Creator of ABC TV's 'Westerners', up and coming club luminary and South Asian Arts advocate alongside her 'Kerfew' cohort. Munasib is coming in hot on all channels.
With a revered Bengali musical lineage and multidisciplinary proficiency, Munasib is no amateur in the spotlight and is quickly reimagining spaces that reflect the diversity of one of the worlds largest and fastest developing creative regions. Catch Munasib throwing down her trademark sound in Naarm for OWOS this June at Angel Music Bar
Read the interview in full below and have a listen to Munasib's superb Global Dance Series mix over on OWOS Soundcloud.
Munasib, INTERVIEW By Carlo Xavier
"Someone who used to turn the volume down on music I was listening to in the car with my family at the traffic lights now plays those same sounds in clubs across the country and gets to see people dancing to them!”
You are coming down to Naarm/Melbourne to perform with OWOS in June, though music isn’t your only vocation. For those who don’t know Munasib, could you give a rundown on how the last few years have shaped your current trajectory from the performing arts scene and into the club?
Firstly thanks so much for having me, OWOS feels so perfectly aligned with my sound and interests so I’m excited to be coming down. Honestly it’s been a journey and a lot of it has to do with the people you meet along the way. I did the classic go-to-uni-study-something-you-hate pathway, but on the side I began to explore the things that I truly felt aligned with my spirit and what I felt I was actually good at, which was photography and creative direction. Music was there with me always, my first true best friend. The more I started to do what aligned with me, the more I started to feel like myself which gave me the confidence to lean and tap into what was always there but I never felt empowered to pursue. I was always told that a career in the arts was a side job or a hobby but surrounding myself with the right people really showed me otherwise and helped me carve out a path that I'm proud of. I like to dabble in lots of different things, each one tapping into a different facet of myself. Exploring those, whether it be through sound, art or film has been a blessing. Someone who used to turn the volume down on music I was listening to in the car with my family at the traffic lights now plays those same sounds in clubs across the country and gets to see people dancing to them!
The Arts have many faces, though music really holds the sensitivity to come up behind you and whisper in your ear what you needed to hear. What is one of your most treasured musical memories growing up?
Both of my parents are classical bangladeshi musicians, we would travel back every second year during the school holidays and spend the entire 6 weeks there. I got to see my dad recording albums, performing on BTV (Bangladesh's first television channel) and ‘jamming’ with his other artist friends on these trips. Falling asleep in my mum's lap whilst everyone was singing Bengali music in a beautifully decorated room together and waking up to them still going through the night has to be one of my most treasured memories. The comfort I feel listening to those songs now is like none other.
How do you see the importance of collectives such as Kerfew and its ideals of pluralism in creating multilayered dance culture all whilst preserving your own identity?
“It's so interesting because when I go to Bangladesh, I see people on the streets having conversations and asking each other ‘wheres your desh (aka country)’ and what they’re referring to is where’s your desh within Bangladesh”
KERFEW is interesting because it greatly reflects the diversity of the regions it represents. South Asia is huge, the cultures are so different across it but people who aren't south asian probably know very little about this. It's so interesting because when I go to Bangladesh, I see people on the streets having conversations and asking each other ‘wheres your desh (aka country)’ and what they’re referring to is where’s your desh within Bangladesh (little bit of trivia since you just learnt what desh means, the name of our country literally translates to country of Bangla). This just shows you how many different cultures and communities there are within just the one tiny country, now expand that out to the whole region, it's full of vibrance and tradition, each one unique to its territory. Even the music is different across the region, so although we do share a lot of values and sounds in common, there is a uniqueness to each of them that deserves to be celebrated. I think this extends across to our members also, we all have very distinct tastes and styles and influences. Although the umbrella is the same, celebrating the differences among us makes it all very interesting.
Seeking inspiration and guidance from our ancestors and the cultures left behind is hereditary, especially when living outside the homelands of our parents. On the other hand, have you ever thought of the impact and inspiration you reflect back? Does this drive or project your artistic process in any way?
This is something I've been thinking about more as of late, I'm thinking about moving back and sharing my knowledge with my community in Bangladesh. Although they are my biggest source of inspiration, it's become apparent in the past few years how we can work together to build something even better and bigger, working in a model of exchange seems to be the move. I have a certain set of unique experiences being born and raised here that is intriguing to them and vice versa, having this mutual respect I think is what drives the interest in us both to create something that is fresh and new and forces us to innovate constantly.
Besides blessing Naarm/Melbourne club enthusiasts in June. Are there any future music related Munasib directed projects you would like to talk about?
Watch Westerners on ABC youtube and come to Spice Trail if you’re in Sydney! Have a few other things in the pipeline i can't speak about yet but follow me on socials to keep in the loop :D
Instagram: @munasib____
Global Dance Mix 03: Munasib
