Night is a new-school folk band from Nepal. The band uses traditional Nepali instruments to create new sounds. It aims to reintroduce the traditional instruments of Nepal to the modern generation of Nepali-speaking audience.
Night was formed in Kathmandu in 2006. Originally they were an avant-garde metal band until founding member Jason Kunwar took a series of journeys across Nepal for his job, during which his mind was opened to the richness of Nepali music and the songs of remote villages. Back in Kathmandu, the band began procuring and learning to play an array of regional instruments such as the tungna fretless lute, sarangi fiddle, mahali reed trumpet and the original shepherd’s instrument, the paluwa, a fresh young leaf used as a reed held between the fingers, as well as an arsenal of percussion instruments and tuned drums.
Along the way they’ve created a roots-inspired repertoire of beautifully arranged compositions, breathing new life into the endangered folk song traditions of rural Nepal with a young, contemporary urban spirit.
- Niraj Shakya – tungna, backing vocals
- Jason Kunwar – vocals, sarangi, flute, piwancha, nepali banjo, nya-khin
- Sudhir Acharya – madal, dhime, nagara, murchunga, backing vocals
- Birat Basnet – madal, dhime, nagara, murchunga, backing vocals, tungna
- Shiva Kumar Khatri – paluwa (leaf), backing vocals
- Mina Kumari Damai – vocals, murchunga, pilhru