A Star who conquered academia and the stage
Music is, for a lot of people, a staple part of our lives. Some take to only listening, while others, no matter how hectic our days are, look to making music. Today we explore the journey of such a music maker, who is also the Assistant Professor of the School of Architecture and Design (SoAD) , Shams Mansoor Ghani. Along with all of that he is also the songwriter, producer, and keyboardist at Warfaze and Onibarjo.
Mr. Ghani’s introduction to creating music started with a Hawaiian guitar when he was in eighth grade. During the late 80’s, he primarily listened to Western music artists like Queen, ABBA, Bonny M, Metallica, and other rock artists and bands. He remembers using a two-in-one cassette recorder to record and play the music, which he was especially fond of. As he started to branch out to other genres, he discovered the Bangladeshi up-and-coming rock scene, where bands like Feedback, Chai, and Renaissance inspired him to join the young passionate souls after he graduated from Dhaka College.
One of the major challenges he faced was during and after his admission into BUET, as the pressure to do music as an aspiring musician was hard to balance with the demands of academia. Even though he had no plans to get back into making music after graduation, fate had other plans for Mr. Ghani. He auditioned for Warfaze and joined the band’s lineup as a keyboardist. During his early days at Warfaze, there was a dichotomy between his style and the band’s more guitar-centered musicality.
Being in the music industry for over two decades, one of the best aspects of becoming a musician in Bangladesh is that if we can pull the heartstrings of the listeners and inspire something in them, they tend to be lifelong companions of our music. While one of the more challenging aspects of success in the music industry is the lack of people willing to spare expenses to support artists.
Catch the full interview of Shams Mansoor Ghani on our YouTube channel:
Videography and editing : Maheer Helal
