Nepal: When Ishan R Onta, Dipesh Gurung and Raunaq Adhikari first
went to Kau Danda near Pokhara to work on their single, Aparichit two
years ago, they knew that they would be back there again. The trio, members of
a Nepali indie band called, The elements had been working on the song for quite
some time, but due to some reason, they were not able to. But, a few days at
Kau Danda was all it took for them to complete it.
In January 2021, the
trio, with equipment in hand, reached Kau Danda again. This time, they wanted
to work on their new album: urja The reason to go there was simple: to
create music with freedom and in a state of bliss. On the hill some 50
kilometres away from pokhara freedom is what they found.
“We made this album in a
state of bliss,” adds Adhikari, who is the band’s guitarist. “We wanted to push
ourselves to our limit and create a type of music that we hadn’t in the past.
This place helped us do that.”
The album was launched
on december 11 at a show held in the premises of 5150 Productions, where
hundreds of The Elements’ fans lined up to listen to them sing new songs. They
were not disappointed as the album had a bit of everything. From rock ballads
to hints of punk rock, the five-track album takes people on a journey.
“The response has
been good so far and we hope more people listen to it in the months to come,”
says Onta.
The idea of the album is based on the post-Covid world. With
all three of them stuck in their homes, the lockdown gave them the time for
introspection. But, to express things wholeheartedly, they knew they had to get
away from
“I don’t think we
could’ve done the album staying in
The Elements wanted to
create an album that was musically different from what they had been doing.
They had realised that their gigs went by at the same pace which they felt was
not right. So through this album, they wanted to try to give something
different.
“We feel we did something
different with Aparachit and Sawari, but we wanted to carry on doing that,”
says Gurung, The Elements’ percussionist. “Once your start, you need to keep
pushing yourself to reach the next level.”
With the aim to evolve
both lyrically and musically, they started to compose music together. They had
done it in the past too, but this time things were different as they were all
in the same place at the same time.
“Space and time were just
concepts to us. We didn’t care. We’d be doing whatever we wanted to do, but
when it came to music, we got together. I think this was quite a conscious
process,” adds Onta, who claims there was a feeling amongst them that every
word in every song mattered more to them.
The
Elements on stage during their album launch at 5150 Productions.
That is why when they started writing, the songs came to
them automatically. They say each song grew on them. For Urja, the title track,
they wrote the chorus first, after which the rest of the song pretty much wrote
itself. Maybe that is why the song feels fresh and like its title, it is full
of energy. Onta is great as usual, but the drum work on the title track is
commendable.
Upahar is similar to The
Elements’ previous songs but has something new to it. Adhikari’s guitar work is
quite flawless along with his solo that is sure to make people go ‘Woah’ during
live shows. They say this song is about love and add that writing it was quite
easy during a time when the three were all alone in the jungle on the hill.
Bhaag is a song for the
revolutionaries. But, if you solely look at it through the musical lens, it is
great as it is full of energy. They say this one grew on them as they were
making it.
“It’s our revolution
song, in which we want to tell people to not let anyone bury the art and the
artist in them,” says Onta.
Tyaag was something The
Elements had prepared for their previous album, but as they wanted to work on
it more, they did not release it. That might be a great decision as they have
polished the song into something really great.
The song that took the
most time, they say, was Indirya. This is the last track of the album and
arguably the best too. Onta calls it the most positive song from the album, but
it took a lot out of them to write and compose this song.
“We reached a threshold,
I think. In six days, we’d written and composed three songs. But when it came
to Indiya, we just couldn’t do anything. It was really frustrating,” says
Gurung.
But, The Elements pulled
through. They knew they had it in them to produce an upbeat high tempo song.
Despite having insecurities, they finally finished composing it and went to
record their album.
The recording was also a
fun and learning experience, say The Elements. The album was recorded at 5150
Productions where people like Bikash Bhujel and Steven Tamang did a marvellous
job in capturing and presenting the ideas that the band have played around
with.
“They took us to a next
level. We’ve worked with Bikas dai previously, but this year we recorded
everything with him and have realised what we want to sound like in the
future,” says Adhikari, adding this was the best audio The Elements ever
recorded.
People from the scene also agree. Noodle album review lauds
the work done by the band and the 5150.
“The multiple inputs and stereo layering has definitely made
the mix punchy and the drums sound outstanding. This album is a prime example
of what happens when good ideas meet a good mix .
Now, The Elements want to
take their music out to the masses. Having recorded the album, they want both,
to tour
“We’ve never done a
Shashwat Pant
onlinekhabar
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