1996-97, it felt almost like goose pimple stuff, you know, pretty much 24/7... where you're just driven by music and nothing else, where the intensity is so much that I'd rather die than not make music.

— Sam Zaman

STATE OF BENGAL

State of Bengal (SOB) aka Sam Zaman is one of the key DJ/producers to arise from the British-Asian music scene. A multi-talented instrumentalist and programmer, one of the original members of the groundbreaking East London music and arts collective, the League of Joi Bangla Youth, and one of the core members of the Anokha crew, Sam has been developing his complex and powerful sound for almost twenty years.

In 1987, Sam went to the village of Noakhali in Bangladesh to visit traditional folk musicians and dancers. Drawing from his experiences Sam returned to London to set up a Sound System, which included DJs, musicians, rappers and dancers. The team mixed Bengali and western dance styles to create a style that epitomized the diverse facets and synergy between the two cultures in the UK. The Sound System developed its repertoire and reputation and found its identity as the State of Bengal. Two of the rappers that Sam helped to train up were MC Deedar who went on to Asian Dub Foundation and MC Mustaq who became a lead rapper for Fun-Da-Mental.

While maintaining his involvement with other artists, Sam continued to work on his concepts for State of Bengal, creating a definitive style of music that draws from a multitude of influences of both East and West. The aim of SOB has always been to reflect the experience of second generation Asians in the UK through music, as music is one of the few universal languages. He has developed a strong fan base, with both Asian and Mainstream audiences. His music is complemented with live DJ-ing at a host of globally-respected venues.

Link: http://www.stateofbengal.com