Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu:

Opal International launched two new albums — fourth and fifth in the series of its launch since its inception — ‘X-Mantra’ by X-Mantra and ‘Yo Mann’ by Ciney Gurung on April 17 amidst a function organised at Hotel Bluestar, Tripureshwor. This is X-Mantra’s third album after the success of ‘Crying for Peace’ and ‘Kurshi’. Singing hard rock and heavy metal is tough but the young boys of the band have done pretty well which surely seems to create a buzz in Nepali musical world. The highlight of the album is that they have picked up one of the popular patriotic songs written and composed by veteran musician and singer Ganesh Rasik. “Haami Dherai Sana Chhaun…” is one song that every Nepali child sings while in the school and the band has definitely done a good job to recreate it, still keeping the essence of the song intact. The band has four members — Rozesh, Rajan, Rakesh and Piyush. The album consists of 10 songs and all of them are composed by the band.

Another album that was released on the day seems to be an instant hit. First album by Ciney Gurung, ‘Yo Mann’, is her solo presentation, which consists nine numbers — all the songs are written and composed in different mood and style. Ciney said, “My inspiration comes from my father when I started dancing and singing to my father’s tunes.” Ciney’s different voice from others and her song selection holds the potential to make her album top the chart soon. Mrs Ganesh Rasik was the chief guest of the event and the event was presided over by Chandra Lekha Tuladhar, chairman, Opal International. Lyricist Durga Lal Shrestha was honoured at the programme for his contribution to Nepali music and Nepal Bhasa. Both the albums are produced and distributed by Opal International.