Space Publishes New India Tour MV

By Mannu Shahi,Space is a post-rock/ progressive quintet thriving in the local alternative-art music scene of Kathmandu since 2016. The band initiated their journey as a solo project of guitarist and band leader Riken Maharjan and later brewed into this stellar collective adored by their devoted pack of followers. 

Riken released his solo five-track EP “Space” (2016) on SoundCloud, a free music streaming platform, and later the same year aligned forces with friends Season Maharjan on drums and Nikita Shrestha on vocals to perform his tunes live at a concert organised by the Music Circle Institute. This was their earliest formation. But, in a couple of months, Abhinav Lama on bass and Rojib Shahi on guitars joined the bill and Space performed their debut full-band event at Fete De La Musique 2016 held at the Alliance Française. 

In 2017, the band appeared on the second season of the Yomari Sessions, performing four singles live from their debut album, of which the romantically infused pop-rock ballad ‘Hallucinating’ received generous appreciation. This cemented the quintet as a formidable act in the digital realms too. 

The live sessions showcased their first ever line-up change with popular musician Kobid Bazra filling in the lower-end duties. This line-up of Space went on to record their debut nine-track LP, “Eye/I” (2018).

“Eye/I” features two instrumental tunes alongside seven English numbers, ranging from catchy pop anthems and minimalist guitar driven melodies to progressive song structures and alternating rhythmic variations. The LP traces influences from their beloved musicians such as the American rock group Paramore and the Japanese math rock quartet Toe. 

This was followed by a couple years of performance-driven routine with back-to-back shows and tours across the country, as well as live collaborations. However, in the same period, drummer Season left the group and was replaced by Bikesh Bajracharya. Similarly, Ritavrat Joshi was also brought on board as 

the new bassist.

Subsequent to this, Space published their sophomore entry “Kapaas” (2022) comprising six tracks justifying their evolving compositional caliber. Around the launch and recording of this album, guitarist Rojib, who was traveling to and from the country due to his personal endeavors, was occasionally seen replaced by new ax-man Nir Khadka, who also contributes on a few tracks in the album. 

Contrary to their debut, all of the six songs featured in “Kapaas” were penned in Nepali by vocalist Nikita and bassist Ritavrat. This entry exhibits the band delving deeper in the progressive side of their artistry and the production is also executed with more finesse. Post this album, the band has been releasing videos for individual tracks, playing abundant shows and also published a live performance of the first single from their fabricating third studio album. 

And last Wednesday, on January 17, Space dropped a music video for their fourth single ‘Maya’ from the sophomore entry. The video shot during their recent cross-border tour across six cities in India - New Delhi, Kolkata, Goa, Darjeeling, Sikkim and Kalimpong, subtly portrays the perks of meaningful friendships, teamwork and traveling. 

The band is seen enjoying each other’s company, living their hard-earned dreams, venturing into a new found state of perseverance and acceptance, fooling around and being themselves. As suggested by its title the song describes feelings of love, optimism and hope. The complementing music feels like an aesthetically pleasing experience wrapped along a heartwarming video bursting goofy ease and intimacy. A commendable execution indeed!