State of Bengal

Saifullah "Sam" Zaman (17 April 1965 – 19 May 2015), known by the stage name State of Bengal, was a British DJ and music producer of Bangladeshi descent associated with the UK and Asian Underground movement.

State of Bengal
Birth nameSaifullah Zaman
Also known asSam Zaman
Born(1965-04-17)17 April 1965
East Pakistan
OriginLondon, England
Died19 May 2015(2015-05-19) (aged 50)
United Kingdom
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • DJ
  • music producer
  • musician
  • teacher
  • composer
Instrument(s)
Years active1987–2015
Labels

Early life

Zaman was born on 17 April 1965 in then East Pakistan.[1] He lived in Ankara, Amman, and Dhaka before moving to London, England at the age of eight. His parents are of Bangladeshi origin, from the district of Noahkhali. His father is a homeopathic doctor.[2]

Career

In 1987, Zaman set up the State of Bengal group in London after a visit to Noakhali, Bangladesh, where he interacted with traditional folk musicians and dancers. Original members of the group included his youngest brother Deeder Zaman (who later became vocalist of Asian Dub Foundation). Outside of the State of Bengal project, Zaman also worked with British Asian youth groups, setting up music training workshops. After working in a variety of communities from across the country. Sam founded and set up Betelnut Records.[3]

Formerly a teacher, Zaman worked at youth centres.[4] State of Bengal was a DJ at the Anokha club in London's East End during the mid-1990s. His tracks "Flight IC408" and "Chittagong Chill" – written and produced with Matt Mars – were featured on Anokha – Soundz of the Asian Underground compilation, and helped him gain prominence. Singer Björk discovered his work at Anokha, he opened for her on the Homeogenic world tour, and remixed her track "Hunter", also signing to the One Little Indian record label. State of Bengal took up residency at the 333, in Hoxton on the Off Centre club nights,[5] he continued with his DJ and did extensive remix work.

He produced his debut album, Visual Audio in 1998 which also featured Suzana Ansar and followed that up with Walking On, a collaboration with Ananda Shankar in 1999. His next album was also a collaboration, Tana Tani with Paban Das Baul, in 2004 and then in 2007 he released Skip-ji on his own record label.

Alongside his DJ and music work, Zaman continued to teach and deliver music workshops.

Personal life and death

Zaman was the eldest of 5 siblings, with two younger sisters and two brothers. His family called him Arun, which means sun rising.

On 19 May 2015 Zaman died in hospital.

On 15 June 2017, the British Plaque Trust honoured Zaman by unveiling a Blue Plaque outside his home and studio in East London, where all his albums were created.[6]

Discography

Singles

Year Single Album
1997 Elephant Ride Visual Audio
1997 Flight IC408
1998 Rama Communication Visual Audio

Albums

Title Album details
Visual Audio First released 1998

One Little Indian

Walking On, The Ananda Shankar Experience & State of Bengal 1999

Real World Records

Tana Tani, State of Bengal Vs Paban Das Baul 2004

Real World Records

Skip-IJ 2007

Betelnut Records

Compilations

Year Artist(s) Title Label
1996 Various artists Anokha - Soundz of the Asian Underground Omni/Island Records
2004 Paban Das Baul Tana Tani Real World

Remixes and other work

Year Artist(s) Title Album/Single Label
1997 Björk "Hunter" remix "Hunter" (single) One Little Indian Records
1998 Massive Attack Inertia Creeps Mezzanine – The Remixes (album) Virgin Records
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan "Shadow" Star Rise: Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahn and Michael Brook Remixed Realworld Records
Ronnie Jordon New Delhi Island Unreleased
1999 Amar "Day By Day", "If You Say That You Love Me", "Sometimes It Snows in April" Unreleased Warner Bros. Records
Euphoria "Delirium" Delhi Rias Mix Delirium Remixes (single) Six Degrees Records
Cheb i Sabbah "Shri Durga" Tantra Lounge (album)
2000 Jolly Mukherjee "Madhuvanthi", "Jhinjoti", "Sarang" Fusebox (album) Palm Pictures
Mindless Self Indulgence "Bitches" remix "Bitches/Molly" (single) Elektra Records
Solar Twins "Rock the Casbah" remix "Rock the Casbah" (single) Maverick Records
2001 Khaled "Mal Habibti" Barclay Records
Amar and Khaled "El harba wine"

See also

References

  1. British Academy. Oxford dictionary of national biography (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. OCLC 56568095.
  2. K, Sanj (20 May 2015). "Sam Zaman: Musician who emerged from London's Asian Underground to work with Bjork and Massive Attack". The Independent. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  3. K, Sanj (20 May 2015). "Sam Zaman / State of Bengal dies (1965-2015)". Nada Brahma. Archived from the original on 22 May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  4. Pemmaraju, Gautam (23 May 2015). "Sam Zaman, pioneer of the Asian Underground, influenced everything from US rap to Bollywood beats". Scroll.in. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  5. "CD Review". FFWD Weekly. 17 June 1999. Retrieved 7 March 2006.
  6. Ullah, Ansar Ahmed (27 December 2016). "British Asians 'struggle for top jobs despite better school results'". The Daily Star. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
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