Insomnia (rock band)
Encyclopedia
Insomnia is a rock band
based in Kolkata
, West Bengal
. The band's repertoire includes both English and Bangla songs. The band has an album each in English (Cry of the Spirit - self released) and Bangla
(Proloyer Shomoye - Asha Audio). Insomnia is a rock band
from Eastern India with bilingual
repertoire. Insomnia are also quite adept at executing live music for theatre, being part of the act itself, in plays such as Peacewards (directed by Jayant Kripalani
, produced by Red Curtain Productions, based on monologues written by Manjula Padmanabhan
), a 3rd theatre version of Rokto Korobi (written by Rabindranath Tagore
, conceptualised by Badal Sarkar
, directed by Parnab Mukherjee, starring Sudipta Chakraborty) and numerous other plays. "Opekkha" from their Bangla album Proloyer Shomoye was part of the original soundtrack of the first Bangla sex comedy movie Aamra
(produced by Venkatesh fims, directed by Mainak Bhaumik, cast - Parambrata Chatterjee
, Jishu Sengupta
, Rudranil Ghosh
, Nilanjana
, Ananya Chatterjee
, Kaushik Ghosh, Rajatava Datta, Momo).
Insomnia plays every week at Someplace Else
, The Park Friday midnights. The band has a following at the emerging Princeton Club Kolkata Princeton Club, as well.
Insomnia recorded their debut album titled Cry of the Spirit at Studio Vibrations, Kolkata between September and October 2003. As the name suggests, the album is about a human being's loneliness of the soul. Musically,the album is loosely based on experimental Classic Rock, amalgamated with Post-modern synthesizers. Mixed at Studio Vibrations and produced by brand developer Sumit Roy, the album was released in September 2004 at Someplace Else,The Park and is on private circulation.
, Sidhu
and Santhanam Srinivasan Iyer
are rumoured to be associated with the album.
band. After numerous line up changes the new recruits were all from different schools: Sayantan Neogi (Ninnai) - La Martiniere for boys
, Kolkata; Prasenjit Chakrabutty (Pom) - Don Bosco Park Circus
; and Souvik Gupta (Savvy) - Nava Nalanda High School
. Therefore, unlike popular belief, Insomnia is not an SPHS band even though it started out as one.
Insomnia's first show as a professional outfit was on 7 July 2002 in Music World, Park Street
. The band has gone through many potentially crippling line-up changes. However against all odds they stuck on and the current line up has been active since the middle of 2005.
Noteworthy performances by the band:
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
based in Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
, West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
. The band's repertoire includes both English and Bangla songs. The band has an album each in English (Cry of the Spirit - self released) and Bangla
Bangla band
A Bangla band is any musical band that performs solely or mainly in the Bengali language and which uses Western principles of music.As Western influences became more widespread, Bangla bands became popular with young people in the 1970s, both in India and Bangladesh, and have since become...
(Proloyer Shomoye - Asha Audio). Insomnia is a rock band
Indian rock
Indian rock is a genre of popular music in India that incorporates elements of Indian music and mainstream rock and is often topically India-centric. While India is known for its northern and southern classical music, the Indian rock scene has produced numerous bands and artists...
from Eastern India with bilingual
Multilingualism
Multilingualism is the act of using, or promoting the use of, multiple languages, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers. Multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. Multilingualism is becoming a social phenomenon governed by the needs of...
repertoire. Insomnia are also quite adept at executing live music for theatre, being part of the act itself, in plays such as Peacewards (directed by Jayant Kripalani
Jayant Kripalani
Jayant Kripalani is an Indian film, television and stage actor, director and trainer. Most known for TV series, like Khandaan, Mr. Ya Mrs and and Ji Mantriji . He also wrote the screenplay for Shyam Benegal's film, Well Done Abba...
, produced by Red Curtain Productions, based on monologues written by Manjula Padmanabhan
Manjula Padmanabhan
Manjula Padmanabhan is a playwright, journalist, comic strip artist, and children's book author responsible for the play Harvest. She has also written such plays as Lights Out! ,Hidden Fires The Artist's Model and Sextet .Born in Delhi to a diplomat family in 1953, she went to boarding school in...
), a 3rd theatre version of Rokto Korobi (written by Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
, conceptualised by Badal Sarkar
Badal Sarkar
Badal Sarkar , also known as Badal Sircar, was an influential Indian dramatist and theatre director, most known for his anti-establishment plays during the Naxalite movement in the 1970s and taking theatre out of the proscenium and into public arena, when he founded his own theatre company,...
, directed by Parnab Mukherjee, starring Sudipta Chakraborty) and numerous other plays. "Opekkha" from their Bangla album Proloyer Shomoye was part of the original soundtrack of the first Bangla sex comedy movie Aamra
Aamra
Aamra is a Bengali Movie was released in 2006. Directed by Mainak Bhaumik, the movie featured Parambrata Chatterjee, Nilanjana Sharma, Jishu Sengupta.-Plot:...
(produced by Venkatesh fims, directed by Mainak Bhaumik, cast - Parambrata Chatterjee
Parambrata Chatterjee
Parambrata Chatterjee is a Bengali Indian male actor and director of television and films.-Career:His directorial debut feature film is [Jiyo Kaka] starred by Rituparna Sengupta and Rudranil Ghosh....
, Jishu Sengupta
Jishu Sengupta
Jishu Sengupta , popularly known as Jisshu, is a popular Bengali film actor. Though, his real name is Biswaroop Sengupta, he is more famous as Jishu, his pet name. He is the son of Ujjwal Sengupta, also an actor of Bengali films. His mother, Mukta Sengupta, was a homemaker and a wedding planner...
, Rudranil Ghosh
Rudranil Ghosh
Rudranil Ghosh is an Indian Bengali actor of TV and films.-Awards:* 2007: BFJA - Best Supporting Actor Award for both Kantatar and Refugee* 2011: Zee Bangla'r Gourab - Best Actor in a Negative Role for Byomkesh Bakshi-Filmography:...
, Nilanjana
Nilanjana Sharma
Nilanjana Sharma is an actress. She is the daughter of Anjana Bhowmik. Her younger sister Chandana Sharma is also an actress. She also played a pivotal role in the show Hip Hip Hooray Nilanjana's debut movie was director Subrata Sen's Swapner Feriwala. She is a graduate of English literature. She...
, Ananya Chatterjee
Ananya Chatterjee
Ananya Chatterjee is a Bengali film actress known for her National Award-winning role in Abahoman. She started her career as a TV actress. She acted in several TV serials and films, including three directed by Anjan Dutt...
, Kaushik Ghosh, Rajatava Datta, Momo).
Insomnia plays every week at Someplace Else
Someplace Else (Kolkata)
Someplace Else , [abbreviated as SPE] is a pub at the Park Street, Kolkata. The pub offers various kinds of drinks and food for its customers. Ever since it opened on 19 August 1994, Someplace Else, the British style pub at The Park Kolkata has dominated pub culture in the city...
, The Park Friday midnights. The band has a following at the emerging Princeton Club Kolkata Princeton Club, as well.
Discography
| Year of release | Title | Label | Language |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Cry of the Spirit | Independent Label | English |
| 2006 | Proloyer Shomoye | Asha Audio | Bengali |
| 2008 | Parallel Universe (The Underground - Kolkata) | HMV saregama | English |
| 2012 | Untitled | Asha Audio | Bengali |
Cry of the Spirit
Cry of the Spirit was the debut album of Insomnia. The album showed the original sound of Insomnia which shifted heavily later on after moving to Bengali language abandoning English.Insomnia recorded their debut album titled Cry of the Spirit at Studio Vibrations, Kolkata between September and October 2003. As the name suggests, the album is about a human being's loneliness of the soul. Musically,the album is loosely based on experimental Classic Rock, amalgamated with Post-modern synthesizers. Mixed at Studio Vibrations and produced by brand developer Sumit Roy, the album was released in September 2004 at Someplace Else,The Park and is on private circulation.
Proloyer Shomoye
Proloyer Shomoye is the second full-length studio album by, Insomnia, and their first Bangla album. It was recorded at Dream Digital Inc., Kolkata between May and August 2006. Proloyer Shomoye is a reflected contemporary times that we live in, the times of turbulence. With this album, Insomnia radically changed their sonic direction to New Age Alternative. Mixed at Dream Digital Inc. and mastered at Edensound Mastering, Melbourne, the album was launched in September 2006 at Octane, Gariahat Mall under the banner of Asha Audio.2012 album release
The band is currently working on original material at keyboardist savvy's studio dB junction, which sources say could well be a double album. In an interview with Calcutta Times, vocalist ninnai had mentioned more topical content and a more honest experimental sound. Anupam RoyAnupam Roy
Anupam Roy is an Indian, Bengali lyricist, composer and singer who is best known for his song Amake amar moto thakte dao from Autograph . Anupam has written and composed more than 150 Bengali songs.-Early life:Born and brought up in Calcutta, Anupam completed his schooling from St...
, Sidhu
Cactus (Indian band)
Cactus is an Indian Bangla rock band from Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Since inception they have played on over 2500 stages.-History:Cactus was formed in 1992...
and Santhanam Srinivasan Iyer
Underground Authority
Underground Authority , [abbreviated as UA] is an alternative rock/rap rock band from Kolkata, India formed in 2010. Their music is flavoured by a blend of protest poetry, reggae, alternative rock, rap, and hard rock...
are rumoured to be associated with the album.
The Band's journey
Insomnia plugged in for the first time in 1999 as the South Point High SchoolSouth Point High School (India)
South Point School is Kolkata's first coeducational school. In 1992, South Point group of schools, consisting of the junior and senior divisions, made an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest educational institute in the world...
band. After numerous line up changes the new recruits were all from different schools: Sayantan Neogi (Ninnai) - La Martiniere for boys
La Martiniere Calcutta
La Martiniere Calcutta comprises two separate private schools in Kolkata, India. The schools were established in accordance with the will of Major General Claude Martin in 1836. They are day schools although they both have a small number of boarders...
, Kolkata; Prasenjit Chakrabutty (Pom) - Don Bosco Park Circus
Don Bosco School, Park Circus
Don Bosco School, Park Circus, located at 23, Darga Road, Kolkata, India, is an all-boys English medium school imparting education from first through twelfth grade. Established in 1958, it is run by the Salesians of Don Bosco, which is a minority institution within the Catholic Church...
; and Souvik Gupta (Savvy) - Nava Nalanda High School
Nava Nalanda High School
Nava Nalanda is a co-educational institution in South Kolkata, India, affiliated to the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education for Madhyamik Pariksha , and to the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education for Uchcho Madhyamik Pariksha...
. Therefore, unlike popular belief, Insomnia is not an SPHS band even though it started out as one.
Insomnia's first show as a professional outfit was on 7 July 2002 in Music World, Park Street
Park Street, Kolkata
Mother Teresa Sarani, formerly Park Street and still often called by that name, and originally Burial Ground Road, is a street in the city of Kolkata , India. The street runs through what was a deer park of Sir Elijah Impey, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in Calcutta from 1773 to 1789, hence...
. The band has gone through many potentially crippling line-up changes. However against all odds they stuck on and the current line up has been active since the middle of 2005.
Noteworthy performances by the band:
- Insomnia were Eastern Zonal Winners and All – India 2nd Runners up at Castrol Garage Rock, 2003 held in MumbaiMumbaiMumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
- Insomnia were Finalists at the All – India Rock band competition at SpringfestSpring FestSpring Fest, popularly known as SF, is the annual social & cultural festival of Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur held during the month of January in the spring semester...
2003, IIT Kharagpur - Insomnia have rocked crowds in schools and colleges on the following occasions:
- R G Kar Medical College, Freshers’ welcome, 2003
- South Point High School, Melting Point, 2004
- Pailan Institute of Management, Freshers’ welcome, 2004
- Calcutta Medical College, Annual Fest, 2004
- Jadavpur UniversityJadavpur UniversityJadavpur University , is a premier educational and research institution in India.It is located in Kolkata, West Bengal and comprises two campuses - the main campus at Jadavpur and the new campus at Salt Lake...
, Electrical Engineering, Freshers’ welcome, 2004 - Jadavpur University, Civil Engineering, Freshers’ welcome, 2004
- District Interact Council, Annual Fest, 2004
- St. Xavier's College KolkataSt. Xavier's College, CalcuttaSt. Xavier's College is located in Kolkata, India, and is named after St. Francis Xavier, a Jesuit saint of the 16th century, who travelled to India. It is an autonomous college affiliated to the University of Calcutta. It gained autonomy in July 2006, thus becoming the first autonomous college of...
, Xavotsav 2004 - District Rotaract CouncilRotaractRotaract originally began as a Rotary International youth programme in 1968 and has now grown into a major Rotary-sponsored organisation of over 8,700 clubs spread around the world and 200,000 + members. It is a service, leadership and community service organisation for young men and women between...
, Annual Fest, 2005 - Dr. B. C. Roy Engineering College, Durgapur, Annual Fest, 2005
- Meghnath Saha Institute Of TechnologyMeghnad Saha Institute of TechnologyMeghnad Saha Institute of Technology , is an engineering and management college located in West Bengal, India. It was established on 5th September 2001 MSIT is one of the 7 colleges under the Techno India Group....
2005 - Jadavpur University, Arts Faculty, Sanskriti 2006
- St. Xavier's College Kolkata, Xavotsav 2007
- Institute of Technology & Marine Engineering, Impulse 2007
- Gupta College of Technology & Science, Asansol, Panacea 2007
- JIS College of Engineering, Kalyani, Annual Fest 2007
- Jadavpur University, Arts Faculty, Sanskriti 2007
- Gyan Ghosh Memmorial College, Annual Fest 2007
- Heritage Institute of TechnologyHeritage Institute of Technology, KolkataHeritage Institute of Technology, popularly known as HITK is a renowned private engineering college as well as a top management college, located in Anandapur, Kolkata near the East Kolkata Township, in West Bengal, India.. It is affiliated to West Bengal University of Technology, Kolkata...
, Eclecia 2007 - Calcutta Medical College, Annual Fest 2007
- Bankura Sammilani Medical College, Synapse 2007
- St. Stephen's School, Dum Dum, Reunion 2007
- Kalyani Govt. College of Engineering, Annual Fest 2007
- Bethune CollegeBethune CollegeBethune College is a women's college in India. It was founded as a school in 1849 by John Elliot Drinkwater Bethune and in 1879 developed as the first women's college in India. It is located at 181, Bidhan Sarani, Kolkata -700006, just opposite the current campus of Scottish Church College,...
, Annual Fest 2007 - South Point Reunion 2008
- West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS), Outlawed 2008
- Techno India Hooghly, Chinsura, Verbena 2008
- Sikkim Manipal UniversitySikkim Manipal UniversitySikkim Manipal University is a public-private partnership between the Government of Sikkim and Manipal Education in India. It was established in 1995 and is recognised by the University Grants Commission as a State Private University...
, Ballygunge Phari, Kolkata, Live Wire 2008 - Dinabandhu Andrews Institute of Technology & Management, Razzmatazz 2008
- St. Thomas' College of Engineering and Technology, Atria 2008
- Government College of Engineering & Ceramic Technology, Jagriti 2008
- Carmel Convent School, Jamshedpur, 10th Anniversary Celebrations, 2008
- Ramakrishna Mission Shilpapeeth Belghoria, Boreas 2008
- Saroj Mohan Institute of Technology, GuptiparaGuptiparaGuptipara is a rural town under Balagarh police station in Chinsurah subdivision of Hooghly District in West Bengal, India.Guptipara is under the Pandooah Telephone District Area and the STD Code is 03213.-Geography:Guptipara is located at...
, Annual Fest 2008 - Calcutta Boys School, Annual Fest 2008
- Carmel High School, Kolkata, Annual Fest 2008
- Pailan Institute of Engineering, Annual Fest 2008
- Shri Shikshayatan College, Srijan 2008
- South Point High School, Annual Fest 2008
- Army Institute of Management, KolkataArmy Institute of Management, KolkataThe Army Institute of Management The Army Institute of Management The Army Institute of Management (formerly National Institute of Management Calcutta (NIMC) is a graduate business school located in Kolkata, India...
, Inferno 2009(Annual Fest) - Techno India Hooghly, Chinsura, Verbena 2009
- Hooghly Engineering and Technology CollegeHooghly Engineering and Technology CollegeHooghly Engineering and Technology College, commonly referred to as HETC, is a leading engineering college affiliated with West Bengal University of Technology in Hooghly District, West Bengal, India.-Academics:...
,Festinobeats 2010
- Insomnia organised the concert, Reach Out and played in it along with the leading English bands of Calcutta. The concert also featured Usha UthupUsha UthupUsha Uthup is a popular Indian pop, jazz and playback singer. She is well known for popular hits in the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.She started her Bollywood playback career, when she sang an English verse in hit song, "Dum maro dum"" in Hare Rama Hare Krishna, and went on work with music...
, Amyt Datta and Nandan Bagchi and raised funds for the children of Reach. - In 2003, Insomnia featured in Peacewards, a Red Curtain productions play based on monologues by Manjula Padmanabhan. The play was directed by Jayant Kripalani and saw the band live on stage doing a musical narration
- In 2003 again, Insomnia soundscaped a third theatre version of Rabindranath Tagore's play, Rakta Karabi, which was directed by Parnab Mukherjee and featured actress Sudipta Chakraborty. In 2004, under the same director, Insomnia soundscaped third theatre versions of Shakespeare's Measure for MeasureMeasure for MeasureMeasure for Measure is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604. It was classified as comedy, but its mood defies those expectations. As a result and for a variety of reasons, some critics have labelled it as one of Shakespeare's problem plays...
and King LearKing LearKing Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological... - In November 2004, Insomnia became the first band in the city to have an unplugged concert in the bag. It was held at Caffeine, Elgin Road
- In April 2005, Insomnia performed along with Fossils, Aasma and Neha BhasinViva (band)Viva or Viva! is an Indian pop girl group that formed in 2002, and have disbanded since...
in aid of the TsunamiTsunamiA tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
victims in the ‘One World’ concert held at La Martiniere for boys grounds - In November 2005, Insomnia went to Thimpu, BhutanBhutanBhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
and performed at the country's premier night club, Space 34 - In January 2006, Insomnia launched themselves in the Bangla Rock circuit at ‘Republic Rock’ along with acts from Bangladesh such as Warfaze, ArtcellArtcellArtcell is a Bangladeshi progressive rock band formed in October 1999. According to The Daily Star, a leading English national daily, Artcell is "one of the leading rock bands of the country".-Formation:...
, Metalmaze, ArboVirus and acts from West Bengal such as Lakkhichara, Cactus and FossilsFossils (band)Fossils is a Bangla Rock band formed in Kolkata, West Bengal, India in 1998.The group is considered one of the pioneering rock acts in Kolkata's Bangla music scene.... - In December 2007, Insomnia put up a concert as part of the centenary celebration of TATA steelTata SteelTata Steel is a multinational steel company headquartered in Jamshedpur, India and part of Tata Group. It is the world's seventh-largest steel company, with an annual crude steel capacity of 31 million tonnes, and the largest private-sector steel company in India measured by domestic production...
in Jamshedpur in the coveted XLRIXLRIThe XLRI School of Business and Human Resources, Jamshedpur is a graduate business school in Jamshedpur, India. Established in 1949, XLRI is arguably the oldest business school in India and is regarded as consistently among the top 5 business schools of the country...
auditorium. - In January 2008, Insomnia was part of the historic Mohiner Ghoraguli tribute concert (organized by Ranjon GhoshalRanjon GhoshalRanjon Ghoshal is a founder member of the Bangla band 'Moheener Ghoraguli', and runs an advertising agency, "Mareech Advertising" in Banglore, apart from "Forum Tree", a theatre group....
), 'Abar Bochhor Tirish Pore', which had a complete Philharmonic Orchestra (Conducted by Abraham Mazumder) playing. The Concert was held at the big lawn, Nicco ParkNicco parkNicco park is an amusement park in Salt Lake City, Kolkata.This park has a variety of fascinating and interesting rides including Asia's largest wooden roller coaster. Other notable rides include Kolkata's longest cable car ride and India's first "4D" movie experience...
and had a turnout of about 30,000 people. - In January 2009, Insomnia raised funds for leukemia patient, 3 year old Aarav Seal along with Cactus and Bickram Ghosh. The concert was an initiative by Red FM, Power FM and Aamar FM.
See also
- Bangla RockBangla rockBangla rock is a music genre in which the song is written in Bengali language. It was originated in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The first known Bangla rock band was Moheener Ghoraguli and also India's first rock band...
- Mohiner Ghoraguli
- Cactus (Indian band)Cactus (Indian band)Cactus is an Indian Bangla rock band from Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Since inception they have played on over 2500 stages.-History:Cactus was formed in 1992...
- Lakkhichhara
- Bhoomi (band)Bhoomi (band)Bhoomi is a music group based in Kolkata, India. They are a Bangla language band. In July 2006 they became the first Indian band to play at the United Nations.-Beginnings:...
- ChandrabindooChandrabindoo (band)Chandrabindoo , based in Kolkata, is a bangla band. Their name refers both to the last character in the Bengali alphabet and to a dialogue from the nonsense work HaJaBaRaLa by Sukumar Ray....
- FossilsFossils (band)Fossils is a Bangla Rock band formed in Kolkata, West Bengal, India in 1998.The group is considered one of the pioneering rock acts in Kolkata's Bangla music scene....
- Cassini's DivisionCassini's DivisionCassini's Division are an alternative rock band from Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Formed in 2001, they are named after the Cassini Division, the largest gap in the Rings of Saturn.- Testing Times and Change :...
- Underground AuthorityUnderground AuthorityUnderground Authority , [abbreviated as UA] is an alternative rock/rap rock band from Kolkata, India formed in 2010. Their music is flavoured by a blend of protest poetry, reggae, alternative rock, rap, and hard rock...