Visual story of Sushant KC’s “Atteri” inflates the song

By Mannu Shahi

Sushant KC is among the most celebrated figures in the contemporary Nepali music industry. Debuting in the scene with his massive hit “Aama” in 2016, the singer has, to date, released nearly three dozen singles from his official YouTube channel with 1.37 million subscribers.

Born on February 2, 1996, the songster was enchanted by music since his early childhood days, growing up listening to many Western pop musicians and Nepali outfits like The Uglyz and Nima Rumba. Even before he knew the rudiments of guitars, KC persuaded his mother to buy him the instrument. His evolved musical aspirations later shifted towards artistes like Ed Sheeran and Sajjan Raj Vaidya in the Nepali context.

The singer completed his lower-secondary education at Budhanilkantha School and his A-levels from Rato Bangala School. Subsequent to this he moved to Australia to pursue his graduation in business major at UNSW College in Sydney.    

The singer is currently pursuing an online undergraduate degree in songwriting and production from Berklee College of Music, Boston, after relocating to Nepal.

Initiating his career in music just as a hobby, the gradual appreciation and love that devoured his way boosted the singer’s confidence and helped him acknowledge his talent as a songwriter. The constant support depicted by his family, friends, and followers further solidified his love for music, and the singer now is planning on exploring various musical realms inside out.

A regular on the trending charts, the songster has performed in countries like the UK, the UAE, Australia and India.  His prior release “Sarangi”, with 24 million streams in just a span of two months, peaked the YouTube charts for almost a month. 

And, his latest 32nd single, “Atteri” which premiered on September 9, is currently #3 on Trending for music as per the Nepal-moderated YouTube broadcast. 

The singer writes, “Atteri weaves emotions of longing, hope and the enduring power of love that transcends physical barriers. The song is a musical tribute to the strength and resilience of love in the face of distance.”

For the song, KC has collaborated on music production with dexterous sound engineer Foeseal; the heartwarming video is a production of Stellar Studios with Nayan Rai on direction; Nisseem Shrestha and Aaditya Shrestha on assistant director; Ananta Paudel on creative direction; Ashok Adhikari on edit/VFX; Anjon Limbu as the colourist, amidst other cast and crew members. 

This tune was recorded as well as produced in 2021, but only recently released with this affectionate visual story that has undoubtedly inflated the meaning and resonance of the song. 

The storyline portrayed in the video is indistinguishable to many Nepali families, the daily-life struggle faced by hundreds of Nepalese only to eventually seek better lifestyle promises in foreign employment is a tragic tale of every other family in the country. Many songs, films, standup sets, art displays and other mediums of expression have time and again pinpointed this issue yet the situation remains just as omnipresent to this day and every new piece of art reflecting this tragedy is just as poignant. 

From a compositional standpoint, the song sticks to the traditional Sushant KC hit-maker route; however, the arrangement and musical instrumentations lent by Foeseal radiate through. The bridge section of the song showcases the singer hitting some rarely-heard high notes creating a commendable peak dynamically. The tabla and ishraj-like-fiddle timbres justify the singer’s eastern vocal flavours amalgamating a nice fusion-ish texture. So, definitely don’t miss out on this fervent pop music take.