Lakhey, the instrumental band, are Anil Dhital on guitar,
Ashish Maharjan on flute and vocal effects, Yuson Maharjan on dhimeh, Rabindra
Maharjan on bhusyah, Naresh Prajapati on khin, Gokul Atreya on bass, Sudan Raj
Bajracharya on dhyangro, Ashish Dangol performing as Lakhey, the dancing demon,
and Guidoo Wyss of Commando Noise Terror as their guest drummer.
Incorporating sounds of more than 15 Nepali/Newar musical instruments
ranging from the dhyangro that jhankris (faith healers) play to drive out
spirits to kaa and pongraa played during funerals with seven-string guitar
riffs and bass, most of the band members take on multiple instruments, creating
what they call ethnic metal music.
The current ensemble of eight members in the room is a mix of
musicians from different bands. Five of them come from Vairabi, a traditional
folk music outfit who were lost in the shadows of Kutumba, the band that
popularized folk music in recent years. And it was during one of the many
concerts of Kutumba that Vairabi discovered their missing element in versatile
guitarist Anil Dhital, then on stage with Kutumba.
“I first saw Anil dai when he was
playing a set with Kutumba at the tattoo convention,” the always eager Rabindra
says, “As soon as I saw him perform, I realized that his metal guitar riffs
would sync with the aggressive traditional beats we played during Jatras in our
hometown Kirtipur.”
The youngster then Facebooked Anil to get together and
jam up. And because “No” is a rare species when it comes to the world of
musicians jamming together, Anil agreed.
“I always had this idea of mixing folk with metal,” says
Anil in his characteristic casual drawl, “So we got together one free evening.
I had some of my own tunes ready, we then played along, and by the end of the
session, we knew we had something khatraa (awesome).”
Soon they were looking for a name for their
joint project and “Lakhey” stood out as they could associate their ethno metal
music with furious sounds played during the Jatras with the vibrant dancing
demon.
A year later, the band members share amicable relationship, always
laughing and joking with each other. As they share how they had a full photo
shoot with their costumes and masks even before they had a concrete
composition, each one has a playful smile curved up his lips.
“It did push us to complete what we’d started,
though,” says a smiling Anil. For the boys from Vairabi too it was an
opportunity to do something new, something innovative and something different.
As most of the initial band members came from the Newar town of Kirtipur,
Ashish shares, they were passed on the musical traditions by their forefathers
and their Guthi where many youngsters were even obliged to take on the
responsibility of playing the traditional instruments for the cultural
occasions they endorsed for their sheer love of music.
“We’ve been playing (traditional instruments) since we
were kids,” he says, “We never actually learnt to play these instruments but
picked it up as we played along for fun during the several festive occasions
and Jatras in our community.”
Even while playing traditional beats, the band says,
the metallic sounds of the bhusyah and fast drum beats of dhimeh and khin
sounded “brutal” to them, they say. The gennext couldn’t help but associate it
with the metal music many of their friends and themselves were listening to.
“Many traditional music compositions, especially the
ones played during Lakhey dance, with the aggressive tunes evoking a sense of
fear and fright are very similar to the musical patterns of metal music,” says
Rabindra, “As we delved deeper, it was like we already had metal pioneers
playing the fast paced musical patterns way before Metallica.”
That’s where Lakhey stemmed from – the roots of traditional music that was
already there and infused it with contemporary metal essence.
For skeptics who believe that metal is a recent
phenomena in Nepali music, Lakhey brings to light the existence of metal in
Nepali music roots. And it’s only Newar music the band has mostly explored
which still leaves the potential of many different tribal music of Nepal
untapped.
With their single titled “Lakhey” that they released on the Internet just past
New Year, they’ve already created a fan base for themselves. In the very first
listening, from the eerie guitar intro to the crashing sounds of dhimeh, khin
and ghungroo with piercingly sharp flute parts scattered throughout the track,
the music leaves you with a haunting feeling that reverberates in the mind.
In the practice room, the excitement and the readiness
is even more apparent not just in their furious sounds but also in their
ecstatic faces, wild heads banging, body jerks, jumps, screeches and screams.
Playing in a circle, all the while the boys pick up on each other’s cue, keeping
pace with each other. And their Anil dai has all sorts of facial expressions,
from creased brows to wide open eyes and crooked smiles to signal them exactly
where they need to work on to sound perfect.
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| LAKHEY...... \m/ |
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