Bhoomi (band)

Bhoomi (ভূমি)(literally means earth)[1] is a Bengali urban folk music group based in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Formed in 1999,[1] it soon become hugely popular and performed in various local, national and international platforms. In July 2006 they performed at the United Nations headquarters in New York City.[2][3] Bhoomi has also performed at the Montreal Jazz Festival[4] in 2008.

Bhoomi
ভূমি
OriginKolkata, West Bengal, India
Genresfolk, fusion
Years active1999–present
LabelsSa Re Ga Ma, Times Music, Universal Music Group
Websitehttp://www.bhoomiband.com
MembersSoumitra Ray
Hemanta Goswami
Abhijit Ghosh
Robin Lai
Arjyesh Ray
Past membersSurojit Chatterjee
Chandrani Banerjee
Vikramjit Banerjee

Style

This is the only band which defines its music as ‘urban folk'. The band uses a fusion of modern, urban lyrics with rural Bengali folk tunes like baul, which was a very early style of music by wandering minstrels in rural Bengal or Bhatiyali (traditionally sung by the boatmen on the Ganges and also the Padma in Bangladesh). They have also re-done old folk songs which were unknown to the modern day urban Bengali and revived such gems with an infusion of fresh music and a lively spirit and pep to the old songs.

The band's efforts have been to expand their brand of urban music beyond the college campus and youth circuit to the older listeners. One of their main inspirations behind their music is everyday city life, which they experience and which is experienced by so many people everywhere. One of Bhoomi's first released songs 'Barandaye Roddur' went on to become a cult hit and is still immensely popular today.

Their popularity is rooted in a unique sound that combines a variety of traditional folk tunes with an array of western rhythms with western instrumentation and mixed harmoniously with Bengal's folk instruments like the Khamak, Ektara, Khonjoni, etc.

Members

Their current line-up includes 4 band members -

  • Soumitra Ray - Songwriter, Composer, Lead vocals, Drums, Congas, Bongos and Percussion
  • Hemanto Goswami - Acoustic, Electric Guitar and backing vocalist
  • Abhijit Ghosh - Bass Guitar and backing vocals
  • Robin Lai - Keyboards, Violin, Harmonium and also the sound engineer of the band
  • Arjyesh Ray - drums

Former Member
  • Surojit Chatterjee - Songwriter, Composer, Lead vocals, Guitar, Tabla
  • Chandrani Banerjee - Vocals
  • Vikramjit Banerjee - Acoustic and Electric Guitars

Albums

References
  1. Songs from the Bengali Earth: Bhoomi’s Top 10 Archived 16 November 2012 at the Wayback Machinegibsonguitar.in. Retrieved 20 March 2013
  2. Bhoomi goes to UNtimesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 20 March 2013
  3. On a song at UN- Bhoomi receives standing ovationtelegraphindia.com. Retrieved 20 March 2013
  4. "In the city". India Today. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.