Eight days ago in Nepal, around noon, the gentle Himalayan spring day was horrifically interrupted by a massive earthquake. The headlines this week have been dominated by stories coming from Kathmandu and (finally) places closer to the epicentre. Nepal holds a special place in many people’s hearts and aid teams and millions of dollars have been mobilised to support those whose lives have been devastated by the earthquake. This response from across the world does give rise to hope. But we struggle with an inevitable sense of gloom as the numbers of dead, injured and missing rise. The prospect of a return to ‘normal’ seems a very long way off.
This tragedy got me thinking about Nepali music and musicians. The country has a rich heritage of folk music and has produced several superstar playback singers for the Indian film industry. In recent years several jazz and blues festivals have created a platform for local hip hop, jazz and blues bands to get recognition as well. In honour of the proud and gentle people of Nepal and to give everyone something to celebrate, after a week of terrible events, let’s check out some cool Nepali music.
Gorkhali Mayale (Folk Song)
Sanjay Gurung
The epicentre of the earthquake was about 80 kms from Kathmandu in Lamjung and Gorkha. The Gurung people, one of Nepal’s many indigenous mountainous communities are settled throughout the country but have strong historic roots in and around these two districts. The music of this part of Nepal, from which the Gorkha Kingdom and the Shah Dynasty arose, is ancient and well developed. Several types of dances, ghatu and chudka, are known as being particularly Gurung and as this video shows, still loved and performed by the people of this region.
Kathmandu (Nep Hop)
Def' Mind, Upesh Gurung and Shef
As a Nepali friend said the other day, when I asked him about reports of public rioting in response to the delays in the delivery of aid, “Nepalese are experts in protesting!”. This sentiment appears to be confirmed in this clip of street protests and police firing in Kathmandu. In the recent past the country has been wreaked by a Maoist insurgency and a choppy political transition which remains somewhat unresolved. Natural disasters have been known to bring long running political logjams to an end; witness the conflict in Aceh after the tsunami struck in 2004. Will the earthquake be a force for political good in Nepal? That is an open question but clearly this young Kathmandu band that specialises in what they call ‘Nep Hop’ (!) seems to have its finger on the pulse.
Aay Ajnabi (Bollywood)
Udit Narayan
Udit Narayan needs no introduction. One the most prominent and popular male playback singers of the post-Rafi/Kishore era Udit Narayan hails from the southeast district of Saptari, one of the areas that was not badly affected by this week’s earthquake. After singing in a number on Nepali films and on the radio Narayan got a break in Hindi films in the late 70s as a result of getting a music scholarship in Bombay. Over the past 3 and a half decades his voice has become part of the Indian sonic universe and garnered him multiple awards including the Padma Shri in 2009. This clip from the film hit Dil Se is a moody collaboration with A.R. Rahman.
Akasaima Naulakhe Tara (Blues Rock)
Mukti+Revival
Jazz and hiphop are universal languages, and so it seems is the blues! What a blast to hear a grinding blues jam that would not be out of place in any bar from Chicago to New Orleans only this time the lyrics of lament are in Nepali! Mukti+Revival are a Kathmandu-based blues rock outfit plying their version of the Himalayan blues across the world. Sadly there is probably a new song Richter Scale Blues, coming up soon from these guys. Watch out for it!
Shiv Shakti (Jazz Jam)
Louiz Banks
One of the giants of South Asian music, the improbably named Louiz Banks, is a Nepali-Indian famous for not only being R.D. Burman’s favoured keyboardist but partner in crime to some of the biggest names of fusion jazz, including John McLaughlin. Born and educated in Darjeeling, but with a musical apprenticeship in Kathmandu, Banks (birth name Dambar Bahadur Budaprithi), is an accomplished composer and performer across many genres. He is also a Grammy nominee for his work on the outstanding and adventurous jazz tribute to Miles Davis, Miles from India. In this clip he performs a jazz jam with his son Gino (on drums) and Sheldon D’Silva (guitar).
This tragedy got me thinking about Nepali music and musicians. The country has a rich heritage of folk music and has produced several superstar playback singers for the Indian film industry. In recent years several jazz and blues festivals have created a platform for local hip hop, jazz and blues bands to get recognition as well. In honour of the proud and gentle people of Nepal and to give everyone something to celebrate, after a week of terrible events, let’s check out some cool Nepali music.
Gorkhali Mayale (Folk Song)
Sanjay Gurung
The epicentre of the earthquake was about 80 kms from Kathmandu in Lamjung and Gorkha. The Gurung people, one of Nepal’s many indigenous mountainous communities are settled throughout the country but have strong historic roots in and around these two districts. The music of this part of Nepal, from which the Gorkha Kingdom and the Shah Dynasty arose, is ancient and well developed. Several types of dances, ghatu and chudka, are known as being particularly Gurung and as this video shows, still loved and performed by the people of this region.
Kathmandu (Nep Hop)
Def' Mind, Upesh Gurung and Shef
As a Nepali friend said the other day, when I asked him about reports of public rioting in response to the delays in the delivery of aid, “Nepalese are experts in protesting!”. This sentiment appears to be confirmed in this clip of street protests and police firing in Kathmandu. In the recent past the country has been wreaked by a Maoist insurgency and a choppy political transition which remains somewhat unresolved. Natural disasters have been known to bring long running political logjams to an end; witness the conflict in Aceh after the tsunami struck in 2004. Will the earthquake be a force for political good in Nepal? That is an open question but clearly this young Kathmandu band that specialises in what they call ‘Nep Hop’ (!) seems to have its finger on the pulse.
Aay Ajnabi (Bollywood)
Udit Narayan
Udit Narayan needs no introduction. One the most prominent and popular male playback singers of the post-Rafi/Kishore era Udit Narayan hails from the southeast district of Saptari, one of the areas that was not badly affected by this week’s earthquake. After singing in a number on Nepali films and on the radio Narayan got a break in Hindi films in the late 70s as a result of getting a music scholarship in Bombay. Over the past 3 and a half decades his voice has become part of the Indian sonic universe and garnered him multiple awards including the Padma Shri in 2009. This clip from the film hit Dil Se is a moody collaboration with A.R. Rahman.
Akasaima Naulakhe Tara (Blues Rock)
Mukti+Revival
Jazz and hiphop are universal languages, and so it seems is the blues! What a blast to hear a grinding blues jam that would not be out of place in any bar from Chicago to New Orleans only this time the lyrics of lament are in Nepali! Mukti+Revival are a Kathmandu-based blues rock outfit plying their version of the Himalayan blues across the world. Sadly there is probably a new song Richter Scale Blues, coming up soon from these guys. Watch out for it!
Shiv Shakti (Jazz Jam)
Louiz Banks
One of the giants of South Asian music, the improbably named Louiz Banks, is a Nepali-Indian famous for not only being R.D. Burman’s favoured keyboardist but partner in crime to some of the biggest names of fusion jazz, including John McLaughlin. Born and educated in Darjeeling, but with a musical apprenticeship in Kathmandu, Banks (birth name Dambar Bahadur Budaprithi), is an accomplished composer and performer across many genres. He is also a Grammy nominee for his work on the outstanding and adventurous jazz tribute to Miles Davis, Miles from India. In this clip he performs a jazz jam with his son Gino (on drums) and Sheldon D’Silva (guitar).
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