The experimental music and sound work coming out of Dhaka is driven forward by three key sensations: anger, frustration and resolve. Everything is politicised in Bangladesh. Every element of day-to-day life is somehow touched by social and economic policies. Artists and musicians come under scrutiny from a government keen to ensure stability by coming down hard on anyone who refuses to toe the line. Consequently, Dhaka artists are light on their feet, switching between genres to make art that satisfies the anger and frustration they feel without drawing unwanted attention. And they resolve to continue.

Deepsteel
“Static Electricity”
From The Excursion
(Akkrosh Records) 2024

Jaami Farooq uses a number of aliases to explore points on the spectrum between electronica and the blackest of black metal. Founded by Farooq in 2012, tracks and albums released on his Akkrosh Records label tend towards the dark metal side. Unleashed under Farooq’s Deepsteel pseudonym, “Static Electricity” sounds like a savage hell dog growling and grunting over squelchy, almost funky, electronic beats. The track features on Akkrosh Records’ The Excursion compilation. Farooq is also a co-founder of Dhaka’s important Akāliko Records label.

Sinin
“yjny”
From 1.2 v.2
(Sinin) 2018

An enigmatic member of Dhaka’s experimental music scene, Sinin revels in anonymity. Thus, the sounds the producer creates are equally draped in obscurity, tending towards filmic, minimal techno. An exercise in tension, “yjny” feels like the build up to something mightily disturbing. Bundled with other gnomically titled tracks with names like “rtjm” and “ejrf” on the 1.2 v.2 album, “yjny” could be part of a larger code we are all invited to crack. And the fact that 1.2 v.2 is the follow up to Sinin’s 2018’s v1 set suggests there are more albums to come in the series.

Debopom Ghosh Must Be Killed
“Millenium hypocrisyanide goat”
From Liarhatermaker/Antidestiny
(Akkrosh Records) 2025

A multimedia artist whose work extends into film, writing and digital imagery, Debopom Ghosh (aka Debopom Ghosh Must Be Killed) makes angry music. Taken from his Liarhatermaker/Antidestiny EP released on the Akkrosh Records imprint, “Millenium hypocrisyanide goat” is the sound of untrammelled chaos, as heavily distorted vocals fight for prominence over a barrage of what sounds like a bunch of electric guitars being pushed through a meat grinder. As the track rolls on, a single voice begins to emerge, goading and ranting. Ghosh pulls off the neat trick of melding harsh, industrialised noise with metal adjacent tropes, with the track’s lyrics speaking off primordial gods and hypocrisy in worship.

Shoummo Saha
“প্রেমপত্র”
From প্রেমপত্র
(Shoummo Saha) 2025

Another producer wearing many hats, Shoummo Saha slips easily from creating soundtracks for experimental films screened at the Dhaka Art Summit events to working with Jaami Farooq on Dhaka’s dark electronica underground club night, Norok. Translating as “love letter”, “প্রেমপত্র” is Saha in gentle, ambient mode. Based around a simple, pastoral chord set, chimes meander in and out to offer a break from the world’s clamour. Saha also makes upbeat electronica under his Space/Ghost alias and is a member of Dhaka’s club based Bhai Bhai Soundsystem collective.

Shariful Islam
“The Mirror”
From The Mirror
(Akāliko Records) 2020

A critical figure in bringing together Dhaka’s evolving experimental music scene with local traditional folk artists, Shariful Islam is dedicated to keeping Bangladesh’s deep musical history alive. Thus, the music he creates is formed from field recordings made in Dhaka’s streets, traffic and markets augmented by his violin playing. “The Mirror” is a case in point, as Islam’s violin seemingly freestyles over digitally manipulated urban noises and textured feedback. Islam’s fierce defence of his country’s cultural heritage includes writing papers that explain why the origin of local sounds must be preserved in an increasingly globalised world.

HUMAYAN
“The Glass House”
From On The Other Side
(Akāliko Records) 2025

Another Akāliko release, the On The Other Side album works as a counterpoint to Dhaka’s dark electronica element. Humayan Islam (aka HUMAYAN) makes textured electronica that switches easily from busy beats to orchestral string work. For Islam, On The Other Side is about an imagined journey into unknown territories, and the resolve it takes to get there. “The Glass House” is an expansive, ambitious track that successfully replicates Islam’s wish to create a sense of movement, determination and progress.

After Art
“BRTHNG”
From BRTNG
(After Art) 2024

Sajib Azad began making music as After Art in 2005, and has worked with the likes of Shoummo Saha and the Bangladeshi vocalist Armeen. Developing a sound practise that has its basis in the psychology of geography, for Azad the emotions of a place – and the relationships that are cemented there – are more important than its location. “BRTHNG” is a standalone After Art track with a yearning, melancholic vocal at its centre and a sound bed of tumbling percussion around it. Like HUMAYAN, Azad is adept at communicating ambition and understanding through his work.

Sindecent
“Shadows Of Mowdok Mual”
From Abahattha
(Akkrosh Records) 2019

Another of Jaami Farooq’s pseudonyms, Sindecent is what he calls his one man electronic dark metal project. Sindecent is where Farooq goes all in, one producer determined to make the same amount of noise as an entire metal-driven orchestra. “Shadows Of Mowdok Mual” shows how he delivers the goods. This is a battering onslaught where it is entirely possible to picture a whole cavalcade of musicians, when the truth is that Farooq has magicked up the scenario using nothing but his production skills and an ear for planting melodies among the chaos. Mowdok Mual, incidentally, is a mountain on the Bangladesh-Myanmar border.

Read Simon Coates’s full report from Dhaka in The Wire 497. Buy the issue in our online shop. Wire subscribers can also read the article online via the digital magazine library.