Not another 17-year wait, hopefully

Artcell needs no introduction. They are arguably the biggest rock band in the country and this statement stands for itself, even during the times when they were not releasing any new music or going through personnel changes.

Despite the hiatus, which felt like a gazillion years, they did come back, and some would even argue, stronger than ever with a revamped lineup, and they released their third studio album 'Otritiyo' earlier in March.

Things have kicked off for Artcell as they are performing live regularly, have gone on to have a tour Down Under, and have even started working on what is expected to be their fourth studio album. Artcell recently sat down with The Business Standard to have their very first in-depth public discussion about Otritiyo and much more. 

Otritiyo

Artcell believes in allowing time for their newer songs to grow on listeners. They know that the concept upon which the entire album was designed may be open to interpretation, but for now, vocalist George Lincoln D'Costa is happy with the fact that the audiences have started singing along to the newest tracks together during concerts.

"It's a big plus point for us that they [the audience] are singing along to Otritiyo and Biprotip. For now, they are basking in the melody of the song; with time, they'll go into the lyrics, its meaning, and the concept," said Lincoln.

When it comes to designing the concept and structure of the album, the band acknowledged in unison that even though there are six separate tracks, it's as if they were all one whole song.

"It's one emotion flowing through the songs," they said.

Diving deeper into the thoughts that went into making the album, bassist Saef Al Nazi Cezanne revealed that the concept of the album was that of a journey of an individual realising the deeper meaning of life. Their existence, where they come from, and where they are going.

"The story is set some time in the future, where we are essentially talking about extraterrestrial beings, consciousness, existence, embedded memories, genetic intelligence and artificial stupidity," said Cezanne.

"This all relates back to why we are here, who sent us, and where we're going after this."

When asked whether they ever got to know the answers to these questions, Cezanne reiterated, "Look, it's not about finding answers. It's more important to ask the questions."

The whole album is a very futuristic-sounding album, especially in the context of how Bangladeshi rock albums generally sound. Apart from the seriousness embedded within the sound and the messages of the album, there are a few fun facts as well. The album artbook has Easter eggs in it, along with Morse codes and real-world coordinates corresponding to timestamps.

Before moving on to other topics of discussion, we had to ask the band how the album is faring against the classic Artcell hits of the past. To that, Cezanne responded, "Comparing this with those past hits is not a right comparison to make. We already see enough of that nowadays. Artcell was never in that competition. We set our own competition."

Not just another Artcell album

It was 17 years between the releases of 'Otritiyo' and 'Oniket Prantor'. We really do not want to jinx anything, but hopefully fans won't have to wait another one and a half decade for a new Artcell album. The band has all but confirmed to TBS that they have started working on new music, which is expected to be part of their 'next' album.

Of course, the rock stars remain tight-lipped. However, upon asking what they could reveal about their upcoming project, they reassured me that this is going to be a very different-sounding album, different from Artcell albums of the past.

"We want this album to sound completely different from the first three," said Cezanne.

Artcell wants no repetition in the music that they produce. Rather than sounding aggressive and 'progressive' like they have throughout their discography, they would like to serve the theme of the songs and adapt to what the song requires.

"For instance, the next album will have romantic numbers. And those love songs will sound like love songs, not anything different," said Kazi Asheeqeen Shaju, drummer of the band.

The band recently toured Australia and performed in multiple cities. They also had a couple of shows that were sold out 48 hours in advance. For the band, it was a rather refreshing experience to perform in auditoriums filled to their maximum capacity with Bangladeshis on foreign soil.

It was in between the shows when the whole band got together and finally worked on new music.

"We made an effort to sit with acoustic guitars and try making new music. It was a rare opportunity for all five of us to spend time together and work on new compositions. We want to get into the studio as soon as we can," said Shaju.

"We aim to produce a very different-sounding album. We want to explore and try something different and new, but we do not want to disclose or talk about it now," he added.

The crown 'Jewel' of Artcell 

For years, Artcell used to be a four-member band. Even though Iqbal Asif Jewel has been a guardian angel to Artcell from behind the scenes since forever, he brings a whole lot more to the table as a permanent member.

Fans may wonder what's the point of adding yet another guitarist with a completely different set of guitar skills on top of the two members who already play the six strings. Well, what's to be noted here is that it's not the guitarist but rather the 'musician' Jewel that elevates Artcell's sound and live experience to the next level.

"I used to see Artcell as a two-dimensional band, something hard and heavy. I believe I create the third dimension through synths and guitars," said Jewel.

"We can only hear frequencies within the audible range, and a heavy electric guitar produces sound at a certain frequency. During live performances, a lot of our studio samples and frequencies go missing. I add those frequencies to provide an immersive experience. It's like having a studio experience in live shows," he added.

For those of you who have seen Artcell play live over the years must have spotted how a few of their songs sounded less holistic in comparison to the studio recordings. For example, for years, the intro cello and orchestra bits in 'Dukkho Bilash' were never heard in live shows. Jewel now has the means to provide all of those sounds at the base of his fingertips.

"I think as a 'progressive rock' band, we always lacked keyboards and that dimension of sound that provides an enriched listening experience. We finally have that now," said Shaju.

At the end of the day, Jewel believes the biggest difference his soundscapes have made to the band is how they have helped with Lincoln's vocals. With the right keys ringing in the background, it's much easier for Lincoln to keep his voice on pitch.

"What I like the most is that Lincoln is singing much better now," said Jewel.

Artcell for peace

Just before transitioning into 'Oniket Prantor' during their recent show at the 'Cholo Bangladesh' concert, Artcell addressed the 40,000 people in attendance and spoke up against the atrocities currently going on in Palestine.

Their messages were well-received, appreciated, and applauded by the crowd, and till that night, Artcell were the only rock band from the country who went public with their support for Palestine.

"We are rock bands, for god's sake. We cannot just sit idle and look the other way, if anything, we should really make a song out of it because that's what we do," said Shaju.

"As logical human beings, we see what's happening and we see that through the eyes of the western media and cannot believe the levels of hypocrisy that's going around," he concluded.