Nagar Baul James left home at a young age, drawn by music. Over time, that young man became the country’s rock icon, affectionately known to fans as “Guru.” Even after all these years, James continues to command the stage with the same energy. He has been on a European music tour for nearly two months, and after performing in Portugal, England, Cyprus and Italy, he is now in Sweden.
James will perform for the Bangladeshi diaspora in Sweden on Sept. 6. At a press conference held for the occasion, he said he wants to keep singing until the last day of his life. He also shared some important messages for artists of the new generation.
James began his musical journey in the early 1980s as guitarist and vocalist for the band Feelings in Chattogram. The band’s first album, “Station Road,” was released in 1987. Since then, his musical magic has captivated several generations. When this came up at the press conference, James gave his characteristic response: “Whenever I stand on stage, I feel like it’s all the same audience as before. I never noticed the time passing, the generations changing. Now I realize I may be singing to many generations at once.”
James said he never sang in hopes of gaining anything. He sang purely out of love, from his own emotion and passion. He has the same advice for artists of the new generation — not to enter music expecting to gain something.
James said, “There’s no point making music for the sake of gaining something. You have to make music purely out of passion, out of obsession. If anyone does music hoping to gain something, I’d say — stop right now. I believe making music to gain something isn’t right. You have to make music for your own peace of mind. If something comes of it, that’s a different matter. Even if I had gained nothing today, I would still have kept making music.”
In the end, this rock star wants to live with music as his companion. James said, “I have no separate future plans regarding music. I’ll keep singing — I want to sing until the very end. Even if, in the end, I find there’s only one person in the audience, I’ll keep singing for them.”
James’s long European tour will conclude with the Sweden concert. He will then fly to Australia, where he will share the stage at a special concert in New South Wales on Sept. 12 alongside Rupam Islam of West Bengal’s Fossils band.