KATHMANDU: Music is not just their hobby, but also a burning passion. And their persistent passion for music has led this progressive rock band ‘Mukut’ come a long way. The band consists of four highly creative and professional band members — Girish Subedi (rhythm and lead vocal), Roshan Kunwar (lead guitar and vocal), Dona Gurung (bass guitar) and Kumar Maharjan (drums and percussion), while a close friend David Shrestha, who looks after the band’s practice sessions and performances, is the band manager.

“We went through scores of names before we finally settled on Mukut. Since we were proud of our music, we decided we would wear our music as our crown,” says Roshan. The band started its musical journey 10 years ago, even as Roshan and Girish jammed up in school. Dona and Kumar joined later and their style of music clicked instantly. Kumar also plays for a reggae band ‘Power of Joy’ while Dona used to play for a local band DNA. “Our band focuses more on entertaining music lovers and doing our best to make music for the mind. We don’t focus on money. Money never comes in our way of working,” says Girish.

Roshan and Girish, compose their lyrics focusing mainly on the realities of life, social situation and individual problems of youth. Their lyrics of Jhyal bata hera is a hard-hitting reflection

of the agonies of today’s youth. Their first album Marabhumi was released in December 2004.

Though they have supportive parents, Roshan says, “We play at restaurants so as to be able to pay for the equipment we need.” The band also plays background scores for plays at Gurukul and Hotel Vajra.

“Good music is not about skimpily dressed women in music videos, but about mesmerising the mind. However, producers feel that girls in skimpy outfits are a must for a hit,” says Roshan. They believe that a good sound system is a must for any gig, which organisers usually don’t bother to provide. With their new album set for release in a couple of months, the band shows lots of promise to remain in the music scene for a long time.