Teerath & Taraga – ‘Panchil Topke | পাঁচিল টপকে’ [Album Review]

According to an excerpt on the Bandcamp page, “Panchil Topke was a collaborative venture by Teerath and Taraga, where they composed they composed and rearranged the tracks ‘Pancher Namta’ and ‘Jonaki.’ For five weeks they exchanged the tracks with each other for a series of reinterpretations. Each composer started by creating an original piece that was later taken apart and recreated by the other within a week. They exchanged the resulting tracks and carried out their creative processes each week. Thus, over the course of five weeks, the two composers created ten compositions in total.”

Music is an extremely emotive art form. And, although the year 2020 has been a year that will be remembered for all the wrong reasons, the music we are getting during these tough times is accepted by the listeners in a great way. Enter Panchil Topke; the concept of this album is quite different from the usual split albums we see. Since the tracks are reconstructed by each other, continuity in the composition of the songs is maintained throughout. We get samplings and other ambiance mixed with electronics, a classical guitar, and piano. The tracks include the artists’ avant-garde trademarks. Panchil Topke is mostly an all-acoustic instrumental affair with 10 lengthy tracks.

The opening track of this nebulous album, “Jonaki 1,” is an original score, recorded by Dhaka’s very own guitar and electronic music stalwart, Taraga. The song’s dark and melancholic sound is then carried out by piano virtuoso, Teerath, with the track “Jonaki 2.” The exchange of ideas and reconstructions for this song goes on until it reaches the finale, “Jonaki 5.”

The Jonaki series swallows up half of the album and runs the gamut of a deep tranquil build-up that peak and trough and ultimately cede into more a more technical track, “Pancher Namta 1,” by Teerath. This track is much heavier, upbeat, and packs more punch in comparison with the earlier ones. The mix and mingle creating a collage effect of different and seemingly unrelated styles and ideas on synthesizers and virtuosic guitar playing is the best part of the Pancher Namta series. 

This album is one of Taraga & Teerath’s more wide-ranging releases and it is simultaneously accessible and plain weird for most of the wild ride. “Pancher Namta 3” is probably my favourite track of the album as it traverses through a heavy metal meets electronic workout with a touch of melancholy in the mix. If you’re a fan of ambient electronic music, you should already be checking this out!

Panchil Topke Track Listing:

1. Taraga – Jonaki 1 | জোনাকি ১ 03:12
2. Pancher Namta 2 | পাঁচের নামতা ২ 03:13
3. Jonaki 3 | জোনাকি ৩ 03:21
4. Pancher Namta 4 | পাঁচের নামতা ৪ 03:25
5. Jonaki 5 | জোনাকি ৫ 02:46

Run Time: 32:44
Release Date: September 25, 2020
Record Label: Self-Release