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AUDIO
New Pinch
DIFFERENT SOACH ** ½ by Araj Keshav
This is a typical Nepali album with a mixture of genres, from pop to folk to blues, etc. The starting track could be a lot better with proper balance of sounds, which calls for better arrangement. The percussions dominate whereas this simple tune could have done with the guitar sounds dominating the overall sound. It's actually a good song and has a catchy chorus. "Mayale" of course is a straight copy of Santana. Done reasonably well, but original??? Makes one hope the other songs are not copies too. "Yo Saanjh" starts well but the vocal is a let down. The arrangement is actually quite good. Then we come to a blues tune. The rhythm is strong but not much of a song. The guitar riff may not be outstanding and has a blues feel to it. With "Ghintang" we arrive at folk country. The maadal blends well with the guitars but isn't everybody doing the same thing these days? It fits the Nepali folk genre and the singer does a good job. This is followed by another folk tune, "Shim Shimme". Araj sounds relatively good. Sounds like a good dance track too. "DJ" arranged by Cool Pokharel is definitely different. This is just a dance track; simply done with a strong backing track. "Yestai Bitne" is another arrangement by Cool and this time the song is dominated by a strong vocal. Then it's on to heavy metal with "Bhatki Sakeko". If only the song could match the guitar sounds. A definite miss-match but Maushami Gurung does a commendable job on supporting vocals. The first track is repeated at the end with Prasna Shakya adding her vocals. Araj has taken songs from various composers like Sabin Rai, Anil Singh, Jems Pradhan, Sujan KC and others. The album is quite interesting. ROCK 'N BARK *** by Various Artistes
This is a fund raiser with a lot of artistes lending a hand. Prominent among them are Anil Singh, Nabin K Bhattarai, Sanjeep Pradhan, 1974 AD, 5th Grade Dropouts, Sugam Pokharel, Ram Shrestha and Full Circle. Most of them have collaborated on the theme song "Aau Mili Gaun". The album is a mixture of somereally good songs with some quite mediocre ones. "Aau Mili Gaun" is reminiscent of Band Aid and "We are the World". That was kind of the beginning of such musical collaborations. This song has been worked out quite well and as a group song, but could have done with a simpler beat. Anil Singh's distinctive voice pierces through the other voices. Shubu may be a new find. Her "Timi Man Parcha" is a lovely song and well arranged too. Not quite original, but carried well all the same, "Everything" is a song with potential; all it needs is better phrasing. The voices sound good and the harmony is great. "Snow Leopard" by Willow lama is sung professionally with a male voice adding a Tibetan touch. Great job. Jessy Rai has a very good band backing her up for a pretty well composed song. Listen to PP's "Samaile", here's another great band. "I Don't Eat Animals" by Roselle Prisno is simple and blunt in its message. You'd do well to sing along. This is followed by another good song "Yatra", this time by 3 KiNZ. The rock n' roll song "I Don't Like this Song" by 5th Grade Dropouts has a familiar ring to it but it's good. 1974 AD has Feroj singing about a wounded bird, one of the simplest songs by the band. The album ends with Full Circle asking people of the world to unite in peace and harmony. A lilting, easy listening song, it is rendered well by Dimple in his typical style. This album was produced by animalNEPAL.org, which is an organization that aims to reduce cruelty towards animals by creating awareness and practical interventions. Go buy the album for a good cause and for the good music.
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