Mymensingh’s independent music scene has brought six bands together on a single record, combining original songs with a tribute to some of Bangladesh’s most influential rock acts.
Titled Mymensingh 2200 – Band Mixed Album 2026, the project was released on 28 August by Mymensingh-based independent label FakeStudio, following nearly a year of work and two changes to its planned release date. The album features Scar, Demon Wolks, Rushtracker, Bad Neighbours, Excalibur and Music Knights, giving each band space to present its own sound while also placing them within a broader musical project centred on the city.
The album begins with six original tracks, one from each participating band. Scar contributes Obolohito, Rushtracker presents Otripto Chitkar, while Bad Neighbours features Mukhosh. Demon Wolks appears with Pagol, Excalibur contributes Shekol Bondi, and Music Knights completes the opening section with Rajar Khela.
Rather than ending with the bands’ original material, the album shifts direction in its second half. The latter section is built as a collective tribute to several influential names in Bangladesh’s rock music history, including LRB, Artcell, Aurthohin, Miles, Cryptic Fate, Bay of Bengal and Nagar Baul James. Many of the reworked songs were handled by musicians from Mymensingh’s own music community, giving the tribute a distinctly local character.
The album’s release was marked by an event at Metro Beans, where four of the participating bands performed live. The programme also included guest performances and surprise appearances, creating a relatively intimate setting in which musicians and listeners could come together before the record formally reached its audience.
At the centre of the project is Ariyan, an audio engineer who has worked behind the soundboard for Bagdhara, Owned and Level Five. He is also the guitarist of Roman Sacrifice, a band with recognition both within Mymensingh and beyond the city’s music community.
The idea for the album emerged from a question about how the city’s music scene could be presented as a collective rather than as a collection of individual bands. Ariyan began considering what might happen if the different groups in Mymensingh came together to create one record representing the wider scene.
There had been no previous project of this scale bringing the city’s bands together in such a format, according to the account behind the album. Ariyan therefore approached bands individually, with much of the initial effort focused on musicians and acts close to his own local music network. Gradually, six bands committed to the project and began working towards the same goal.
The production process was handled largely through FakeStudio, where the tracks were mixed and mastered. Much of the work continued late at night, after the musicians and production team had completed their other commitments during the day. The release schedule was pushed back twice, but the delays did not bring the project to a halt.
Tashfeeq Ankur later joined the tribute section as co-producer. His contribution included helping shape the concept of the tribute segment, as well as working on vocal direction and drum programming.
The project also draws on a familiar part of Bangladesh’s music-listening culture. For many listeners, compilation albums such as Rock 303 and Rock 404 were an early experience of hearing different bands and artists brought together on the same release. The idea behind Mymensingh 2200 takes that concept and gives it a city-wide identity.
The collaborative nature of the production extended beyond the six featured bands. During recording and other sessions, people who happened to be available often stayed to lend a hand. Their roles varied from performing and singing to mixing, filming or simply remaining present during long nights of studio work.
That collective involvement ultimately became one of the defining features of the project. Mymensingh 2200 is not simply a compilation of songs by six bands. It represents an attempt to document and connect a local music community through a shared release, while also recognising the artists and bands that helped shape Bangladesh’s wider rock culture.
After nearly a year of preparation, repeated late-night sessions and two postponed release dates, the album finally arrived on 28 August. For Mymensingh’s musicians, the significance of the project lies not only in the songs themselves, but in the decision to bring separate musical identities together and present them as part of one city’s evolving sound.
