Robin Tamang has been in the Nepali music industry for the past two
decades and has, over that time, garnered legions of ardent fans. His
sensibility as well as his inimitable
sense of humour have been much appreciated, while his music stands its
own ground. If there is such a place as rock ‘n’ roll heaven, Tamang is
able to take you there. Whenever and wherever he performs, the stage
comes alive and audiences are left mesmerised.
An imposing
personality, standing well over six feet tall, Tamang is a stalwart
musician. For two decades, he has been making and performing music in
the country, and rock ‘n’ roll is easily his favourite subject.
Understandably, there is a vibrancy that takes over when one engages him
in a conversation about music, and one believes Tamang when he says,
“Rock ‘n’ roll keeps me alive.”
Only last week, Tamang won two
awards at the 16th Hits FM Music Awards—2069. He was awarded the ‘best
rock vocal performance’ award and the ‘best performance by a group or
duo with vocal’ award with his band Robin and the New Revolution. Tamang
believes that such institutional recognitions are an outcome of any
musician’s dedication to music. A firm believer in the agelessness of
music, Tamang talks about how good music never becomes outdated. “The
Beatles and The Rolling Stones are two legendary bands whose music will
never grow old…Often young kids and their grandfathers share the same
taste in music, calling the same bands their favourites,” he says. “The
good stuff never goes out of style.”
As far as his own
performances are concerned, Tamang says he focuses on creating an
ambience, rather than blatant technical exhibitionism. “Whenever I’m at a
concert and see the audience, I feel connected to them in a huge way,”
he says. “Although a large portion of audiences at concerts are a lot
younger than I am, the energy of the music makes me feel like we’re on
the same level.”
Tamang was born in Singapore as the youngest
of five siblings. His father was in the 10th Gurkha Rifles of the
British Army and so the family travelled a lot. “By the time I was 17,
my family had already lived in Hong Kong, Singapore and Brunei because
my father was continually being posted to different places.” Tamang says
that music was a huge part of his family life. “Everyone in the family
would sing, play music and dance. I guess that’s what led to me ending
up as a musician.”
Tamang talks about how, while studying at
Alexander School in Singapore, he would listen to old school rock: Jimmy
Hendrix, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath, to name a few of his
favourites. It was around this time that Tamang formed his first band, F
Troop, with whom he would perform at school. Then, while at Humber
College in Toronto in the mid-80s, Tamang formed his second band,
Tamang. “As far as my exposure to music was concerned, college was a
great time for me,” he says.
The musician came to Nepal with
thoughts of settling here in 1996 after years of living in Canada. “I
went to Pokhara because my father lived there. I used to spend a lot of
time at the Amsterdam Bar in Lakeside, and it was there that I got
together with the band Looza. After a few jam sessions, I joined in,” he
says. His first band in Nepal, Robin and Looza was formed in this
manner, and many a hit was created by the group’s dynamic members.
“After joining Looza, I realised that there was a real scope for music,
rock ‘n’ roll in particular, in Nepal. At that time, there were only a
few artists—Mukti dai, Cobweb… and I guess 1974 AD had just gotten
together,” he says. “As Robin and Looza, we felt like we were filling
the void.” But the group disbanded in 2005 and that same year, Tamang
formed Robin and The New Revolution. The band, composed of Rajesh on
drums, Dipesh on guitar, Prabin on bass and Tamang as vocalist, has
become immensely popular since. Their 2006 album Keta Keti was a huge
hit, as was their next, 13,000, which came out two years later. “When
our first album was released, the country was in the middle of a civil
war. By the time 13,000 came out, an agreement (between the government
and the rebels) had been struck, and 13,000 was the official number
given for those who had died in war,” he explains. Hamro Desh then came
out in 2010. “The civil war was over, and I suppose we wanted to ask our
listeners to love Nepal and move forward.”
Although the band
has not released another album since then, Tamang has been kept busy by
his creative pursuits, even starring in a feature film--Chhadke, a
gangster flick set for a February 22 release. “I am an artist, and don’t
see myself as only a musician,” he says. “I suppose acting came
naturally because both music and acting are linked to human emotion and
expression. I guess my role in the film will be something really new for
fans, but I will never give up on my music. I am here today because I
followed my musical dream.”
One’s interests and dreams are
really important, says Tamang, as he talks about how he could never
conceive of himself as anything else besides a musician. “I would have
been frustrated and dissatisfied doing a nine-to-five job,” he says.
“Anyone who’s really passionate about something should follow their
dreams, keep hoping for the best and doing what they love. When you have
the passion, you will find success.”
