1974 AD all set to embark on tour across five cities of US

By Mannu Shahi

Formed in the early 90s’, 1974 A.D. is a prominent supergroup enthralling generations of Nepalese demographic with their timeless tunes, patriotic anthems, re-arranged folk songs and an overall dynamic oeuvre. The band is one of the most celebrated rock outfits of the country, blazing the trail for countless others ensuing a similar path. Initiating as a cover act playing music by artists like Gary Moore, Deep Purple and Brayan Adams to name a few; even their 6 track debut album “Time Out” featured only two original numbers. 

Although the band till this point had undergone multiple line-up changes, the core members of the group converged in the banner post 1994. Founding members - singer and guitarist Phiroj Shyangden, bassist Nirakar Yakthumba, drummer and guitarist Bhanu A. were accompanied by singer and drummer Adrian Pradhan, percussionist Sanjay Shrestha, guitarist Manoj Kumar KC and flutist Manose Singh to conceive the most iconic musical group witnessed by Nepali music industry. The outfit categorizes their vast repertoire of music as a mixture of Nepali folk, raga, rock, funk, blues and jazz. 

Their members recall the struggling era when they were mostly working as teachers simultaneous to creating music, they collectively decided to quit their regular yet steady paying jobs to commit their entire schedule and energy into the band. Back in the day, when organizers or venues paying musicians for their performances was very rare and audiences showing up to ticketed concerts was almost not customary; the members claim their decision to risk everything and prioritize the band was the actual step into upgrading the quality of music execution from 1974 A.D. 

Thus beating the odds, the band has always dared to push the envelope and exhibit an infinite potential of not just creativity but also prescient tactfulness and ardent zeal. Even when the group was facing lots of skepticism, the determined members’ persevered through believing in themselves and their craft. This led them to executing bigger ideas, transcending boundaries and becoming the soundtrack of modern Nepal and it’s concerning social affairs. For example 1974 A.D. created history with Rock Yatra concert (2000) which was attended by over 60,000 people; their song ‘Sambhodan’ was the most effective articulation of the country’s sentiments befalling the tragic aftermath of the Royal Massacre (2001); they were also the first ever full Nepalese line-up band to tour in 11 cities of the USA (2002). 

Their discography includes eight albums: Time Out (1996), Samjhi Bash Chu (1998), Satabdi (2001), Jungi Nishan (2002), Pinjada Ko Suga (2004), On Air (2007), Aath Athara (2010) and Nirantarta (2019).  The band also released their 8 track album Hazar Sapana in 2016 when a few of the band mates were replaced with young talents like Rohit John Chettri, Prajjwal Mukhiya, Jacko Wacko and Pratick Baniya for a short span of time.

And the old-school rockers are back in the grind with their 2024 tour across five cities of America. Commencing the US tour-leg at The Pourhouse, Minneapolis on May 11; The UC Theatre, San Francisco on May 18; Longhorn BallRoom, Dallas on May 25; Crescendo Studios, DMV on June 1; Town Hall Seattle, Seattle on June 8. Alongside the performances, the group also released an official music video for the title track from their 2016’s album “Hazar Sapana”. The release not only encapsulates a brand new mv but also a re-recoded take by the band: with their old-style of instrumental arrangements and Adrian Pradhan lending the main vocal section the song sounds exquisite and the poignant video compliments the music.