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Home Bot CategoriesLivingMusical Conversation EXPRESSIONS OF REALITY & RAGE

EXPRESSIONS OF REALITY & RAGE

by wowmagazine

Rachana Dahal started writing songs when she was just in grade six. It’s only been a year though since she released her first song which earned her immense popularity. Her songs are powerful and emotional and resonate with her audience on a personal level.

Rachana holds a Bachelor’s degree in Travel and Tourism, and works as an event planner in her wedding management company called HSG events. WOW’s Anushka Shrestha catches up with her to learn about her musical journey.

Do you consider music to be your career?

I did not actually choose music as my career. Even now I am just doing what I love. I have been writing songs since grade six but I was never open about it with anyone else. I was very hesitant in showing the lyrics to anyone. Much later we formed a band named Aroha. After that I felt that yes this could be something I can do.

Does Aroha exist?

Aroha happened back when we were doing cover gigs. We used to perform at different places as a band. I am still on good terms with all the members of Aroha but we parted ways. I started my journey about a year ago and this allowed me to experience new things in life and to get out of my comfort zone. Today, we are five different people doing our own things each.

How are cover gig artists perceived?

I enjoyed cover gigs for a year and after that it became tiring. It should have felt like I was celebrating music, but I just could not feel the lyrics or the music as I should have and I did not want to be doing just for the sake of it. Personally I don’t like performing cover gigs. However kudos to people who are doing cover gigs and making money from it.

Your lyrics are very powerful and scream for justice. Tell us about that.

Lyrics are an outlet of emotions and what you want to express. I just write what I genuinely feel.
It been said that your lyrics are an eruption of suppressed emotions from the trauma of being sexually molested by your teacher while in grade three for two years in a school in Lalitpur. Also, Soch talks about how society turns a blind eye to sexual abuse. Is this song based on your past experience?

Our society is still driven by the deep rooted patriarchy. It is true that my teacher molested me when I was in grade three. I have heard many such stories and incidents. ‘Soch’ is a song inspired by such stories. Through this song I want to urge people to actually share their experiences with family and friends rather than just posting it on social media. I am sure we can find better solutions this way. Since I know how it feels to be sexually harassed and not to be able to talk about it to anybody, I want victims of sexual abuse to know that they are not alone and they should speak up about it, at least with someone they are close to. Also, I remember writing some of the lines when I was in grade six and I am grateful that I can finally point at the the culprit now through this song.

Tell us something about your song Bhumari.

Bhumari is about toxic relationships and how it feels to be a toxic person’s lover or loving a person who is toxic to you. It is about someone who is stuck in a whirlpool and is not able to come out of it.

You also have a song titled Daag Batti which is part of an album…

I am still not sure if we will name the album Daag Batti. However, the song’s name is Daag Batti. I cannot tell you yet about what you can expect from this album as we are still working on it. The pandemic has made it a little difficult for us to proceed with the album. Let us wait and hope for the best.

What do you love about the Nepali music industry?

I love the fact that we have so many musicians who are not driven by their egos and are very supportive. I love the humble energy that is all around. Moreover, I have a lot to learn as it has only been a year since I stepped into the industry.

Can you share about your collaboration with Eivind Rossback Heier?

We met two years ago when he was here for an event. We had mutual friends and in our first meet itself I came to know that he was a musician and vice-versa. That was right after ‘Bhumari’ was released. We instantly clicked as friends and started hanging out. Before the pandemic he was here for a concert. We had decided to collaborate but we never thought it would happen during the pandemic. He worked with his band and sent me the clip and I added my recording to it; that’s basically how we collaborated.

What does lockdown concert mean to you?

I don’t really like the idea of lockdown concert because I feel like there is a lack of audience. I just hope that this pandemic gets over soon so that I can do live gigs and exchange energy with people. Moreover, I don’t really entertain the idea of sharing one’s thought on a topic through social media. I feel like this creates a lot of negativity. I have more followers on my Instagram than on my YouTube channel which makes me feel as though people are more interested in my personal life than my music. I would be really happy if people could go and subscribe to my YouTube channel and listen to me on Spotify because those are the main platforms for my work.

What keeps you motivated?

I am the least motivated person ever. I am just living what I have been given. I am grateful to my parents for being the constant in my life.

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