Habib Wahid / হাবিব ওয়াহিদ

Birth name: Habib Wahid
Also known as: Habib
Born: October 15, 1977
Origin: Dhaka, Bangladesh
Genre(s): Fusion, Folk, Techno
Occupation(s): Singer, composer
Years active: 2003 – Present

Habib Wahid (Bangla: হাবিব ওয়াহিদ), better known as Habib, is a Bangladeshi composer and musician. He is notable for his fusion of traditional Bangla folk music with contemporary techno and urban beats. He takes folk music and remixes with popular music forms. He takes songs of composers like Hason Raja, Shah Abdul Karim, Amir Uddin and others and remixes the tunes with hip-hop, reggae, and rap. His albums have sold at least 1.5 million copies.

Life and Career
Habib’s father Ferdous Wahid was one of the trailblazers of Bangla pop music in the 1970s and 1980s. Habib started to pick up tunes on his father’s keyboard from the time he was a little boy. Later, he studied music and audio engineering at the School of Audio Engineering in London.

Habib conceived his first folk-remix album Krishno while he was still a student in London. “I had the concept and even the tracks were arranged and was looking for a vocalist,” he said. Kaya, the vocalist Habib was looking for is a Sylheti restaurant owner in London and amateur singer. The first few songs arising from their collaboration proved to be unexpected hits on the underground scene, both in London and in Dhaka. Krishno was a success when it was eventually released in Bangladesh, its unique blend of age-old folk and modern electronica introducing a radically new sound to the Dhaka music scene.

Habib has released five more albums: Maya (2004), Moina Go… (2005), Shono! (2006), Panjabiwala (2007) and Bolchhi Tomake… (2008). He has featured new voices in all his albums. Besides Kaya he uses Helal, Julie, Konica, Nirjho, Shireen and Nancy in these albums. Habib was first appeared himself in “Moina Go…” by singing two romantic songs. He also has his father, Ferdous Wahid singing a song in that album. All the rap, hip-hop and reggae type add-ins of that album was done by Kunle.

Habib has done many international tours including shows in Toronto and Montreal. Habib’s Canadian success had been managed by Feroz Haq, who is the founder of the International Habib Fan Club (better known as I.H.F.C.). As Habib continues to gain international success, his future goals include “bringing the bohawk into the mainstream.” He and his father Ferdous Wahid recently done a tv add of AB Bank

Influence of Bengali Music Tradition
Habib owes his musical heritage to a rich Bengali musical tradition. In general, music in Bangladesh has been used as a communication device to relay stories from one generation to the next, and to encourage the population to adopt specific ideals towards how they lead their lives. Bangla music fits into five genres, many of which reflect the core values of the musical approach taken by Habib.

• Classical: Based on musical modes called raglas. All of Bengali music has some basis in classical music. Habib has trained to remix classical music on a keyboard through the use of classical training at the School of Audio Engineering in London.

• Rabindra sangeet: Based on the works of Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore, who emphasized a common theme of philosophy and love. Music was influenced by western styles of the late 1800’s after Tagore visited England. Many of Habib’s songs are based on Bengali folk songs that emphasize the theme of love.

• Nazrul geeti: Based on the musical works of Kazi Nazrud Islam who was the national poet of Bangladesh during the Indian independence movement. Islam disseminated his revolutionary ideals through his music, which was a fusion of West Indian ghazals and traditional Bengali classical music. In contrast to Geeti, Habib is more concerned with developing a beat that will be broadly appreciated by a young audience. Habib’s songs therefore are mostly apolitical.

• Folk: A collection of old music genres that have a simple musical structure and words. Folk singers were used as possibly the only form of entertainment and communication of ideas before the advent of mass communication. The best known types of folk are Baul, Lalon, and Adhunik. Habib is a composer who develops new modern beats for old folk songs. While this interpretation is enjoyed by the young audience, it is controversial to traditional Bangladeshi people because the meanings of these songs change when they are sung with a hip hop or reggae beat.

• Modern music including pop and rock: Bengali pop and rock music was heavily influenced by Western music styles. Recent pop musicians have access to modern technology and attempt to use their own talent to make their music unique. Habib is an example of a new wave Bengali composer and beat-maker who makes creative modern Bengali music tracks. Habib opportunistically finds undiscovered singers for his tracks and then applies a variety of musical techniques including hip hop, reggae, and pop techniques.

Albums
Mixed and solo albums of Habib:

Krishna (2003) – Habib featuring Kaya
01. Krishna – Kaya
02. Dayal Baba – Kaya
03. Ami Kuul Hara – Kaya
04. Kemone Bhulibo Ami – Kaya
05. Gaan Gai Amar – Kaya
06. Kala – Kaya
07. Aaj Pasha – Kaya
08. Din Gelo Din – Kaya
09. Krishna (Remix) – Kaya
10. Aaj Pasha (Instrumental)

Maya (2004) – Habib featuring Kaya & Helal
01. Maya – Helal
02. Bondhua – Kaya & Kunle
03. Daya – Helal
04. Baula – Kaya
05. Mon Mojaiya – Helal
06. Asi Bole Gelo Bondhu (Krishna-2) – Kaya & Kunle
07. Loke Bole – Kaya
08. Sona Bondhe – Helal
09. Kuhu Sure Moner Agun – Helal
10. Achin Desher – Helal
11. Sona Bondhe – Kaya
12. Kanai – Kaya
13. Where’s My Baby Gone? – Kunle & Kaya

Moina Go… (2005) – Habib
01. Moina Go – Julie
02. Ami Ek Paharadaar – Ferdous Wahid
03. Deshlai – Nirjhor
04. Din Gelo – Habib
05. Taarey Bhabley Ki Aar – Milon Mahmood
06. Esho Brishti Namai – Habib
07. Jaa Rey – Julie
08. Kobitayeh – Konica
09. Moina Go (Extended Mix) – Julie
10. Banglalink Theme

Shono! (2006) – Habib
01. Swapner Cheyeo Modhur – Habib
02. Jadu – Habib
03. Mon Muniya – Habib
04. Elomelo Mon – Habib
05. Projapoti – Habib
06. E Samoye – Habib
07. Calenderer Pata – Ferdous Wahid
08. Paran Pakhi – Habib
09. Ekhoni Nambe Brishti – Habib

Panjabiwala (2007) – Habib featuring Shireen
01. Panjabiwala – Shireen
02. Moner Bagane – Shireen
03. Ore Amar Moyna Pakhi – Shireen
04. Shikhaiya Peeriti – Shireen
05. Shahjalal Shahparan – Shireen
06. Na Jene Bhul Bujhona – Shireen
07. Prem Nodeete – Shireen
08. Khaja Tomar Preme Ami – Shireen
09. Boleto Diyechhi Hridayer Katha – Habib & Nancy

Bolchhi Tomake… (2008) – Habib
01. Akankha – Habib
02. Shubhro Chaand – Habib
03. Shurjyomukhi Prem – Habib
04. Nishi Kabyo – Habib
05. Ekjone – Habib
06. Ek Mutho Bhalobasa – Habib
07. Koutuhol – Habib
08. Pran Bondhuya – Habib
09. Ghodhuli Logon – Habib & Nancy

More About Habib Wahid

Habib Wahid, better known as Habib, is a popular Bangladeshi composer and musician. He is notable for his fusion of traditional Bengali folk music with contemporary techno and urban beats. He takes folk music and remixes with popular music forms. He takes songs of composers like Hason Raja, Shah Abdul Karim, Amir Uddin and others and remixes the tunes with Hip-hop, reggae, rap and electronica. Habib’s father Ferdous Wahid was one of the trailblazers of Bangla pop music in the 1970s and 1980s. Habib started to pick up tunes on his father’s keyboard from the time he was a little boy. Later, he studied music and audio engineering at the School of Audio Engineering in London. During this time, he had the opportunity to work with Asian Underground pioneer Nitin Sawhney among others. Habib conceived his first folk-remix album Krishno while he was still a student in London. “I had the concept and even the tracks arranged..and was looking for a vocalist,” he said. Kaya, the vocalist Habib was looking for is a Sylheti restaurant owner in London and amateur singer. The first few songs arising from their collaboration proved to be unexpected hits on the underground scene, both in London and in Dhaka. Krishno was a success when it was eventually released in Bangladesh, its unique blend of age-old folk and modern electronica introducing a radically new sound to the Dhaka music scene. Since then, Habib has released two more albums: Maya (2004) and Moyna Go (2005). Both have been bestsellers. His latest Eid album in Shono Habib features new voices in all his albums. Besides Kaya he uses Helal, Julie, Konica,and Nirjhor. In the album, “Moyna Go” Habib himself appears singing two new romantic songs. In “Moyna Go” he also has his father, Ferdous Wahid singing a song and a folk song sung by Milon Mahmood. Habib also has little rap, r&b, hip-hop, and reggae type add-ins to songs that fit things like that done by Kunle. Habib has established himself as one of the most popular and promising young musicians in the country.In October 2006 Habib released another album: Shono. Habib is touring, with upcoming shows in Toronto and Montreal. Habib’s Canadian success is managed by Feroz Haq, who is the founder of the International Habib Fan Club (better known as I.H.F.C.). As Habib continues to gain international success, his future goals include “bringing the bohawk into the mainstream.” Despite of Habib’s popularity, he remains to be extremely modest, calling his work “average at best.” However, fans disagree and they’ve graced him with the nickname of “Voice Doctor (V.D).” For his contribution of different type of music he is refered by some as “Bengali A. R. Rahman”, an obvious reference to A R Rahman, a South Asian composer. 

Source: Wikipeda and Myspace.

Tags: Album, Bangla Music, Biography, Ferdous Wahid, Habib, Habib Wahid, News

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