Kathmandu

In a secret location in the heart of Northamptonshire, England traditional music and stories of Nepal will unfold and resonate on August 30. Unique tunes which are tapestry of the Nepali society and folk culture depicted through Nepali traditional instruments like sarangi, dhime, maadal, tunguna, murchunga, arbazoo or piwancha and soothing vocals will echo in the countryside of Northamptonshire.

The reason?

Shambala Festival, a four-day-festival with an array of amazing activities that will also see over 200 diverse musical acts across 12 stages. And Nepal’s new-school folk band — Night comprising Jason Kunwar, Niraj Shakya, Birat Basnet, Mina Kumari Damai (Mina Singh), Sudhir Acharya, Shiva Kumar Khatri and Paras Subedi will be performing on the main stage on the final day of the fest.

This festival is special for the band as it their “first international tour.”

“The band has worked hard all these years and we have been invited to perform on a big stage. It obviously feels great,” shares Shakya. “There is nervousness because we are doing it for the first time. It is not only about performance but because we are managing ourselves. We are nervous that we might miss out something somewhere.”

The poignant music of the “organically growing” band and their inclination and initiation towards Nepali traditional instruments have impressed people, be it music enthusiasts or festival organisers.

They will be representing Nepal and Nepali music at the fest for the first time. And Kunwar feels that “music is universal indeed. This confirms it. I feel how people who don’t speak Nepali can relate to Nepali music but it seems they do somehow.”

The Ani Ukali Sangai Orali-fame band will also be a part of another prestigious international music festival in Smarkand, Uzbekistan — Sharq Taronalari from August 25 to 28. In their first international performance, Night will perform in five other venues around London after Shambala till September 11 — The Nest Collective’s The Campfire Club, St Ethelburga’s Listen to the World and Servants Jazz Quarters, among others.

Such an opportunity has come after nine years of Night’s journey. They had hoped for such

opportunities but hadn’t expected Shambala or other international performances. Kunwar wonders, “How big is our fan-base here? Not many people know us. We can hope that we could be invited by Nepali people, but by foreigners? It was shocking for us.”

Music Journalist/Ethnomusicologist Marco Canepari and London-based sound engineer-cum-musician Bishwo Shahi as well as the band’s hard work and perseverance have made the tour possible for this seven-member band. And young members like Singh, Acharya and Basnet are quite excited but founder members like Kunwar and Shakya are “quietly excited”.

The band which is “not internationally exposed” will honestly perform their few new songs like Bans and old songs which include Suskeraharu, Suseli, Basai Bagayo and Tuina Ko Chha Hai Bhara among others.

They just hope the audience there will like their music.