John Chamling Rai serenades fans with new single ‘Farkanna Hola’

By Mannu Shahi

Born on November 5, 1998 in Dharan, John Chamling Rai is a singer/ songwriter who has enthralled the Nepali audience with his emotional melodies, live performances and viral cover renditions. A follower of the Christian doctrine, John was lured into the musical realm at a very young age by his weekly church services. These services exposed him to communal hymns and other forms of devotional music and gave him a platform to develop his talents in the form of church choirs.

Rai credits his euphonious vocal abilities to this experience. Additionally, the singer also presents his father, who is an articulate singer and guitar player himself, as an important influence. 

At the tender age of four, John received his first guitar which marked his first foray into music. At an age when most children begin learning to read and write, he was beginning to strum and noodle on the strings.    

Rai took his first solemn steps into music with covers, posting live acoustic versions of songs from his favorite musicians, which included Tribal Rain, Sajjan Raj Vaidya, JPT Rockerz, Neetesh Jung Kunwar, Albatross and many other global outfits, on his social media. Back in Dharan, he also started performing in local clubs.

But it was only after he moved abroad and started publishing original songs that he truly dove into this 

creative world. 

An undergraduate of corporate finance from the University Of Copenhagen, Denmark, the singer claims his stay outside Nepal and the events that unfolded in his life afterwards brought out the songwriter that was previously hidden and helped his voice blossom into a raconteur able to narrate his tales via these intricate songs.   

His boy-next-door charms, sensitive expressions and good vocal control/ projection helps this singer stand out from his equally talented contemporaries. This may be the reason why the singer has successfully garnered much admiration by simply posting raw audio and footage of his songs.  

The singer’s discography consists of his debut single ‘Prasna’ (2020), a collaboration with Nyshang ‘Firework’ (2020), the tragic acoustic ballad ‘Parkhi Rahexu’ (2021), his old composition from when he was in the sixth grade reprised as ‘Ko Xa Ra’ (2021), his fifth entry ‘Vagyamani Moh’ (2021), his TikTok viral song ‘Sadhana’ (2022), the official version of his much awaited single ‘Nihita’ (2022), his live take of ‘Mutu Dekhin’ (2023) - a song the singer refers to as his letter to everyone who has been part of his journey, his first ever video to surpass 10 million streams ‘Hawa Jastai’ (2023), and his Spotify-released 10th single ‘Samaya Ley’ (2023).

On October 13, the singer released his new track ‘Farkanna Hola' .And in a span of just over two weeks, the song has crossed 900,000 views. Mixed and produced by Tunna Bell Thapa, the song features Bishal Chhetri on acoustic guitars and Manish Gandharva on Sarangi. Rejma Magar is the project manager and Pukar Bhattachan is the executive producer of the video that has been distinctly shot on an iPhone and has been credited to Aakash Pradhan. 

A melancholic nocturne-like piece, flows and moves with the singer’s melodic route, accelerating and diffusing dynamically with his enunciation of the phrases. The minimal video showcasing only the songster also elevates the intensity of the tune and allows the audiences to connect with his narrative.