From love letters to campus favourites nationwide
If you walk into any university campus in Bangladesh, you will most likely hear groups of young people sitting with guitars, singing Tumi and 60s Love by Level Five. These two songs have become the unofficial anthems of Bangladeshi youth. But what makes these songs so special?
In conversation with Aiedid Rashid, the band’s vocalist, he mentioned 60s Love’s beautiful backstory that touches hearts. The song came from a love letter written in the 1960s by band founder Ehsan Kaizer’s father to his mother. “We felt the words of the letter and the love that was portrayed,” Rashid explains.
Tumi, on the other hand, came from pure imagination but felt just as real. Aiedid Rashid wrote it by picturing himself as someone deeply in love. “Each word felt like I was living the life,” he says. This song was harder to write, taking a full month, as he had to imagine a situation he never truly experienced.
What’s truly interesting is Rashid’s approach to emotions. He doesn’t want to force any specific feeling on listeners. “I want them to feel whatever they want to feel,” he says. This freedom lets young people connect their own experiences and emotions to the songs, making each listening experience personal and meaningful.
The band has performed at Brac University three times, and Rashid describes the experiences saying, “The love we received from the students is just so amazing.” This connection between the band and university students shows how these songs have become part of campus culture. At Brac University’s residential campus, students gather around Anondopur to sing these songs on repeat.
These songs are impactful because they’re honest, relatable, and give young people space to feel their own emotions. In a world of complex relationships and growing up, Level Five offers simple, heartfelt music that just makes sense to the youth.
