JATC releases video for ‘Panchi Haru’

By Mannu Shahi

Formed in August 2019, Jhilkey And The Company aka JATC is one of the expeditiously flourishing acts of recent times amalgamating a mixture of punk, alternative, rock n’ roll, pop, and blues. Over the course of their vibrant career, the group has gained a reputation for being very entertaining both via their live shows and through their online presence. 

Their witty social media conduct, interesting online fan discourse, catchy and comprehensible music, dynamic individual personalities, and countless antics the lads pull through to suffice their following have gradually gained JATC a loyal pack of fans ready to devour any content published by the band.

Before any of this transpired, JATC’s front person Steve Dewan was manifesting a blueprint of this very idea in his head as a student of IT in Bangalore, India. As soon as he completed his post-graduation, Steve returned back to Kathmandu and forged a search-hunt for his future bandmates. 

The pursuit was very successful as the singer started out by including people in his proximity: initiating with his close friend Bishal Hang Rai on bass, his cousin Siddhartha Upreti on keys, and sealing the deal with Dipson Narsingh KC on drums, who was recommended to Steve by a friend.  

The quartet started working on some of Steve’s ideas and within a couple of months released a four-track EP: ‘Jhilkey Fire’ in a launch event at Purple Haze where they played alongside aesthetically befitting groups like Kta Haru and On Acid. 

The band had planned on an entire Nepal tour subsequent to the EP launch but their plans were halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic; although, they did perform in a couple of cities in the eastern region of the country.

However, the band didn’t shrink their pace due to the lockdown, but instead got very active online and released creative dark comedy sketches, online group interaction sessions, and JATC signature memes that would become sensational in their fan pages and groups. When things got back to normal, the band announced a Nepal tour yet again, in association with Positive Vibes, and performed in Birtamode, Biratnagar, Butwal, Bhairawa, Chitwan, Dang, Nepalgunj, Pokhara, Urlabari and Dharan.     

Soon after, the group started working on their sophomore full-length album, but sadly the news of keyboardist Siddhartha parting ways with JATC was revealed. Nonetheless, the group continued as a trio for a while until guitarist Zacy Maggot on the second guitar was added to the equation. Their sophomore entry ‘Jawani Ko Josh’ is a seven-track album with one of their singles “Malai Kehi Aaudaina” from the previous EP repeated amidst the song list. 

While their debut EP was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Divesh Mulmi at Mr. Music Recording Studio, all the aforementioned audio works for the later entry were done by Core Tamrakar at Broken Egg Studios. 

And JATC’s recent venture is a music video the band released last Monday, February 20, for their most cherished tune “Panchi Haru”, taken from their debut entry. 

The video is directed and edited by Pranav KC; Sangam Rai on camera; Rabi Gubhaju as assistant cinematographer; Shankar Dahal and Gorey Limbu on lights; Ganesh Singh Thakuri as gaffer; Sahayog Raj Adhikari on production management; Sanjeev Ratna Shakya as the colorist; Anmol Thapa on the background score. 

The lively and fun-infused video is such a representation of their band chemistry and their hilariously detached individual personas. The plot twist towards the end totally validates as a climax concluding all the fun on a surprising and sudden high note. So, definitely check out this video in case you haven’t already, and do support by sharing, subscribing, and liking the band’s social media handles.