The rise of the folk genre in music has given birth to many artists that have gone on to achieve great success.
Perhaps the roots can be traced back to Kutumba’s rise to prominence in the early 2000s and their subsequent fame. They brought Nepali ethnic instruments to fore in various festivals around the world and were supported as the flag bearers of such as well. How well the band did then still has a ripple effect today, especially how people perceive Nepali folk bands now.
But folk music has always existed here in Nepal in various capacities. It has the tendency to make itself heard in the jangling of instruments in music shops, the sarangi players, who serenade passers by in Thamel and even in the cultural dances one would encounter as part of their ‘travel package’ in Chitwan. They named it folk; the music for the people, which derives its essence from the simplest of the simple.
It is this same folk music that has made its rise to the top in 2016? How best would one describe Night band’s music? It is effervescent and alluring, it is captivating and yet stripped down.
In folk music, the emphasis doesn’t lie in the talent of the musician (not saying that there is not an abundance of it) but in the music itself.
***
For us, growing up in Nepal it has been a privilege to be exposed to a genre like folk, one that is not really a genre but a life lived and expressed.
The tunes are enchanting but it’s the words and the musician’s understanding of the world that has always touched the hearts of the listeners.
Take the phrase ‘Lai bari lai’, a phrase that couldn’t be more Nepali. To put this into a song would seem very easy but weaving a tale around it and your leading up to its uttering is not a simple feat, especially for those just riding the genre’s coat tails.
If folk is the new breakthrough genre, Bipul Chettri is it’s Kurt Cobain and his superstardom is well deserved.
Perhaps the biggest spectrum shift towards folk recently came with his single titled Asaar.
Here is an artist who is pure and elementary. His lyrics evoke this longing of an uncomplicated time that maybe none of us actually ever lived in.
And all of this comes from the fact that his music is honest; a quality without which such music cannot exist. Witnessing his concerts live are an experience like no other. The connection that he enjoys with the people is almost palpable and what his stardom has actually done is penetrate not just the urban areas, but little towns as well with this mixture of Nepali folk-pop music that is upgraded in every which way.
As a musician, his story is one that actually warms your heart because it couldn’t have all happened to a nicer person. There is no rockstar persona but a man who gets up on stage in his windcheater and sings his heart out.
Poets of sorts, maybe.
And then there are new musicians like Bartika Eam Rai and Pahenlo Batti Muni, all of whom now have a platform to be more acceptable. Of course, all these will also give rise to people, who will put out folk-pop records just to get with the times, but people are smart. They see through what is phony and what is effortless.
Folk is nothing but a feeling, the emotions evoked by the rain-drenched soil, caravans, travellers and smiles that are flowing with empathy. Only those, who never knew that their songs were actually folk, will have their names etched on it.
So, thank god for the resurgence of folk music and musicians because I wish them all the very best. Art always has to be honest, and good folk music is like a thin veil of silk that hides nothing but the names.
(The author is a musician based in Kathmandu.)
***
Image credit
Opener: Bipul Chettri/Facebook; Bartika Eam Rai/Facebook; Pahenlo Batti Muni/Facebook
***
Also read
Who says Grunge died with Cobain? It’s still alive and kicking here in Nepal!
