By Mannu Shahi
Cobweb is one of the few Nepali bands that has managed to stay in the hearts of music lovers for three decades. Formed in 1992, the band has stayed intact, maintained a cherished comradery and sustained relevance in an ever-changing industry.
Their journey began in earnest in 1993 with their debut album ‘Anjaan’. But immediately upon release, it faced criticism and backlash from the society whose conservative ideals found Cobweb’s rock music provocative and worth cancelling.
This did not demotivate the lads though and, driven by their rocker dreams, they published their self-titled sophomore album in 1996. This found massive success and the first single of the album ‘Maryo Ni Maryo’, which came with a music video, was aired through Image Channel via Nepal Television.
A group of young men with long hair playing electric guitars and drums in the middle of a construction site proved wildly popular with youths who were drawn to the song’s rebellious aesthetics, gimmicks like intro guitar slide and the robotic vocal outro – a popularity that has not faded over the last 30 years.
The band’s discography contains of ‘Anjaan’ (1993), ‘Cobweb’ (1996), ‘Rollin’ String’ (1998), ‘Mercedes Benz’ (1999), ‘Rock ‘N Roll’ (2002), ‘Swing’ (2004), ‘Namaste’ (2010) and
‘Astitwa’ (2016).
Inspired by iconic rock groups like Metallica, Pink Floyd, Guns n’ Roses, Iron Maiden, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin, Cobweb, in their later years, have looked beyond rock and experimented with styles like reggae, funk, blues and prog-rock.
After a series of line-up changes, the band currently has Divesh Bhakta Mulmi on vocals and guitar, Nilesh Joshi on bass, Siddhartha Dhakhwa on drums, Sanjay Aryal on vocals and Sujan Tandukar on guitar.
And now, after having concerts in Biratnagar, Pokhara and Chitwan for the New Year 2023, the quintet is all geared up to rock Scala, London, United Kingdom on Friday, January 27 with an opening act by Daju Bhai Inc and after a party with DJ Shazi.
Preceding the concert, the band organised two special meet and greet programmes on Saturday at Nepal House, Plumstead and Durbar Cocktail Bar and Lounge in Ashford, Kent where denizens of the English capital got the opportunity to interact with the musicians in person.
All the events related to the tour are being managed by Stardust Events. The members are all exhilarated so definitely a show to attend if you are anywhere near the venues.