Coming from a venture to becoming an electrical engineer, Zulfikar Nuri Angel, popularly known as Angel Noor on Facebook, found his journey towards music as his passion. When it comes to the work of an aspiring musician, Angel Noor has his vision.
"It's not a piece of cake to continue music as a career in a country like Bangladesh where the market is small, especially for solo artists. People come with different music tastes all across the country, and they branch out more if we consider the global zone," Angel Noor said, pointing out the major audience who come from rural areas or belong to the working class, mainly working in the RMG industry.
"Currently rock culture is an uprising music sector in Bangladesh, along with EDM and pop music genres, which mainly satiate the taste of urban-based young generation. Then who will sing for those dwelling in the lower sector of the economy? Who will sing for this rural people? They have their right to receive entertainment, need a song that will talk to them," he added.
Noor thinks it is tricky to capture the hearts of the mass and the new generation all at a time, but music is a language that can make this possible.
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"If you see the demographics from my page, you will see that the audience listening to my music is mixed. There are people from elderly section who are commenting how much they like the classical music. There are also young people who are sharing about the nostalgia they are getting when listening to the song, sharing that they used to listen to them when they were young," he noted.
To him, it is a way to open the door for more likability towards music for all kinds of people who have heard it before and who have not. Music is only music; genre comes later, whether rock, pop, or even classical.
Noor's journey did not just start yesterday. As he entered NSU to pursue his bachelor's in EEE, he got to meet his friends - Asif Ahmed, the pianist who works with him on the covers, Adib Hasan, guitarist, and Rongon, the vocalist who he says, has a strong mental connection with which makes him feel at ease to sing along with him. When asked whether they want to form a band, Noor talked about how they do not wish to be constrained by a boundary of a single concept of a band.
"I reckon if we make a band, we won't be able to explore all kinds of music as we want. The target of most bands is to throw a rock fest, concerts and hold shows, and perform at various fests in general. The concept sticks mostly to one kind. I want to explore all sorts of music and try out the varieties."
"In addition, if you want to make a band, there's a liability to stick together, there's also a chance that you may disband. I, with my friends, have a strong bond. Our music tastes match, they can catch the cords that need to be played when I sing, considering that most people cannot always combine their thoughts and work in a smooth flow have there not been a telepathic moment."
Noor further remarked, "Even if we drift apart and choose different career paths after our graduation, our preference will always be music first, and we will continue to pursue it. We don't need to make a band; we are an unnamed band."
He also expresses his interest in travelling outside local music's boundary and entering the global zone when the opportunity strikes.
A good amount of people from his current audience are from West Bengal. They appreciate his music which inspires him to work more. He has covered Pasoori, Hindi, and Bengali songs from the '90s.
"My satisfaction works when I see that I am able to capture their market singing a song of their language and that they're loving it," Noor said delightedly.
His cover of the song 'Pasoori' in the past year received 2-3 million views quickly and was listed in Pakistan's Top 10 Fan Favorite videos.
Having received no previous institutional training in singing, however, Angel Noor is quick to sense beats and rhythms in a song quite well, like a professional artist; that is how his musicality can reach the hearts of people with his mellifluous voice.
"I used to sing all the time by myself, never really gave a thought to pursue music as a career before. When my first cover video went viral back in 2019, people started to recognise me a bit by bit, and that is when I started to attain the idea that maybe I should try this out."
A month after going viral, he was selected for Miles's 40th Anniversary concert to sing 'Neela' onstage.
"It was the first-ever concert in my life, and I never believed I could sing in front of so many people at a time like this. I was nervous at first, but the moment I got up on stage and saw the audience, and the lights focusing on me, my body started to heat up, and my mind went blank. Everyone was cheering and shouting my name. I appreciate the love I have received. I was very lucky for the opportunity," Noor said.
Noor says his way of working somewhat matches that of Tahsan, considering their music flavour. Overall, he considers Lata Mangeshkar his muse in the field of music.
"Her life and words fascinate me all the time. It's her perspective about life that allures me and it kind of matches with the one I have about life."
From the advent of gaining popularity to this date, Angel shows gratitude for the support he got from his friends and the ones who love his music.
"Coming from a conservative family with many imposed rules, it's hard to meet all the criteria, but you see, you cannot make everybody happy. But you can always work for the people and return the love for those people who love you."
When asked about his opinion on the music taste of the current generation, he expressed that every genre of music is important. He believes that music is above and ahead of genres.
"Genres came later, only to create conflict in the sector of music. I only know music, irrespective of the kind, no matter what kind of beats there are, to separate and give the music a type. Artists add their own flavour to their music; the audience who listens to it chooses the music that matches their taste and raises their opinion about it and the other ones existing."
When there's a certain genre in mind, sometimes people try to belittle the other genre and uplift the one they like, which is not right.
Noor argues, "If you forget about the genre and give the music a listen, you will like it. If not, you can say it doesn't match your spectrum but we're individuals with different sets of spectrum, there will be someone whose spectrum will match with the music the former didn't like."
Noor has written about 18 songs up until now. He wishes those to come out in full view and full tune later in the future. His music video will release this February. He has worked on three more songs, which are also to be released soon.
Besides working with music, Angel Noor has his own business, is an actor who has worked in more than 30 TVCs, and is also, what he calls himself - a 'nerd engineer.'
His recent work is in the movie 'Bali: The Wrestler,' which surfs a mythological concept where he shared the same screen as Nasiruddin Khan. The promotional activities are to start very soon.
"People's expectations are rising. I hope to be able to keep up with this test and give my best. They are the ones who inspired me to do this."
He advises those interested in music and wishing to live a career out of it to explore themselves first.
"Whatever you want to do in life, you have to know yourself first and realise what you are best at. If you have the right amount of confidence in yourself that this is the thing that you want, and this is the thing that will make you you, then go for it. You will be able to achieve it as long as you are destined to and God stays by your side."
Angel Noor's life motto is to do his work soulfully, reaching people so that people get to know him through his work so that he can die a death of a person who is alive amongst people for his qualities and works.
