 |
|
Looza is back
So you were wondering where they’d disappeared to?
by SUBEL BHANDARI
| FROM ISSUE # 119 (November 2005) | IN THIS ISSUE | |||
 |
|||
 |
REFER TO FRIEND |  |
PRINT THIS ARTICLE |
After Robin 'n Looza broke up, it looked like Looza was history. For two years, there was not a squeak to be heard from them. Guess what? They are back! With a new front-man and back-to-basics rock attitude. 
Robin 'n Looza ruled the roost in Nepali rock music for more than seven years. And like all things, it came to an end. It was a bitter surprise for fans but Robin soon earned a fan following with Robin and The New Revolution. Looza, it seemed, had disappeared from the face of the music industry.
"We were tired so we decided to take a break," says Sunit and Rijju adds, "Robin wanted to do his own stuff, so did we." And for the record, Looza and Robin are still friends. As a band, Looza stayed together, maybe because they were heading in the same direction musically. For a while, they got tied up in work, since all of them run businesses on the side. Sunit started Music Factory with Sharad, which is about music arrangements and programming. Rijju started a glass art studio with Cobweb's Nilesh and Siddhartha. Prazol, the youngest, found himself an office.
Even after the break-up, Sunit played on Fridays with Eternity, headed by ex-Mukti and Revival member Sushil Kayastha, while Rijju joined Rusty Nails. A year-and-half later, they decided to end the break. But they had no vocalist. Sunit tried singing but as he jokes, "I can't sing." Then they heard of Lochan Rijal through X-marica's Pranav.
In the industry, Lochan Rijal is known as a musical genius. Currently studying Masters in Ethnomusicology at Kathmandu University, Lochan had not found the kind of band he wanted to work with. When Lochan and Looza met, they clicked, and that was it.
Though many suggested they become Lochan and Looza or Lochan with Looza, the band name will remain simply Looza, which means the first ray of the sun in Newari. Only their music, with rock as a base, will change. "We have not planned things out according to the market," says Sunit. But things look interesting. Lochan is learning eastern classical vocals and instruments. Sunit takes sitar lessons every morning. Sharad has got himself a new Akai gadget and is into electronic music. He also plays the didgeridoo and murchunga. Prazol is experimenting with percussions. Rijju is the only member who has his four strings intact. "Bass is the link between percussions and strings, no matter how ethnic they go or what they change," he laughs.
The new Looza has jammed together a couple of times but they plan to take things more seriously after Tihar. "We need to find our sound. Then we'll probably record a single and release it. There'll be gigs and concerts and cutting our first album," say the band mates. They are open to collaborations and experiments with other artistes.
As for his solo career, Lochan says, "I will focus on the band. I don't want to work according to the market. I want to do something substantial musically." His third album is soon to be released by SAV. "It has short six docu-story songs and will be released before Looza's debut," he says. And Looza is all set to start. As Rijju, Prazol and Sunit say, "We've missed the thrill of performing live."