By Faria Sanjana
Disc-jockeying can be a tough job. The ability to blend in different music to produce a tune that causes people to hit the dance floor requires a lot of creativity. DJ parties are not new in town and what with increasing venues and opportunities; it's growing popular day by day. Therefore, I decided to chat with Mr. Daniel Rahman, Producer of Special Projects at Radio Foorti and a DJ himself, to know more about disc-jockeying in Dhaka.
RS: What do you think about the prospect of disc-jockeying in BD?
Daniel: Lately, it is very good. A vibrant club scene has sprung up namely International Club, Privilege, Déjà vu Café where DJ's are required to play frequently. Otherwise there are many lounges (Kozmo, D'Pavement and etc.) where they hold DJ parties every now and then. Especially on New Year's Eve, you can hardly imagine a party without any DJ! I can see a highly promising outlook for DJ's in the future.
RS: So how was the DJ “scene” in the past?
Daniel: Now we have 20 to 22 DJ's in town among which 5 to 6 are at the top. Two years back there weren't even 5 DJ's. And those who were there played very basic music. But with years passing, music technology got better and more and more people came onto give DJ-ing a try.
RS: Do you think DJ-ing is limited to posh parties only?
Daniel: It was a couple of years back in club parties but now it is not so. Every now and then you'll see functions like holud where DJ's are hired to keep the party alive. And as I've already mentioned the lounges have played a big role for the whole DJ evolution.
RS: What does it take to be a DJ? Can you tell us where interested newcomers can learn?
Daniel: See, the main drawback in being a DJ is knowledge gap. Most people don't know what it is about. Some youngsters think that it's something cool so they just jump into it without being acquainted to it. DJ-ing can be an intricate process where a lot of mixing and matching is needed. One should be extremely passionate about music. Understanding of music genres such as trance, dance, hip-hop, bhangra and the likes are imperative. One must also have contacts with known DJ's from whom they can learn.
Radio Foorti had its own initiative when it aired a show called Club Foorti that brought DJ's in its studio and aired the show live on every Thursday night. But the show had to be stopped for various circumstances. However, to renew that initiative, Club Foorti is teaming with the DJ Forum which is a forum consisting of all top DJ's in the country. The forum is in its last stage and will be launching very soon. The official announcements are not out yet but anyone who's already a DJ or interested in becoming one can contact me at daniel@radiofoorti.fm or call 01713375112.
RS: And the gears? Are they available in Dhaka?
Daniel: What we need are turntables, a pair of DJ CD players, mixer, headphones and record vinyl. Unfortunately, these are not widely available but what one can do is to check out this American website, www.music123.com where DJ gears are sold for $200-$300. Otherwise, having contacts with DJ's can come in handy as you could easily borrow their gears to practice.
RS: Apart from you, please name some good DJ's in town.
Daniel (smiles): Well there is a Bangladeshi DJ named Polash who's making great fame abroad. He's among the top 30-40 DJ's in the world and has played with the top 10 international DJ's! There are some great DJ's here too- DJ Prince, DJ Simon, DJ Shezan to name a few.
RS: And where do you stand among them?
Daniel (slightly embarrassed): I don't consider myself a good DJ. I started playing 4 years back and from then I was known as the Cheeze Master but during the last 2 years I've not been able to give time to this profession.
On a different perspective
From there we talked about a different issue and that was about the prospect of dance music in Dhaka. Daniel was kind enough to contact with DJ Shezan who spoke out his views. Here's what he had to say:
"The dance music scene is slowly evolving here in Dhaka. Dance music is seen generally as being the more underground type of music when compared to hip-hop or any other genre which rules the airwaves in Dhaka but times are changing and so are the people's tastes in music. At all the commercial parties here hip-hop, hindi, and pop music are being showered by DJ's, while genres like house, trance etc. are not being played as much.
The future prospect of dance music, in my opinion, is huge. We can see that across the world, events are being held accommodating more than 20,000 people. So if it could be that big at other countries it definitely, maybe not at the same level, can make a mark here as well. But this cannot happen overnight. It has to be promoted.
DJ's can experiment music with different genres and let the listeners be exposed to different forms of music. The scene has to be made in such that party-goers and listeners attend to events actually to enjoy the music and listen to what the DJ has to offer more than anything else. Radio stations can help do this as well. As dance music is becoming more commercial, people are listening to it more and the rise of internet downloads has helped too. Therefore if it is promoted in ways mentioned above there is a good future for not just electronic music but other genres as well!"
With that we ended our chit-chat and I left the Radio Foorti office, enlightened on a new subject.
Huge thanks to Daniel Rahman and Sabhanaz Rashid Diya
Photo shows DJ Shezan & photo credit: Daniel
Review By Le Chupacabra
Resistance drops you into an ominous alternate timeline where WWII never happened. It's a somewhat cheeky intro for a first-person shooter, however, the game quickly dons a visage of laboured attrition and darkened days. As US Sergeant Nathan Hale, you have been airlifted into merry old England to combat the Chimaera - a mutated race of, well, mutants who've emerged from the depths of an estranged Russia with world domination in mind. It's a premise that feels familiar but is inevitably interesting enough to warrant attention. The story progresses via voiceovers juxtaposed with hand-drawn sketches and the odd cinematic sequence or two. It's a fairly linear plot that eschews any bombastic complements for palatability; it's unremarkable yet enjoyable.
As a game, Resistance is a solid, thrilling escapade. The action is pitched quite brilliantly with the tiniest lulls designed to whet your appetite for the next setpiece. The Chimaera are a formidable foe with a great sense of self-preservation; they act intelligently in groups and employ impressive combat skills against you. You'll definitely have a rollicking time taking them down and more so because it's not particularly easy. While Resistance doesn't possess a singularity it can call its own, it's certainly a cohesive experience that almost recalls the Halo series. You're constantly drawn into little powerplays of strategy and using cover smartly becomes essential for survival. Co-Op is a highly enjoyable affair; running under heavy Chimaera fire to take the life-threatening time to heal a team-mate ensures heart-warming levels of camaraderie although the player synergy from Halo 2, Gears of War and even Shaolin Monks is somewhat lacking here. Multiplayer, both online and off, is a fun, fast-paced affair but it often feels slightly airy and insubstantial.
One of Insomniac's trademark flourishes is innovative, engaging weaponry. That legacy translates into the gritty world of Resistance well. Wielding overused mainstays such as carbines and shotguns that have been tweaked beyond the realm of realism into a more explosive existence will make you grin profusely. The Chimaeran Bullseye rapidly fires angry bolts of energy but why not try using the alternative fire mode? Tapping L1 tags your foes; after that, all you have to do is hide behind a corner and fire away. The bolts arc in midair and home into their target at deadly speeds. It may feel cheeky but it's oh-so-gratifying. The Augur offers laser beams that penetrate walls and the sniper rifle slows down time so you can nail that perfect headshot. The hedgehog grenade is a particularly sadistic tool since it's covered in deadly spikes. On detonation these lance in every direction often pinning the writhing Chimaera to walls. The remaining repertoire of weapons is interesting and demands experimentation; different play styles are augmented nicely through your arsenal choices. However, you'll usually stick with the Carbine and Bullseye, only occasionally utilising the sniper rifle or Augur due to the unique stratagems offered. There are vehicle sections to offer variety although they're not strictly necessary to enjoy the game. Despite a strictly linear outlook in terms of progression and objectives, the gameplay is still gripping. It's impossible to not have fun when playing Resistance.
Being a PlayStation 3 game I'm sure this was the most important section in the minds of you lot: the graphics. Now, a warning of sorts is due at this point to set a precedent for future reviews pertaining to the PS3 and Xbox 360. All these new fangled “next” generation games are designed to be enjoyed on High-Definition TV sets; the difference is astounding, I'll vouch ardently. For the sake of parity, I've played this game mostly on a normal TV - I come with only good news. Resistance is a sharp-looking title brimming with details that make the game world visually engaging. The atmosphere of wartorn England is captured with panache. There's a sense of Call of Duty sprinkled liberally with City 17 vibes but it's all wrapped up in a package that possesses distinction, if not much. All the disparate parts ranging from animation to special effects come together to create a visually impressive game. However, the rather neutral palette may feel a little mundane and on a standard TV, the overall experience is somewhat understated. As an aside, the game simply leaps off the screen when viewed on an HDTV with clarity and minutiae in bounteous amounts.
Your ears aren't completely forgotten, although they come a distant second to the eyes. The sound effects add much to the atmosphere, the voice-acting is solid with good localisation in terms of accents and dialect but it won't stand out in your recollection of the game. The music melds unobtrusively into the action and is largely forgettable.
Resistance is a strangely addicting, thrilling gameplay experience that's genuinely fun to play. It won't join the annals of wunderkind titles like Metal Gear or Halo, but it's a delicious, filling aperitif that does proud as one of PS3's overture pieces.
Some people pop out fine glassware and invite friends to celebrate the 30th birthday. Rinspeed popped out a glass car to celcebrate its birthday. Who or what is Rinspeed you ask?
They are a design house cum tuner who soup up mostly Porches and build their own wacky designs.
When the first sketches of the new Rinspeed eXasis appeared on the Internet it looked like no other vehicle before it. It looked like a drivable "glass" car with a completely transparent body and floor made of Makrolon®. Don't bother with what it means.
Everyone who sees the eXasis for the first time raves about the glass car, but the car is actually made of transparent high-tech plastic.
This happens to be the third vehicle to emerge from the cooperation between the two companies. This differs fundamentally from the other two: the futuristic-looking "Senso" and the pure-blooded "zaZen" sports car. The eXasis is a completely new development, in other words it is not based on a production-line vehicle. The insect-like, shiny yellow body with the exposed wheels looks like a mix of the legendary Auto-Union racing cars from the first half of the last century and an off-road vehicle, offering room for two people, one behind the other.
The outer Makrolon® shell reveals the vehicle's load-bearing aluminum chassis. The chassis looks as if it has been cut from a solid piece of material, and in fact the bulkheads are. Despite this, the entire construction exudes a sense of lightness like bamboo
The two occupants sit in special seats designed in cooperation with Recaro. Each seat consists of twelve transparent Makrolon® ribs the same number as a human being has.
The two transparent indicator and function displays are an absolute delight, both technically and optically. They seem to hover on both sides in the driver's field of vision. By touching them, various functions can be displayed and controlled. Each of the touch-panels is made of a transparent CD/DVD Makrolon® blank that has been coated with electrically conductive Baytron® from H.C. Starck to trigger the switch functions.
The "eXasis" is powered by an extremely lightweight, 150 bhp Weber engine driven by CO2-emission-reducing bioethanol. In view of the fact that the car weighs only 750 kg because of its lightweight plastic construction, one horsepower has to shift only 5 kg and that is about the same as a very nippy Porsche.
To transfer all this power to the road, the KW chassis specialists have accommodated the tailor-made spring and shock absorber units vertically in the front in the partition wall and horizontally at the rear. The tires are Pirelli's 22-inch High-Performance P Zero, mounted on forged five-spoke wheels manufactured by the German wheel maker, AEZ. Here too, attention to detail is evident: the wheels are decorated with transparent "inlays" of Makrolon® that look like small windows.
It's an amazing looking concept but if it goes into production just make sure you don't go out driving without your pants on.
