Back in 2006, three music enthusiasts came together to experiment with sound and Night came into existence. As the band members traveled around Nepal, they got a chance to immerse themselves in the local music of various rural communities. Thus started their journey as an ethno-musical ensemble. They started collecting, recording and experimenting with the musical heritage of different communities. And what was created as a result was a soothing, melancholic admixture seldom heard before. A one of its kind music that took the listeners through a captivating musical journey encompassing mountains, hills and plains in a single go; music that could grab the attention of urban yuppies and the rustic populace at the same time and remind them of the diversity this country holds.

A six-member band now, each member of Night plays a range of instruments. Sumnima (Mina) Singh performs vocal duties and also plays the pilhru, a Tharu instrument. Jason Kunwar, another vocalist, plays the sarangi, nay khin, piwancha (a 12th century musical instrument on the verge of extinction) and the bamboo flute.  Birat Basnet plays the nagara, nay khin and dhime. Paras Mani Subedi plays the maadal and murchunga. And Sudhir Acharya plays the dhime, nagara and creates other effects. Niraj Shakya plays the tungna and arbaja. The band also has an additional musician in the form of Shiva Kumar Bhattarai, who produces melodies from a leaf. And along with playing various folk instruments, the band has resurrected instruments like the jor murali and dranyin, which can be found only in museums at present.

Night recently released their debut album titled Ani Ukali, Sangai Orali under the label Subsonic Routes, a UK-based record company. The songs in the album were composed by 2008, but it took the band six more years to bring out an album, as they did not want to compromise with the quality of their sound. Nepali record studios, according to them, didn’t meet their expectations. Therefore, mixing and mastering their songs abroad was the only option.

Apart from composing their

own music, the band have also produced background score for Nepali feature films Chhadke and Talakjung Vs Tulke. And even in the movies, the band haven’t failed to make the audience realise the richness of Nepali folk music and the need to preserve it.

Their lyrics depict the rural lifestyle and stories of hardships in rural Nepali villages and also bring into focus the various problems that Nepali people face.

The song Tuina ko Chha hai Bhara, for example, is about the perils of crossing rivers on tuins, an extremely unsafe system of crossing rivers, which is still an ubiquitous sight in the rural areas. Basai Bagayo, another popular number from the band, is the wail of the survivors of the Koshi flood (2008).

Similarly, Sunko Jutta narrates the tragic death of a Nepali migrant worker in a foreign country, where he’d gone with the hope of earning money for his family.  

With instruments belonging to various ethnic groups, lyrics underscoring the plight of the common Nepali and music that doesn’t sound foreign at all, Night has brought us closer to our country and closer to reality.