Albatross’ ‘Bhawana’ on trending

By Mannu Shahi

One of the most celebrated quartets of Nepali music, Albatross consists of Shirish Dali on vocals and guitars, Sunny Manadhar on guitars, Avaya Siddhi Bajaracharya on bass and Kismat D Shrestha on drums. Founded by three aspiring musician friends who embarked their journey with a dream to create music and express themselves more vividly to the world, this dynamic group sadly went through many line-up changes until the current pack of members.

The band’s discography includes ‘Hi:fly’ (2002), ‘Jo Jas Sanga Sambhandit Cha’ (2005), ‘Atti Bhayo’ (2011) and ‘Ma Ra Malai’ (2014). Their releases over time have been well-received by their audience who instantly connect with their music and appreciate their ever-evolving repertoire.

Formed in 1998, Albatross ruled the early-mid 2000s’ playlists with hits like Farki Farki and Khaseka Tara. While the internet was just brewing in the country, the band were amidst the handpicked exceptional viral creators as prominent even in the days of music exchange through MP3 players and DIY CD mash-ups.

Two decades later this outfit sustains its legacy as the most cherished rock groups making it big both locally and globally. They claim their music to be Nepali Rock that addresses modern problems of our society and their art as a form of expression that the most ordinary of listeners can relate to via their music or lyrics.

Their fresh release, “Bhawana” is the eight single from their much anticipated fifth studio album ‘Raat Ko Rani’. The band has been releasing songs with official music videos from the very album one after another for the past three years. Premiered on 8th October, 2022, with over 132,000 streams in just six days, the tune is #13 on trending for music amidst Nepal moderated YouTube broadcast.

Composed and arranged by Albatross, the lyrics for “Bhawana” was penned by Late Dr. Sushiela Dali. It features additional musicians like Ashish Mahajan on bamboo flute and Yuson Maharjan on table. It is recorded at Fuzz Studios with Rohit Shakya as the producer/engineer and Suramya Sthapit as the recordist. 

The video was written and directed by Hitesh Thakuri (AUM), produced by Spandan Lama Moktan, Sujit Sangeet as DOP, Rojal Bista on editing/colouring, Bijay Sigdel as production manager and Ishwor Nagarkoti and Anil Magar as gaffers. 

Starring Sudam Chhatkuli, the video paints the story of a sculptor and takes the audience in a peculiar realm of creating wooden statues with immense dedication and passion. 

The prior half of the video showcases this continuous strive to keep flowing with ideas and the overwhelming process of creating which takes a toll on the creator however regardless of any circumstance this innate drive to conceive keeps them going. And during the latter half, as the sculptor manifests his art, the music also elevates towards the final breakdown and outro, the cold-hearted truth of consumerist art-business 

is revealed.  

The same piece of art undergoes many levels of financial transactions and end-up profiting everyone involved in the sale except the artist who sacrificed the most for its inception. Thus, a brilliantly executed true story relevant to many forms of artistry including dance, music, drama, literature and more. 

The short one-stanza lyrics with its poetic delivery compliments the arrangement and the vocal melody a bit higher than usual Dali vocal lines; it also flaunts an oscillated timbre enhancing the song further. The music is fresh and unlike regular Albatross tunes, a tinge of influence from Incubus laying out interesting structures, splendid guitar tone and melodic drum works. So do check out the video in case you 

haven’t already.