[WATCH] Soul-stirring “Jaago Piya” celebrates new dawn

A soul-stirring Bangla song by the Berklee Indian Ensemble released on the occasion of Bangla New Year 1423 has earned applause from many.

“Jaago Piya", composed by Armeen Musa, the first Bangladeshi student to join the Berklee Indian Ensemble, is the first in a series of original compositions from the Berklee Indian Ensemble, a class of Berklee College of Music.

It is a collaboration of soundscapes. The melody has a semi classical flavour (classical referring to the classical music of the Indian subcontinent) with vocal harmony that is rarely used in such a tune.

The song being in Bangla, inspired the ensemble to use Bengali colours and clothes for the visual to showcase a bit of Bangla culture, said the group.

The primary theme was using the gamchha (local checked cloth used as a towel) as clothing, scarves, hairpieces inspired by Bangladeshi fashion designer Bibi Russel, who brought the gamchha to the international fashion industry.

Founded in 2011 by faculty member, Annette Philip, the Berklee Indian Ensemble is one of largest and most diverse ensembles at Berklee. It performs a wide array of South Asian music, with the ultimate goal of presenting concerts that consist entirely of original student compositions.

“To us, "Jaago Piya" is a gentle, loving reminder to stay present, in the moment, to always be hopeful, and live a life filled with gratitude,” Berklee College of Music wrote on YouTube.

Talking about music, Armeen said: "What inspires me is music. The ability of music to connect to our silent thoughts, be a gift of solidarity, in happiness and sadness, inspires and motivates me, to be a part of motions bigger than myself."