UNEXPLORED & EXCEPTIONAL – Nepali YouTubers

October 5, 2015 , by Bibek Kapali, Leave your thoughts

Dreaming is easy, believing is not and that is precisely what these inspiring people have done, believed despite having to deal with multiple curves life hurls at them and other responsibilities. Not everything beautiful is appreciated by everyone, not everything that deserves humongous praise earns the deserving audience. 

What is your favourite internet locale after Facebook? When the clock is moving at a dying speed and you’re tired of continous scrolling through feeds of tedious self portraits and redundant writings, be it Insta, fb or twitter, where do you turn to for a breather? Youtube! Yes, YouTube, the new tube, the life saver, where we can find just about anything, and we tend to visit it on a regular basis and can’t seem to get enough of.And for the music lovers, YouTube has been such a treasure trove. A few clacks and clicks and you’re in a musical paradise but only if you know exactly where to look and not fall victim to random and often misleading suggestions. You do not need to look much further or travel through heaps of dead-end recommendations. I present you, after scouting through hundreds of videos from the nooks and corners of YouTube, these gifted Nepali musicians delivering their skills so elegantly.VJ Music, Peter McDonough, Uges Limbu, Chhewang, Ankit Shrestha, McFlo, Nicky Karki, Sajjan Raj Vaidya, Sophie Suzeena are some of the names that made their mark on the music domain of Nepal beginning from the video sharing website. These new artists are well on their way to follow the footsteps of their predecessors and likely inspirations with some of them already being admired by the masses for their work.

SWOOPNA SUMAN

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People don’t usually get mentioned by Lex Limbu twice, but having watched this guy perform will leave you asking, “Why only twice?” Suman has managed to garner a lot of following, mostly after his neatly written single “K Saro Ramri Bhako” became a huge hit on YouTube. The viewing has been growing in numbers ever since. More than 4000 subscribers on YouTube, heavy amount of admirers on Facebook, Suman is a success in the making, already grasping the eyes of several radio stations including Times, Hits FM and the likes. His arrangements of Nepali and Western hits have no doubt swooned multiple teenage hearts, Swoopners — their term of preference.”Mero Sano Pari”, his tribute single has a melancholic vibe to it and it goes to show the versatility his music offers and his ability to instill true emotions into a song. He and his BTS team seem well committed to their tasks and the fans can’t ask for more. With plenty of recently collected experience, Suman must have been busy prepping for his upcoming show at Pragya Bhawan, after having to reschedule because of the notorious Nepalese tradition i.e. ‘Bandha’.Get here for bookings and further updates on the show.

SHREYA RAI

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Shreya Rai’s hands glide swiftly through the keys as her vocals swim perfectly along the sound waves emitted from the keys. Rarely anyone can take someone else’s song and carry it to another level and breathe new life into it, make it their own, like Shreya has done with ‘Basanta’. Same can be said of all her other uploads. I’ve never heard anyone hit the high notes so effortlessly and at the same time maintaining the same exceptional singing during the lower ones.When Shreya posted her rendition of Basanta — originally sung by the JptRockerz band — it created magic. The band vocalist Nabin Gurung went to his Facebook to thank her without much ado. His words exactly: “You’ve turned this song into GOLD. Listening to it with a glass of whiskey and ciggie. You’ve made me realize why I wrote this song. Thank you Shreya.” What a wonderful achievement that was!

JERUSHA RAI

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To be fairly honest, when it comes to original compositions, no one does it better than Jerusha. Nothing fancy, just the lady and her guitar alone can melt any soul with ease. Jerusha has a good deal of followers on YouTube and Soundcloud. Her choice of song is slightly unorthodox and will probably meddle with your music taste, nevertheless expand your musical horizon.Jerusha is a true gem and her original works come with such stunning concoction of words that is seldom found these days. Among her originals, ‘The Balance’ speaks of a person’s longing for love, for the ‘You’ that most of us are in some unfortunate way familiar to. And Jimi will tear you up. Jimi is quite an intimate song, Jimi being her pet in the past. Once you’re through with the lyrics it will leave you feeling helpless, most certainly if you are a pet person.

PUSHPA SANGAM

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For musicians of such an excellent stature, 84 mere subscribers is travesty at best. Sangam Panta knows exactly how and when to draw the bow across the strings of his Sarangi and crush our hearts for good and Pushpa has the voice of an angel. Dear PushpaSangam, people will definitely love you “etti dherai” after listening to this song. ‘Timi ra ma’ :

PushpaSangam basically resembles a miniature version of the famous Neo-classical Folk band ‘Night’. Pushpa Palanchoke, credited with penning most of their songs, will go on to write wonders one day. Her duo with Sangam resurrects the long drained and very rarely found freshness into Nepal music fraternity. Multi-instrumentalist Sangam revels at experimenting and blending several genres together and does so with a class.

NAYA KATHA

Their luster proceeds even further as Palanchoke is currently involved in another musical group ‘Vadi’ with a single “Naya Katha” that has gained a wonderful reception from the Nepali music fanatics. Have a look at it yourself.

‘Vadi’ along with plenty of other great bands will be expected to write ‘Naya Katha’ (new story) and save the rickety Nepali music scene.

parit585

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Have you ever just strolled around your usual hang-out place and had someone walk up to you with a guitar and sing a dreamy song to you? Well, set aside the creepy thoughts, Parit Shrestha made it happpen, for real, and he isn’t just some random guitar-guy you meet every day. The ‘Rimsha’ song which I assume you all know and love, may not have been impromptu to the hilt; however, you ought to fall for the lucky girl Rimsha’s honest-to-goodness nervousness and coy smile as the singer melts her with the magnificent melody.Other reason to love the ‘Rimsha’ song is it’s about anyone, regardless of the profession, position or ambitions one has set, ‘a song for you’ as the title states. Parit’s Youtube channel has some beautiful renditions of many good songs including the famous Nattu song. Yes, he is the guy behind the hybrid version of the Nattu Shah’s popular song ‘Ma Dherai Maya Garchu’.

TUNNA BELL THAPA

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Tunna Bell Thapa, a peculiar name, for yet another talented musician. The bloke records all his songs at home with no lesser quality than other contemporary songs that hit the radio waves. ‘Hamro Kura(Tyautyau)’ is a song about a dog’s love affair. The words somehow allude to the secret affection the dog has for his likely other half or it might simply be speaking of a love that does not require words for expressions. Talking about Nepali music needing something fresh and innovative, how is that for a change!

ADDY DHUNGANA

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To have one’s video shared by the brilliant and inspiring musician Astha Tamang Maskey whom we all love and adore, that’s got to mean something. Adhishree Dhungana’s acoustic version of Khaali reserved a space on Astha’s facebook a few weeks after she put it up on Youtube. She must’ve gone bananas over that.Addy’s guitar skills and her vocals look promising and one might wonder why she hasn’t put out any originals. Addy Dhungana’s YouTube channel is definitely a major find for music lovers seeking a serene sonic respite, a therapy to the ears.

ULTO PULTO

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A band for anyone in search of quality music. A few months back, they released their third single “Asha Cha”, an optimistic lover’s anthem with amazing trumpet solo and drum rolls. The song is slowly but surely captivating the music fanatics. Our own Rohit John Chettri expressed his love for this three man band’s music when he shared this song via facebook. The band also has plenty of devotees on Soundcloud. Their other single ‘Samjhana ko lahara” has got about 18K plays on Soundcloud. On the ‘You Oughta Know’ section of Nepali music chart, this band unmistakably takes the cake.

UTSAV SYASYA

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Be prepared to have your jaws wide open.

Utsav Syasya is a recent personal discovery and one that shouldn’t be missed. Being a fan of Eddie Vedder and Austin Winkler’s grunge and sturdy vocals, when you come across this guy’s covers, you will know what is true envy and pride and your reaction would be a little inappropriate to candidly mention here. While he opens his mouth and starts to sing in his husky baritone voice, you will have your mouth wide open in pure astonishment. Although he insists on being lazy and continuing to sit home and eat pizzas, he honestly should consider posting more covers and maybe some of his own music too.

DEEKSHA THAPA

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Not a new name. The Pepsi Voice of Nepal winner was long since a Youtuber and I’m glad to have known her before she and her partner brother went on to win the whole gig. Maya Mero Maya (Full Circle), I’m Yours (Jason Mraz), Bistarai (RJ Chettri) and Leave Your lover (Sam Smith), I highly doubt that anyone wouldn’t be acquainted with her take on these songs. Her versions of these will make you love these songs even more and the replay button will face the brunt. After the PVON, she has kept herself busy with her live shows in several pubs and lounges in and outside valley. Several months back, she and her fellow musician performed at the MTV Indies live alongside the likes of Lucky Ali and popular Indian musicians and that made us all proud.Also, she RJs for Classic FM and sometimes surprises the fans by performing live on radio. Even with a lot on her plate, she currently continues to learn and work hard on her music. She has set a fine example for all the young and aspiring musicians and proved that dreams have a space in life. Shia, she did it.Dreaming is easy, believing is not and that is precisely what these inspiring people have done, believed despite having to deal with multiple curves life hurls at them and other responsibilities. Not everything beautiful is appreciated by everyone, not everything that deserves humongous praise earns the deserving audience.

Even when unappreciated which is usually because they’re unperceived, the beauty of it never seems to dwindle by any measure. I admire and respect these breed of geniuses and all the dreamers whom I’ve not been able to mention because of the limited space that I’ve already overlapped. Turn up your headsets and breathe in some music as they sing their dreams and stories to life.

To the dreamers,
Don’t let anything deter you in the pursuit of your passion. For now, you may keep your day jobs and squeeze some music out of your hectic schedules and never let some hopeless nitpickers, trolls and a few negative responses stifle the Dreamer in you. Long as it may take, things will change, the grass on your yard will be greener too, the long sworn ‘sun will shine’. The ones who dare to dream shall never die. I’ll leave with these insightful words from the great mind A.P.J. Abdul Kalaam, “Great dreams of great dreamers are always transcended.”