Sketches of Darjeeling | Bipul Chettri
In 2013, a song was quietly uploaded on SoundCloud, an online music platform. No one outside his small circle of friends and some school mates had even heard of Bipul Chettri till then. Up until that year, he was studying and training to be a western classical guitar recitalist for the past 15 years. But what transpired after that is the stuff made up in folklore.
The song was called Wildfire/Dadhelo.
Just like the title of the song, it spread like wildfire amongst both Nepali and non-Nepali music listeners across the world. He followed it up with the monsoon inspired ‘Asaar’ and the mighty ‘Mountain High’. He wasn’t a one-song wonder and people started to take him and his music very seriously. In the course of one year, he released his debut offering ‘Sketches of Darjeeling’ which became a template for contemporary Nepali music and drastically changed its trajectory then.
Recorded between 2013-14, the album is a collection of songs inspired by life around the hills of Darjeeling, a small town that sits on the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas. Harmonically blending Nepali folk music with contemporary western musical elements, the songs have the rare quality of touching hearts and transporting the listener to the land where the songs were born.
Wild Yak Records continues its journey from the heart of the valley , with Narayan Gopal, to young songs of the hills that echoed globally. We proudly present- Bipul Chettri’s groundbreaking debut album Sketches of Darjeeling for the first time on vinyl with lyrics, and liner notes by Nima D.T. Namchu. An E.U. press, this must-have collector’s edition is limited to 500 only. Taking into consideration the nature of the records, this is pressed for 45 rpm (versus the common 33 ½ rpm) to enhance the warmth of vinyl.
You can pre-order your copy here. PRE-ORDER
The record will begin shipping in the US, UK and Australia by late November.
For buyers from India and Nepal, please leave us an email and we will keep you in priority list till we figure out an inexpensive way to ship the records there.
In your Honor
Narayan Gopal Record
Although Nepal is known worldwide for its magnificent peaks – the Himalayas, its rich musical heritage is often overlooked. Narayan Gopal Gurubacharya, the most popular singer and composer of Nepali music, known as the Swar Samrat (Emperor of Voice) was born on October 4, 1939 to a Newar family in Kilagal Tole, Kathmandu, He recorded only 137 in his 30 year music career before this demise from complications of diabetes at the age of 51. Close friends recall him as a perfectionist. His commitment to the quality of the songs was so profound that he would record a song repeatedly and return to the studio early the following morning to request for one more take. Narayan Gopal’s melodious and oftentimes sad songs touched hearts of every nepalese during his reign over the airways for decades. Even after 30 years of his death, Narayan Gopal remains as an unparalleled treasure of Nepali music.
We could get hold of the last remaining analog tapes of the selected Narayan Gopal songs and then were remastered by expert engineers in the U.S. and in currently being pressed in a world class record production facility in Ohio, USA. As homage to the beloved legend, the Wild Yak Records is proud to release this limited-edition vinyl record of 10 timeless classics for the first time in the historyWild Yak Records. The records will go on sale on 5 December 2019.
Yakspin
WYR is developing a platform to support the sale of their music, in what would be a “fair-share” approach for the Nepali market. yakspin.com will make it easier for music fans to support the musicians by buying their music online. It will also allow musicians to make money so that they can focus on creating more quality music and continue to entertain us all. The WYR is currently working with local partners to create online payment gateways so that Nepalis can pay from their phones and purchase music right from their homes.
Website: www.yakspin.com
Production
WYR is also producing music for new and upcoming artists. Our preferred choice is to produce what our ears like—namely metal, rock, punk, jazz and funk albums. Not that we will not produce other kinds of music; it’s just that they want to maintain the right balance and see no point of working on albums that we do not enjoy ourselves. We have a soft spot for original Nepali folk music.
Please email us if you think you have something that we should listen to at wildyakrecords@gmail.com
Support Your Local Artist
BUY NEPALI MUSIC AT YAKSPIN.COM