Essays on listening, music, translation and cultural life in Bangladesh — written between rehearsals.
Introducing BSM: Reclaiming the Sonic Self Through Listening
Introducing BSM: Reclaiming the Sonic Self Through Listening By Shariful Islam What happens when music is treated not only as performance—but as a way of understanding identity, participation, and human experience? Over the past…
The Translation Deficit: Knowledge Access and Linguistic Inequality in Bangladesh
Bangla is not merely a language in Bangladesh; it is a historical marker of political identity and cultural resistance, forged in the fires of the 1952 Language Movement that led to its constitutional recognition…
Catch Me
This track is a reflection of motion and pause — the feeling of running toward something you’re not sure exists. I wanted to blend organic imperfections with atmospheric clarity, to create a sonic moment…
Hunger, War, and Memory
In 1971, the year of our Liberation War, my elder brother was born. My father was in Rangpur for business at the time. When the war began, it took him seven days on foot…
The Things We Hold Dear: On Idealism, Thomas More, and Personal Belongings
In a world increasingly tilted toward pragmatism, efficiency, and compromise, the idea of holding fast to principles—even when they come at great personal cost—can seem naive. Yet, for me, one of the most cherished…
Are You a Leader or a Follower? Why That Question Might Be Missing the Point
Are you a leader or a follower? The question sounds simple. But what if the question itself is flawed? A Leader or a Follower: The Binary Mindset The other day, a colleague told me…
The Silent Takeover
Indian Hegemony in Bangladesh’s Music Industry and Education Shariful Islam Antonio Gramsci’s theory of cultural hegemony asserts that dominance is not merely enforced through political or economic control but is deeply entrenched within cultural…