Kabir Suman - Musical Life

Musical Life

His contemporary urban, socially conscious songs draw upon both Bengali adhunik (modern) and Western folk and protest music. His work has been a major influence in the development of the Bengali songs, which has influenced bands like Chandrabindoo, and has grown to become a major movement in contemporary Bengali music. Most of his songs are played solo with just a synthesiser or a guitar. Like many other Bengali singers, Suman has also recorded albums of Rabindra Sangeet (Songs of Rabindranath Tagore), starting in the late-1990s.

Suman's primary training was in Indian classical music and Rabindra Sangeet, and he picked up Western folk forms while living abroad in Germany and the United States. He finished his second contract with German International Radio in 1989, and returned to Kolkata. In Kolkata,he was first associated with a band called Nagorik, and released two albums Onyo kotha onyo gaan 1 and Onyo kotha onyo gaan 2. He released his first solo album, Tomake Chai, on April 23, 1992, which was immensely successful. Since then he has released over twenties albums, his most recent one being Lalmohaner Laash in 2010.