I admit that sales of albums are down in recent years, and in 2010 nothing drastic is going to happen. But some things are not in our control. Today, the number of true music listeners are only a few in Nepal. Most from the young generation are abroad, and the ones who are here understand music by videos, not through sounds and lyrics. I often meet such people who ask me whether or not I’ve watched a particular music video of this and that singer. They hardly ask me whether I’ve listened to the song itself.
Recollecting my memories of 2009, I can say that even we (singers) made many mistakes. We didn’t produce songs with substance. In the cutthroat competition, we looked for the easier way out to make as much money and to record as many collections as we could. With hope, I see 2010 sweeping away such practices. In the future, we should make sure that those who truly deserve it get substantial space to make it as singers rather than those who have money to record and promote their albums.
The scenario of modern music looks promising while pop music really needs to take care of itself. We must learn to understand the importance of melody. Music arrangement has gone haywire lately. With lyricists slowly understanding their ability to create magic in songs through their words, 2010 will see many more promising lyricists writing songs. Simultaneously, I see rap music headed spiraling downward. “Rap” means “rhythm and poetry.” Sadly, there’s neither rhythm nor poetry in what we’ve been portraying as rap music.
Through my experiences in music, I know that the charms of folk songs are huge in Nepal. But in recent times, the whole idea of composing a folk song has been misunderstood with people fusing different kinds of music with folk instruments. This must be avoided in the years to come. The new generations of singers seem to have understood by now that they are misusing technology to prove themselves as musicians and singers. They must utilize technology to enhance their composition, not clone their voice.
The Singers Society led by Ram Krishna Dhakal and the Royalty Collection Society under Komal Oli will be more active in 2010 to secure the rights and needs of artistes. The Nepali government, too, needs to address copyright policies for musicians.
There are more musical tours in the pipeline to help Nepal internationalize its music. Prominent singers like Karna Das, Deepesh Kishor Bhattarai, and Saroj Dutta will probably come back to Nepal to give back to Nepali music. The New Year will also be memorable because we’ll get to hear Sabin Rai, Nabin Bhattarai, Nima Rumba, and Anil Singh after quite sometime.
Male singers like Satya/Swaroop Acharya, Rajesh Payal Rai, Dipak Limbu, and I myself will replace Udit Narayan Jha and Kumar Sanu on the soundtracks of Nepali films while Anju Panta will replace Asha Bhonsle and Sadhana Sargam for the female voices.
Yes, it’s going to be a productive year for all related to Nepali music.
Sugam Pokharel is a singer, a music composer and co-producer at Radio Sagarmatha 102.4 MHz.
(As told to Avash Karmacharya)
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