What were you doing before ‘Khani Ho Yahmu’ became so popular?
I had a couple of songs and an album out before ‘Khani Ho Yahmu’ was released. My first song was ‘Daiba Janos’ which I recorded together with Basanta Shrestha in 2008. I continued to release a few singles after that and only came out with my album after five years. There were seven songs in the album, of which I had written four. I had no connection in the music industry, that’s why it took so long for me to make that album. It did pretty well; out of 400 copies of the album, I just have about 15 remaining with me. I decided to release ‘Khani Ho Yahmu’ as a single because the album had just come out. The popularity of the song was totally unexpected.
Did you always want to be a musician?
Music has been in my blood ever since I can remember. I knew I had the potential and when I was just starting out seven years ago there weren’t many artistes like me. But I hadn’t really thought about doing music full time because I’d heard how it wasn’t a lucrative career choice at all. I would have to do something else to support myself, that’s what I thought. However, I’ve been doing pretty well for myself so far. I’m doing music full time now. I perform in different places within the country. Sometimes I also have concerts overseas. Two of my most memorable concerts happened last year, one in the UK and another in Kapilvastu. I had the privilege to perform with veteran musicians like Yogeshwar Amatya, Deep Shrestha, and Om Bikram Bista at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Concerts in Nepal are a totally different experience. There was a 4,200 strong crowd and the entire crowd sang along with me in Kapilvastu.
Have you been influenced by any musicians in the kind of music you make?
Not really. Like most people, I’ve gone through phases in life where I was passionate about different genres of music. I remember being keen on rock music as a young girl. I wanted to be a rock star. But these days, I’m drawn towards a more mellow kind of music and that’s the kind of music I want to make. I have always loved listening to Nepathya and now songs by Bipul Chettri are also in my playlist.
What are you currently working on?
I’m working on two different songs right now. One is a folk rock song similar to ‘Khani Ho Yahmu’ while the other is tragic love song targeted at the young crowd. There’s still work to be done before I release them. I’ve recorded one song twice because I wasn’t happy with the music and I’m planning to reshoot the music video of the other one as it doesn’t look right to me. I’m quite a perfectionist that way.
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