Ishan adds colour to Black

During the day, Sakhawat Hossain works at a renowned financial institution. However, by night, he becomes Ishan Hossain, the frontman of one of Bangladesh's biggest bands, Black.

"I started by playing the guitar in 2005," says the vocalist. "Funny enough, one of the first songs I picked up was Black's 'Ekhono'. In 2008, I started a band called Crave. We did a lot of shows at that time".

Ishan's family does not have any musical background. "After I started playing the guitar, I noticed that I had a good sense of pitch. So, I kept an ostad who taught me classical singing. My band members in Naïve also helped refine my singing," he adds.

Ishan started Naive in 2011, which is still active to this day.

So how did a former fan join Black? "Back in 2014 or 2015, I first met Jahan bhai--one of the founding members of Black. In 2019, there was a concert called Artcellism to celebrate Artcell's 20-year anniversary. There, I performed along with my band Naïve, and that is where we connected," he said.

At that time, their vocalist Rubayat had left for Canada. "Before he left, Jahan bhai had already talked with me about working with Black. One day, Jahan bhai called me and asked me to meet him. That day, I jammed with them at their practice pad. After that, we decided to first do a concert together before deciding if we would go forward together."

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Being the vocalist for a band with such a legacy does not come without challenges. "A Lot of people had critiqued that I copy Jon Kabir. However, I really do not, he is one of my idols, so obviously, the influence is there. We also have similar influences in Chris Cornell and Chester Benington."

Ishan is set to perform in two concerts next month, one of which will be attended by over 3,000 people. It can be argued that he is living the dream of many musicians. What's next for Black and its vocalist?

"Three songs have already been recorded. 'Shomantoral' is already out, and we will put out a music video for it. I am excited for what the future holds," concluded the vocalist.