Miles is a popular rock band and leading band in Bangladesh.

It is one of the oldest bands in Bangladesh.

Musical Style

Miles describe themselves as a pop rock act. ``we have been inspired by Blues, Latin, Jazz, Rock and Techno Music``, says Manam Ahmed. ``So our music is a combination of varied sounds and styles``.

Early Years (1978-1981)

Miles was formed in August, 1978. Farid Rashid (Bass & Vocals) formed the band with Ishtiak(Lead Guitar), Larry Burnaby(Lead Guitar), Mussa(Guitar), Shahedul Huda (Drums) and Happy Akhand (Keyboard & Vocal). Robin(Keyboard & Vocal)replaced on Happy. In 1981 Kamal Mainuddin(Drums) joined after Shahedul went to a foreign country. After three months later, Hamin Ahmed and Shafin Ahmed joined the band. Manam Ahmed also joined after six months later. For the first three years, Miles performed regularly at Chameli Super Club of Hotel InterContinental (now Sheraton). Their first two albums were in English.

Miles and A Step Further (1982-1990)

They made their first public appearance on Bangladesh Television and performed their first live show in Shilpakala Academy premises in front of an audience of 1,500, in 1982. In the same year, they brought out their first album- Miles. The album was in English and contained 3 original songs and 7 covers.

From 1983 to 1990, Miles played at the Sonargaon Pan Pacific Hotel and coffee shop in Dhaka for six nights a week. In 1986, they released their second album, A Step Further, which was also in English with 7 original and 3 cover songs. During this time, they also performed many solo and joint concerts.

Protisruti and Prottasha (1991-1993)

Mies released their first Bengali album-Protisruti, in 1991. This album contained 12 original songs. This album launched the band to unprecedented popularity with a number of hit songs. The next year, they performed their first and solo concert outside of Bangladesh in Bangalore, India. They performed three hours of English Rock Music before an audience of 7,000.

In 1993, Miles released their fourth album titled Prottasha. There was 12 original songs, enjoyed record-breaking sales, with approximately 300,000 copies selling within few months, and is still the best selling album by a Bangladeshi band. This led to many TV appearance and one year sponsorship agreement with a multi-national company.

Best of Miles (1994-1995)

In 1994, Disco Recording, a Los Angeles based recording company, released a compilation CD, titled Best of Miles. This was the first CD by a Bangladeshi band and is still the highest selling CD in Bangladesh. They next performed their second concert in India. Again a three hour rock concert of English music, in Chandigarh in front of 5,000 audience. The concert received high press coverage in India.

Miles also performed two concerts in Persian Gulf States of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Channel V and MTB Asia covered their concert and tour news.

Prottoy and Proyash (1996-1998)

Miles performed in India for the third time. It was in Kolkata and mostly Bengali songs were played in the two and half-hour concert in front of 7,000 audiences.

Prottoy, the band’s fifth album, came out later that year with 11 original songs. The album sold high in Bangladesh, giving Miles their third consecutive hit. Then they went on a two month tour of USA and Canada. They performed in New York, Dallas, Oklahoma, Chicago, Florida and Montreal to audineces of 2,500.

During 1997, Miles’s songs received increased airplay on Indian FM radio and the band released their 4th album, Proyash. BBC later aired a number of Miles’s interviews and popular songs. Also Miles’s interview was published in Janomot, a Bengali newspaper from London.

The band performed in many charity concerts and throughout 1998, Miles again performed in Kolkata and made a number of music videos that were aired on satellite TV channels including MTV. Miles relaesed a compilation album in India titled Best of Miles (Vol. 1). The perennial seller received huge radio airplay. And six months later, the band released a second compilation album, Best of Miles (Vol. 2), in India. The two albums received great reviews in the local press and Miles became well known to the young generation of West Bengal, India.

Probaho and Protiddhoni (1999-2006)

Miles published another album named Probaho in 1999. At this time, Miles performed their largest concert in Chittagong Division Stadium in front of an audience of 35,000. the same year Miles added another guitarist, Iqbal Asif Jewel, to their line-up. They also performed the highest number of concerts in India by taking part in a concert held at Shibpur Engineering College, making it five performances. In 2006, after almost ten years, Miles released an album, titled Protiddhoni. 

Their latest musical effort was Protichobi, released in 2012.

Current Line-up:

• Hamin Ahmed – Guitar & Vocal
• Shafin Ahmed - Bass & Vocal
• Manam Ahmed - Keyboard & Vocal
• Iqbal Asif Juwel - Guitar & Vocal
• Syed Ziaur Rahman Turjo - Drums & Percussion

First Line-up:

·       Farid Rashid (Vocal & Bass)

·       Kamal Mainuddin (Drums)

·       Larry Burnaby (Lead Guitar)

·       Ishtiaq (Lead Guitar)

·       Musa (Guitar)

·       Robin (Keyboard & Vocal)

·       Happy Akhand (Keyboard & Vocal)

Former members:

• Schumann Zaman – Bass Guitar
• Shahedul Huda – Drums
• Khayem – Bass Guitar
• Milton – Drums
• Mahbub Rashid - Drums

Released albums:

• Miles (1982)
• A Step Further (1986)
• Protisruti (1991)
• Prottasha (1993)
• Prottoy (1996)
• Proyash (1997)
• Probaho (1999) 
• Protiddhoni (2006)
• Protichobi (2012)

Posted in: Hamin Ahmed,Miles,Shafin Ahmed