Rockstrata

Mainul Islam and Imran Hussain were St. Joseph High School classmates who seemed to groove together in high school. Imran and Mainul planned to appear at their rag day event with some more members who were their pals in the later part of 1984. Asif Alam (Biru) is on vocals, Asif Iqbal is on drums, and Shafquat Jan Choudhury is on keyboards. Unfortunately, the band could not perform due to a lack of time. Mahbubur Rashid came across the term Rock Strata while studying for their... Read More

Mainul Islam and Imran Hussain were St. Joseph High School classmates who seemed to groove together in high school. Imran and Mainul planned to appear at their rag day event with some more members who were their pals in the later part of 1984. Asif Alam (Biru) is on vocals, Asif Iqbal is on drums, and Shafquat Jan Choudhury is on keyboards. 

Unfortunately, the band could not perform due to a lack of time. Mahbubur Rashid came across the term Rock Strata while studying for their Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination in the Geography textbook supplied for the exam. The name stuck and was enthusiastically adopted by all of the other band members; thus, Rock Strata was created. Shahriar Hussain, Imran Hussain's cousin, designed the first-ever Rock Strata logo. Imran's guitar bag was the inspiration for the logo.
While members were students in Notre Dame College in 1985, jamming sessions continued, albeit not regularly. During this time, Arshad Amin overheard Mainul talking to someone about the newly established band Black Sabbath while on their breaks between lectures at the campus canteen. Given that few people talked about Black Sabbath at the time, Arshad approached Mainul to learn more about what was going on, and thus a lifelong partnership began. Later, Mainul introduced Arshad to Imran, Mahbub, and Asif. Imran shifted from bass to guitars at this point, and Arshad joined Rock Strata on bass. 

This works out well for everyone because Arshad was a massive fan of Pink Floyd, notably Roger Waters. This completed the band, and the inaugural Rock Strata lineup was as follows:

Vocals: Asif Alam, Guitars by Imran Hussain & Mainul Islam, Bassist Arshad Amin,  Drummer Mahbubur Rashid

Mainul Islam, Arshad Amin, and Mushfiq Ahmed were separated from the music scene in 1993. Imran Hussain continued to perform with many groups and bands in the United States. He collaborated on and released an album as Elephant Road with buddies from his old heavy metal Dhaka, Bangladesh days, Mashuk & Tushar. From 1993 until 1996, Mahbubur Rashid was a member of the Miles. Mahbub also went to the United States in August 1996 to further his education. During this time, Mushfiq collaborated on an album with another Bangladeshi heavy metal pioneer, Waves. Iftekhar Shikder founded Waves.

The band reunited in 2015 for a reunion show named "One Last Live" at the Krishibid Institute Bangladesh in Dhaka. For nearly two years, fans of the band have been yearning for the DVD of this homecoming event.

Now their current lineup is- 
Arshad Amin-Bass (1985–present)
Mainul Islam-Guitars (1985–present)
Imran Hussain-Guitars( 1985–present)
Mahbubur Rashid-Drums(1985–present)

Mainul Islam and Imran Hussain were St. Joseph High School classmates who seemed to groove together in high school. Imran and Mainul planned to appear at their rag day event with some more members who were their pals in the later part of 1984. Asif Alam (Biru) is on vocals, Asif Iqbal is on drums, and Shafquat Jan Choudhury is on keyboards. Unfortunately, the band could not perform due to a lack of time. Mahbubur Rashid came across the term Rock Strata while studying for their... Read More