Pata, Upal, Gabu, Bumpy form a new Bangla band

Each of them represent a successful Bangla band, and now,

Pata

of Pata ar Marudyan, Gaurab Chatterjee, aka

Gabu

, of

Lakkhichhara

,

Upal

Sengupta of Chandrabindoo and former Cactus bassist Mainak Nag Chowdhury (Bumpy) are teaming up to form a cross-platform band that allows them to ‘sing what they really want to sing’. Independent musician

Satadal Chattopadhyay

too will be part of the union that has been named Hybrid X by Upal’s fellow bandmate Chandril Bhattacharya. “This is a working title and this might get changed. Chandril has given another option, Trail Mix. As of now, it is Hybrid X,” Upal told us.
But what brought them together? “I feel Bengali songs are somehow threatened. Barely any FM or television channel plays Bangla independent music. Forget music, the language itself is threatened by the overwhelming impact of other languages. Also, the entire DJ culture has actually ruined our music scene. Today, live shows are practically the only medium to bank on,” said Pata, adding, “We were talking about such things at a gathering one day and decided to form this platform. We are planning to do shows as well as shoot singles for online platforms. This can also be a note of encouragement to the younger generation of musicians.”
And what kind of music are they planning to play? “All sorts of Bangla gaan,” said Bumpy. “There are many band songs which we cannot sing due to the lineup and the decorum of a live show. And there are songs that we grew up with. For instance, I associate my childhood with Shyamal Mitra and Salil Chowdhury’s superhit songs. Through this effort, we want to bring back that carnivalesque musical era of Bengal. When we are done, you will see that a Pandora’s box of music has been unlocked in front of you,” he added with a smile.
By their own admission, Hybrid X is following the pattern of Gaan Abohoman — a musical project by Upal, Shatadal and Prosmita Paul. Also, for the members of Hybrid X, their primary band will always be their first priority. “I have Marudyan, Upalda has Chandrabindoo and so on. Our own band will always be our first priority. In this platform, we will sing what we can’t sing in our bands’ live shows,” Pata told us. All of them are pretty excited about their new project. “On and off the stage, we’ve known each other for many, many years. I met Pata way before he joined Cactus. In fact, Upal was my boss in early 2000. We usually have great time when we chill out together. I’m sure it will be more fun when we start doing music together,” said Bumpy.
Besides these five, many others musicians are also coming on board with John Paul and Rudraneel Chowdhury on the guitars and Sudipto Paul on keyboards.
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