The Silent Strings: A Bassist’s Journey of Passion

“Bass is the most crucial instrument of all music, especially in a band. It holds the music together and builds the backdrop of a song that is often not felt among loud audiences or music. But it is the key to an amazing performance”- Tahmid Rayan (Junior, Biotechnology), bassist at Odd Signature, Reflection, and Vintage Theory.

Rayan’s musical journey began as young as six or seven years old. He fondly remembered listening to his uncle playing guitar during childhood. However, Rayan learned about bass guitar during his first concert with Artcell, one of the biggest bands in Bangladesh. He said, “Seeing Cèzanne play the bass, I decided that if I ever played any kind of guitar, it would be this only.” Rayan began learning acoustic guitar shortly after JSC at Guitar Hall School of Music in Chittagong. Being a school student, Rayan could not afford to buy the instrument, but he felt the passion for bass so profoundly that nothing would stop him. He smiled while sharing, “I was so into learning bass that I tore the two strings from the bottom of my acoustic guitar and would practice playing it as bass, despite not having much idea about it.” Her son’s immense dedication made Rayan’s mother buy him his first bass guitar. “My mother has a huge influence on my musical journey; whatever I am today, I owe the biggest portion of it to her,” said Rayan proudly. From then onwards, he kept growing more as a musician and achieved many milestones.

Tahmid Rayan’s first plugged-in show was at his college seniors’ Rag Day, when he played and felt like a rockstar, bringing him first position as a bassist in a band, EOI- Edge of Infinity, in 2019. From then onwards, he played in many bands, exploring different genres such as rock, metal, and heavy metal. In the same year, he joined “Reflection,” which gave him the most significant stage show at “Shadhinota Concert 2019”, sharing the same stage as Artcell. Tahmid shared the fascinating story behind joining Odd Signature in 2020. He was invited as a guest bassist for the band’s live performance. His fabulous stage presence and instrumental skills won over the members of the band, who offered him the official position of bassist. “

Amar Dehokhan was my first studio take which became a huge hit in a short time”, Tahmid recalled the precious moments. His musical journey took a huge turn, and so did Odd Signature’s.

However, an unfortunate accident took away the life of the lead vocalist of the band and left Rayan deeply affected.

Upon asking about his favorite moment performing for fellow BracU students, he reminisced about the first plugged-in performance in TARC during RS62. “That is the most cherished memory of mine—playing live in front of my friends and every single person in TARC, also singing “Ghum” as a vocalist for the first time was truly heart-felting.”