Like millions of Bangladeshis, I woke up last Wednesday morning with a heavy heart, as I could not quite fathom how to come to terms with what was going on for the past week. With limited internet availability, I turned on my web browser to check on the latest update. I saw a piece of news, which was utterly shocking to me even amid the chaos all around, ‘Shafin Ahmed is no more’.
As one of the millennials born in Bangladesh, I also grew up listening to ‘Miles’ the legendary band from Dhaka. Like many of the band music listeners in the 90s, I heard Shafin Ahmed’s name for the first time while listening to Miles. Experiencing him performing live would come much later.
Fast forward to 2011, and I was in the audience of a Shafin Ahmed Concert titled ‘Extreme Purple’. The 90s kid in me was excited to see him live for the first time.
The great man did not disappoint. Wearing a grey-coloured shirt, hat and blue jeans, Shafin Ahmed kicked off the event with his cover of ‘Summer of ‘69.’ In the blink of an eye, the Miles frontman captivated the audience with his magic and the musical event became memorable for those who attended it.
It was the first thing that came to my mind when I read the news of his demise. My heart sank.
The iconic voice of the band Miles passed away at the age of 63. Shafin had been an integral part of Miles since nearly its inception.
Despite personal setbacks, he had always found his way back to the band until November 2021, when he announced his final departure, citing various internal issues.
As the country and music industry mourns his death, for me it is needless to say that what a genuine talent we have lost. Nobody ever can replace his musical prowess and his contributions to shaping up the music industry of Bangladesh.
I was fortunate to know Shafin Ahmed up close due to my work and our constant collaborations.
I would always cherish the conversations with ‘Shafin bhai’ about his school life, childhood memories, his journey to becoming a rock musician and with Miles.
From my meetings, I only could marvel at his passion and vision for his work and how he enjoyed and carried his rockstar persona.
Whenever someone of such great magnitude passes away, we heavily highlight their careers in the media momentarily, and everything fades away with time.
Maybe it is high time; we take necessary measures such as creating archives, making documentaries, and publishing biographies to preserve their history.
As a seasoned musician, Shafin Ahmed could feel the necessity to archive his music and he attempted to record his life and work as a musician and his journey with ‘Miles’ in various ways.
During his lifetime, Shafin Ahmed amused music lovers from different generations. He will forever live in our hearts as a ‘legend’ through his songs.
