It was his sheer passion and love for music that drove composer and musician Shibasish Banerjee to pursue his dreams. Starting out when he was barely 19, he launched his first indie album Shohorey Ekush at 21 in collaboration with his lyricist friend Kabir Chattopadhyay. A decade and many works later, Banerjee speaks with Indulge on composing three songs and the background score for Addatimes’
recently launched web series Cabaret.
How were your initial days when you started?
Initially, I had no idea that making music was not my only role — I was also supposed to know what the
audience likes. At that time, I was purely enjoying making music. I loved composing and was solely immersed in that craft and I had no plans to make a career out of it. In some ways, it was very pure — there was no chance of corruption.
And then at 22, I got my first offer for the song, Onyo keu thakbe kachakachi, which went on to become popular.
Tell us about Cabaret’s music.
The series’ plot is based in the ’60s and ’70s, and making music for such a project is a little tough. If we make it trendy it won’t match the setting, and if we try to keep it authentic, it might not strike popular chords. Maintaining the musical balance for the show was difficult. I tried creating typical cabaret numbers, but I kept the scores modern. I used old instruments like banjo, and trumpets but arranged them in a very modern manner. I was inclined towards creating the music in the Broadway-style, and the makers asked me to use Bollywood numbers by Asha Bhosle or RD Burman as reference points. I dug deep into the type of audience during that time, their economic condition, their thought processes, and the type of musical instruments used during those times. Since I haven’t seen a live cabaret performance ever, there was no pressure for me to get the grammar correct.
Upcoming projects?
Talks are on for a few films and I am composing for the second season of Dakghar, Nostradamus of Kolkata, besides a few other web shows.