Choturthangsho: Artcell’s sound keeps evolving

When Artcell decided to come back in full tilt a few years ago, with the likes of Iqbal Asif Jewel and Kazi Faisal Ahmed joining hands permanently with pre-existing founding members, fans only hoped for times when the legendary band would be back to producing new music regularly. In recent years, they have released 'Otritiyo'— their third studio album in 2023, and while they have already released two tracks of an upcoming EP in the first couple of weeks of October, November is expected to see the remaining two releases from their upcoming EP titled 'Choturthangsho'.

Artcell is not just keeping busy within the confines of the studio, as currently they are touring Australia with their first show scheduled for 25 October in Melbourne. It was just before boarding their flight to Down-Under when we caught a hold of Artcell's Kazi Asheqeen Shaju and he was cordial enough to spare a few minutes—updating us about Artcell's ongoing plans and projects.

"Even though the four tracks could very well have been four separate singles, we thought the four together can be used as a single package for Choturthangsho. Since the songs are a reflection of our feelings, emotions and state of mind over the past year or so, we thought they could exist as a collective EP, " said Shaju to TBS when asked why they opted for an EP rather than four separate singles.

Shaju further said that they expect to release the final two tracks of the EP by the end of November, after returning home from their tour Down Under. On top of that, he informed that a documentary on the band and encompassing their recent journeys on the road is also in the works, which they plan to release in December.

Shaju also discussed the musical side of things when it comes to Chotuthangsho. The two released songs—O Akash and Ekta Notun Gaan, both went against the grain of ongoing global musical trends of song durations getting shorter by the day, as both songs were just a tad over seven minutes long.

"I think the songs got dragged on because one of the two has a long, continued chorus segment. It's the tempo of the songs that dictates the length," said Shaju

Both songs have an extensive clean setting about them, with the tracks gradually picking up after a few minutes in. Shaju says the next song will also have a similar setting.

"The spirit of the third song is not too dissimilar to Ekta Notun Gaan. The expression is a bit sad and soft and towards the end there's a musical progression," said the drummer.

The fourth and last song of the EP, he further informed, is an old unreleased track. It's a romantic number which was curated by the vocalist Lincoln D'Costa himself. Speaking of Lincoln, we noticed something different in his voice in a couple of segments of the released tracks and we were inquisitive regarding what that was.

"There were a couple of places where we thought an added effect would serve the vocals better. That is why we integrated some radio effects in Lincoln's voice in one or two places," explained Shaju.

Currently on their Australia tour, Artcell will be playing four shows in Tasmania, Sydney and Adelaide, with the first one being in Melbourne on 25 October. They will be returning to Bangladesh around mid-November.