Khiyo

Khiyo is a London-based British-Bengali group that presents Bengali heritage music in a modern acoustic setting. The name comes from a letter of the Bengali alphabet, chosen for its distinctive identity: it is made from two letters, but functions as a separate character in its own right. The band draws on a wide range of musical backgrounds, including Western classical, rock, jazz, blues, Nazrul Sangeet, Bengali folk and Indian classical music, and combines them into a recognisable ensemble sound.

Members and musicians

Oliver Weeks studies composition at Clare College, Cambridge with Robin Holloway and completes a PhD in composition at the Royal Academy of Music. He carries out fieldwork in West Bengal and writes on Baul Gaan and Rabindra Sangeet in Bengal in the 19th century, while several of his classical works also use Bengali texts. He co-founds Parapar with Moushumi Bhowmik and also works with other bands, including Astrohenge, where he plays piano and live electronics.

Sohini Alam is a British vocalist of Bangladeshi descent whose repertoire includes folk, patriotic, modern and traditional Bengali songs, with a specialism in Nazrul Sangeet. She also works in multilingual music, including bands, dance and theatre. A third-generation vocalist, she trains with her mother, Hiron Alam, and her aunts Jannat Ara and Ferdous Ara. She is also the lead vocalist for Kishon Khan’s Afro-Cuban-Bengali jazz band, Lokkhi Terra.

Ben Hillyard plays upright bass and sometimes electric bass in Moushumi Bhowmik’s band Parapar. His work spans western orchestral music, jazz, rock, funk, electronica and folk, and he also performs with Annalie. In addition to performance, he writes music for theatre and cabaret and creates music for theatre projects in Australia. In the UK he is active mainly as a performer, including support work for Take That.

Derek Scurll begins orchestral percussion at 11, after earlier musical training on piano and violin, later cello. He persuades his parents to buy him a drum kit at 14, then studies at the Royal Academy of Music and with Bob Armstrong. His drumming covers jazz, funk, salsa and folk, and he also works as an arranger and teacher. His career includes appearances on Top of the Pops and Children in Need.

Hassan Mohyeddin is a tabla artist, multi-percussionist, composer and music producer. He trains for several years from his mid-teens with tabla maestro Acharya Pandit Lachhman Singh Seen, within the Punjab School of Tabla. He has a degree in music production and sound engineering from the London School of Sound and has worked professionally as a musician for ten years. He tours internationally and collaborates with artists including Nahid Siddiqui, Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan and Baluji Srivastav.

Danyal Dhondy is a composer and arranger who works across a wide range of genres. He also plays violin, viola and piano, and works extensively in theatre in London as a musical director, composer, recorder and performer. His arrangements of Puccini’s Madam Butterfly and Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci for OperaUpClose lead to a nomination for an Arts Fellowship Award in Opera Composition.

Guest sarod player Soumik Datta is an Indian classical musician and composer. He trains with sarod maestro Pandit Buddhadev Das Gupta and completes a master’s degree in composition at Trinity College of Music.