Tashfee stumbled into the musical path sans the guidance of a teacher; thus she chimed into the tunes of countless genres for the sheer love of singing. Eventually it led her to covering popular songs on YouTube. The singer quotes her musical career as something that happened ‘suddenly.’ “I used to sing songs by Beyonce’ because those to me were very challenging. It’s difficult to stay true to the originality of the songs, but when you sing from the soul, everything falls into place,” says Tashfee, passionately.
Photograph by Kazi Mukul
While she dabbles in various genres, her enthusiasm in soul music played an integral role in her love for singing. Although she owes a huge part of her artistry to musicians like Ronnie James Dio, Jeff Buckley and Al Jarreau, Tashfee also swayed to the melodies of artistes like Jill Scott and Naomi ‘Nai Palm’ Saanfield.
As the saying goes ‘do what you love and love what you do,’ and Tashfee does right by it. From YouTube sensation to the vocalist of the jazz and blues band, The Blues Brothers for three years, she reckons how fruitful her experiences have been. “The only reason I’m here is because I enjoy singing. Even when I have to work for theme songs or jingles, it feels great because I get a lot of freedom in doing them. When I do things in my own way, people always appreciate it and that’s what I love about this industry,” she smiles.
Tashfee’s powerful voice is indeed ‘on a roll;’ and in no time, it found itself among GaanBangla’s musical ensemble, ‘Wind of Change.’ Her first entry into mainstream music was by singing the songs Nouka Kine Debo and Pagla Ghora for the show. “To perform with not just eminent Bangladeshi artistes like Pantha Kanai and Quddus Boyati but also being in the same platform as international bassist Mohini Dey and violinist Anna Rakita was very overwhelming for me,” expresses Tashfee. She also deems Kanai to be one of her inspirations from the Bangladeshi platform by saying “He’s a great drummer and a brilliant singer and songwriter.”
Upon witnessing the music scene in recent years, Tashfee not only admires the level of appreciation people have for Bangladeshi music but also feels a great sense of pride in being part of this industry which churns out something new every day.
“We have a huge fan base for good music and as a result the Jazz&Blues Festival was initiated in 2015. I had the privilege of performing for the concert and that for me was one of the best performances of my life,” she said cheerily. Moreover, Tashfee’s rush for music is satiated knowing that there are people who are open to new things which makes her very happy and hopeful for this industry. As a final note, the singer signs off by saying “I look forward to adding soul to anything I do.”