloads of Bangla music. Combined, these made a pretty good recipe for success for Amadergaan.com, later to be known as 'AG'. It retains some of its initial members, who together with so many new ones, keep the forum lively. Members' camaraderie, banter and most of all, love for all kinds of music remain the cementing factors. Hence it boasts of its fitting tagline, "From Baul to Rock".
The founders of AG are Safwan and Faysal. Faysal first started with an IRC chatroom while he was a student in Canada. It was there that he met Safwan. This was the start of the site. From chatroom, to a social site, they transformed AG into an enterprise.
Let us first go over what AG offers its guests and members. Go to www.amadergaan.com to face the site's homepage, and there, you get some of news from the world of music. It can consist of new albums awaiting release or being worked on in a studio somewhere in Bangladesh or abroad, news of concerts, interviews of artists, etc. It's doing well providing news of the world of music when other sites are really not as well organised.
One can feel a different kind of musical wave in Dhaka and other urban centres of Bangladesh. Variations of rock and heavy metal music would fascinate one and all. Classified as 'underground' music, not enjoying support from the mainstream music industry, the lovers of such music have the option to rely on AG. Already home to a lot of musicians AG is becoming popular in wider circles. No wonder, AG is liked by alternative rock band Arbovirus, or the now famous producer Fuad Al Muqtadir. So, AG is also a platform to keep up with the offbeat trends in urban Bangladesh, which now even includes 'Electronic' and 'Hip Hop'.
One could say that over the six years AG went through a transition into maturity, replacing its free music download section with an online shop for Bangladeshi music. AG did it out of the realisation that the local artists need the support it can provide them by popularising their music. That does not happen until their CD sales go up. AG has entered partnerships with almost all the big music production houses in Bangladesh, e.g. - G Series, Ektaar, Sound Machine, Rage Records, Bengal Music etc. Such partnerships allow AG to take music to the audiences outside, who do not hop into a local music store to buy CDs. Locally, one cannot buy music online due to a lack of credit card services at the required level. Absence of free downloading, on the other hand, forces one to visit stores to buy the CDs. Previews of tracks from upcoming albums provided by AG in its Media section helps one make up the mind what to buy. One would still come across some free stuff in the Download section of its Media. The items there do not impose copyrights restrictions. The Audio section loads a music player with a play list to run previews or teasers of upcoming albums, and sometimes, even Demos of songs as they are being composed. The Video section, though scarce, offers a collection of rather interesting clips, including of Babna (of Warfaze fame) playing some enchanting flamenco in a studio somewhere! There is a section for Articles, where a visitor can find reviews of shows, albums, and articles from actual music reporters.
AG had an ambitious project to create and host websites for a multitude of music artists. Though this didn't see the light of day fully, it was a noble attempt, and someday, hopefully the visitors would get to see the sites in their full glory.
AG's two creators live and work in Canada. The flow of information visitors see on AG would not have been possible without a team working in Bangladesh. This team was selected from none other than the AG forum frequentors. Anyone needing the proof that man is a social being, is welcome to this forum. This has been an active platform for communication among Bangla music fans scattered across the world. AG has been so since its inception. Over the years, it has expanded the music only platform to add culture in general, technology, as well as user contributed contents like poetry, blogs, artworks and recordings. The best way to go about the forum would be to browse through the forum's main page. One would, however, have to become a member to be able to log in to access all the sections.
Apart from the reviews of albums, and concerts in the Articles section of the site, the forum has its own section for reviews with contributions from its members. There is also a section where concert organisers announce upcoming shows, and the members can respond to the selection of artists who would perform, the venue or other details of relevance. It would not be possible to do all this without a forum of this kind. Also, artists, or their friends, can come and announce upcoming releases. It's not uncommon for member artists to upload demos to seek early comments or just for the purpose of sharing. Some famous and semi-famous bands and artists are part of this forum. One of the most prominent singers to have become a member of this forum is, perhaps, Maqsoodul Huq aka Mac, a vocalist for the very famous Feedback (remember 'Melay Jaire'?). Members found out how articulate and passionate this man is about music and writing. Also among the prominent figures, who are members of this forum, is singer and TV presenter Alif Alauddin, who takes feedback, on her TV shows from the other members. So the forum is home to artists ranging from the famous to the obscure end of it the spectrum, all using a common platform to voice their opinions, experiences and dreams.
Debate is also one thing that happens and frequently on the forum. So, the social interaction is not just on a level of entertainment and fun, but also intellectual; and it gets edgy at times. Issues debated include copyrights, whether or not the artists actually benefit from the sales of CDs or whether adopting western music styles could undermine one's own culture. More serious topics also come up to cover local or world politics, or social issues. Occasionally, AG's members get together for social interaction. A concert, it organised in 2003 to raise funds for the great artist Abdur Rahman Boyati, ailing then, was a great success. From discussions within the forum, it transformed into physical meetings. Ultimately, a massive line up of artists performed for a whole day, each rendering 3 to 4 songs to honour and help Abdur Rahman Boyati. The venue was Shilpakala Academy.
Amadergaan, through its partnerships, now plays a huge role in promoting musical events on the web. Next time, for a concert, one should check the AG logo for the events banners or for the tickets to an event. Spot the AG logo and it would say who the Web Partner is. Sometimes, the artists' 'Thank you' note inside the album sleeve acknowledges 'Amadergaan'. This goes to show the rising level of significance of this entity which was once just a chat room. AG, in its 6 years, has risen to great heights. It should achieve greater success to be able to provide its guests and members more to enjoy.
...........................................................
The writer is a software engineer at Therap BD Ltd., and musician
Amadergaan.com has gone a long way from its humble beginnings, six years ago, when it was merely a chatroom on the IRC network! It served one simple purpose, providing a platform, for people to get together and talk about music. From there came a site, with a forum in 2002, or a bulletin board system or BBS as it is usually called, and some downloads of Bangla music. Combined, these made a pretty good recipe for success for Amadergaan.com, later to be known as 'AG'. It retains some of its initial members, who together with so many new ones, keep the forum lively. Members' camaraderie, banter and most of all, love for all kinds of music remain the cementing factors. Hence it boasts of its fitting tagline, "From Baul to Rock".
The founders of AG are Safwan and Faysal. Faysal first started with an IRC chatroom while he was a student in Canada. It was there that he met Safwan. This was the start of the site. From chatroom, to a social site, they transformed AG into an enterprise.
Let us first go over what AG offers its guests and members. Go to www.amadergaan.com to face the site's homepage, and there, you get some of news from the world of music. It can consist of new albums awaiting release or being worked on in a studio somewhere in Bangladesh or abroad, news of concerts, interviews of artists, etc. It's doing well providing news of the world of music when other sites are really not as well organised.
One can feel a different kind of musical wave in Dhaka and other urban centres of Bangladesh. Variations of rock and heavy metal music would fascinate one and all. Classified as 'underground' music, not enjoying support from the mainstream music industry, the lovers of such music have the option to rely on AG. Already home to a lot of musicians AG is becoming popular in wider circles. No wonder, AG is liked by alternative rock band Arbovirus, or the now famous producer Fuad Al Muqtadir. So, AG is also a platform to keep up with the offbeat trends in urban Bangladesh, which now even includes 'Electronic' and 'Hip Hop'.
One could say that over the six years AG went through a transition into maturity, replacing its free music download section with an online shop for Bangladeshi music. AG did it out of the realisation that the local artists need the support it can provide them by popularising their music. That does not happen until their CD sales go up. AG has entered partnerships with almost all the big music production houses in Bangladesh, e.g. - G Series, Ektaar, Sound Machine, Rage Records, Bengal Music etc. Such partnerships allow AG to take music to the audiences outside, who do not hop into a local music store to buy CDs. Locally, one cannot buy music online due to a lack of credit card services at the required level. Absence of free downloading, on the other hand, forces one to visit stores to buy the CDs. Previews of tracks from upcoming albums provided by AG in its Media section helps one make up the mind what to buy. One would still come across some free stuff in the Download section of its Media. The items there do not impose copyrights restrictions. The Audio section loads a music player with a play list to run previews or teasers of upcoming albums, and sometimes, even Demos of songs as they are being composed. The Video section, though scarce, offers a collection of rather interesting clips, including of Babna (of Warfaze fame) playing some enchanting flamenco in a studio somewhere! There is a section for Articles, where a visitor can find reviews of shows, albums, and articles from actual music reporters.
AG had an ambitious project to create and host websites for a multitude of music artists. Though this didn't see the light of day fully, it was a noble attempt, and someday, hopefully the visitors would get to see the sites in their full glory.
AG's two creators live and work in Canada. The flow of information visitors see on AG would not have been possible without a team working in Bangladesh. This team was selected from none other than the AG forum frequentors. Anyone needing the proof that man is a social being, is welcome to this forum. This has been an active platform for communication among Bangla music fans scattered across the world. AG has been so since its inception. Over the years, it has expanded the music only platform to add culture in general, technology, as well as user contributed contents like poetry, blogs, artworks and recordings. The best way to go about the forum would be to browse through the forum's main page. One would, however, have to become a member to be able to log in to access all the sections.
Apart from the reviews of albums, and concerts in the Articles section of the site, the forum has its own section for reviews with contributions from its members. There is also a section where concert organisers announce upcoming shows, and the members can respond to the selection of artists who would perform, the venue or other details of relevance. It would not be possible to do all this without a forum of this kind. Also, artists, or their friends, can come and announce upcoming releases. It's not uncommon for member artists to upload demos to seek early comments or just for the purpose of sharing. Some famous and semi-famous bands and artists are part of this forum. One of the most prominent singers to have become a member of this forum is, perhaps, Maqsoodul Huq aka Mac, a vocalist for the very famous Feedback (remember 'Melay Jaire'?). Members found out how articulate and passionate this man is about music and writing. Also among the prominent figures, who are members of this forum, is singer and TV presenter Alif Alauddin, who takes feedback, on her TV shows from the other members. So the forum is home to artists ranging from the famous to the obscure end of it the spectrum, all using a common platform to voice their opinions, experiences and dreams.
Debate is also one thing that happens and frequently on the forum. So, the social interaction is not just on a level of entertainment and fun, but also intellectual; and it gets edgy at times. Issues debated include copyrights, whether or not the artists actually benefit from the sales of CDs or whether adopting western music styles could undermine one's own culture. More serious topics also come up to cover local or world politics, or social issues. Occasionally, AG's members get together for social interaction. A concert, it organised in 2003 to raise funds for the great artist Abdur Rahman Boyati, ailing then, was a great success. From discussions within the forum, it transformed into physical meetings. Ultimately, a massive line up of artists performed for a whole day, each rendering 3 to 4 songs to honour and help Abdur Rahman Boyati. The venue was Shilpakala Academy.
Amadergaan, through its partnerships, now plays a huge role in promoting musical events on the web. Next time, for a concert, one should check the AG logo for the events banners or for the tickets to an event. Spot the AG logo and it would say who the Web Partner is. Sometimes, the artists' 'Thank you' note inside the album sleeve acknowledges 'Amadergaan'. This goes to show the rising level of significance of this entity which was once just a chat room. AG, in its 6 years, has risen to great heights. It should achieve greater success to be able to provide its guests and members more to enjoy.
...........................................................
The writer is a software engineer at Therap BD Ltd., and musician