Yabesh Thapa features Dong on upbeat break-up anthem

By Mannu Shahi

Born on August 31, 2002, Yabesh Thapa is a prominent Nepali singer-songwriter known for his articulate lyrics and enticing melodies. With over three hundred sixty-one thousand subscribers on his official YouTube handle, the singer’s discography consists of more than a dozen singles, multiple collaborations, various releases published via other production channels and his eagerly anticipated upcoming album, “Gham Chaaya”. 

The singer inheriting his family’s Christian doctrine, would be fascinated by the choir groups performing during the weekly church services. While only studying in grade seven, Yabesh, highly influenced by his fellow seniors, gravitated towards music but only started to write and practice his art in isolation.

Eventually, he wound up sharing his refined craft with the world, debuting in 2018 with his original tune ‘Prayas’ featuring Pratik Shakya at the tender age of 16. Around the same time, the singer would also post cover songs from his own social handles, but it was ultimately his 2019 tender love ballad ‘Laakhau Hajarau’ that grasped major attention and established Yabesh amidst the aspiring songwriters with abundant proficiency 

and eloquence. 

Inspired by global indie-pop stars initiating as bed-room songwriters like Jeremy Zucker and Chloe Moriondo; in a local context, Yabesh digs the work of artists such as Sajjan Raj Vaidya, VEK and Oasis Thapa. Even though the songster himself is this young icon admired by tons of followers, he firmly believes that art should be created for the personal happiness of the artist, and likewise, the creator should always prioritize fondness for their work over external validations. 

And the singer is back again with yet another single, from his upcoming album, ‘Fewataal’ featuring Dong. It was published last Wednesday, September 20. In just two days since its premiere, the song is already #16 on Trending for Music as per the Nepal-moderated YouTube charts. 

With Pozod on audio production, Storenutter and Yabesh Thapa on guitars, it has also been mixed and mastered by Storenutter; the video is directed/ shot/ edited by Thomas GM, styled by Gurkha, Mandila Shrestha as the production manager and Botanist as the location partner. 

The upbeat track even though lyrically hashing out a tragic story, from the very first guitar riff sets the atmosphere for a buoyant dance number. Minimal yet very effective and modern-sounding guitar layers by Storenutter, who apart from possessing great production skills also has a knack for modern percussive guitar works. The witty and catchy chorus takes over along with the accompanying tresillo pattern on the drums, amalgamating the composition together. 

Subsequent to the chorus, Dong takes over the focus and parades his effortless flow and impressive rhymes. The rap section here breaks the otherwise monotonous circulation of the song and also creates a dynamic variation in the compositional structure. Right after Yabesh joins in with a bridge-like phrase that directly shifts the song towards a decelerating breakdown. 

This slowing, almost muffled break is quickly resumed by the second chorus paving the way for the outro resorting back to the intro-like guitar phrase. While the song at points surfaces as a bit repetitive melodically, but, on the contrary, the lyrics are intricately fabricated as dialogues of a scene or skit, ever-changing and narrating the break-up of the protagonist in the story.