06-27-2006, 01:06 AM
Bad luck, tomorrow is last concert in Hamburg. I just knew it.
![[Image: index_germa.jpg]](http://partynepal.com/index_germa.jpg)
1974 AD Tour de L'Allemagne
click on pic06-27-2006, 01:18 AM
who knew that it was published in ekantipur yesterday !!!
1974 AD to rock Europe
By Pawan Neupane
Rumors of splitting, evolution of the 1974 AD sound, the band’s goal & the tour of Germany & Belgium-Nirakar Yakthumba tells all to CityPost
Football fever has taken over the world. With the much anticipated FIFA World Cup 2006 already underway in Germany, here in Nepal too, the fever has caught on with football fanatics remaining glued to the television sets from evening till midnight.
Amidst all this football frenzy Nepal's leading rock band, 1974 AD, with PartyNepal.com, is leaving for the World Cup host nation on June 14 to rock Germany and Belgium with a number of shows at different venues from June 16 to June 28.
So was this idea to tour Germany in the middle of this mega sporting event a prearranged affair, or just a coincidence? Won't this affect their tour in terms of audience turnout? Nirakar Yakthumba, bass guitarist of 1974 AD said, "No, the tour was actually planned three months ago, it just happened to coincide with the World Cup."
"But we are planning to watch some matches if possible, and the organizers have said that they'll try to arrange for it," added Nirakar who's a football player himself. "I'm supporting Japan this time and my favorite player is Nakata."
Before this, the group has performed in the US, England, Australia, Hong Kong, Doha and India in the recent past and some say they have been doing more concerts abroad than in Nepal off late. For this, Nirakar said that this is because they were forced to cancel many of their programs in Butwal, Dharan, Bhairahawa and other places due to the then unfavorable situation in the country. And how profitable are such international shows in terms of money? "There's not much profit in music festivals. But we do have many CD sales, like we were able to sell CDs worth US$ 1,000 at the Renaissance Festival in Palo Alto in 2003. And our main objective is to expand our market internationally which would be beneficial for Nepali music," he explained.
1974 AD have won the hearts of millions of music lovers with their blend of folk and rock music since its start in 1994. How have they evolved musically over the years to earn the audiences' love?
"Our first album Time Out had all English songs except Mayalule. Then Sunny dai of Hits FM suggested we produce similar songs with Nepali lyrics in our next album, and I think that pulled the English music-listening urban youth to Nepali music. The thing is that we keep playing and experimenting a lot and there is perhaps no one else who has experimented with so many Nepali artistes, from classical to pure folk and even jazz. We always try to give fresh and different music to our listeners, and I think that's why they love us," Nirakar said.
But off late, some of them have been playing in other groups as well while some have released their solo albums too, and that has spread a rumor of the band splitting. "No, we're not splitting. We've been together for 12 years now, and everyone has his certain individual musical taste which can't be fulfilled while playing with 1974 AD. And sometimes the financial factor also plays a significant role, so we play in other groups also. But our first and foremost preference will always be for 1974 AD," said the bassist.
Nirakar took the remix of their song Chhundaina by Nepsydaz on a positive note but added, "It may be produced in any style, but it must be good." And how do they plan to keep sailing in the current rap-dominated music scene? "We may collaborate with rap artistes in future, but we won't be creating out-and-out rap music," he said. "We hope to take Nepali music to the international market, like Junoon did to Pakistani music."
The band will also be launching their seventh album On Air during the first concert in Freiberg, which according to them is the first Nepali album to be released at an international event. In Nepal, the album will be released by Santana Records by the second week of July. So what is the reason behind releasing it abroad? According to Nirakar, their objective is to be internationally available and work with foreign parties.
Talking about the album, he said that it is mainly rock-based, but certainly has 1974 AD's flavor. It has nine songs including an instrumental, the lyrics are simple and three or four songs such as Aaja Bholi have positive and inspiring lyrics targeted towards the youth. According to him, the album is musically richer than all their previous albums because it is coming out after more than two years and so has all the inputs of the band members' experiences during that time. "We have tried to make it simple and everyone has contributed to each lyric and composition this time. For me personally, this is the best album so far," he added.
The tour, being coordinated and managed by PartyNepal.com and socialtours.com, is divided into two phases. The first phase is being organized by a German organization from Freiberg, with three concerts where 1974 AD will mainly be performing for German and international audiences.
According to Nirakar, the first concert on June 16 will feature them along with three German bands at the city hall of Tivoli in Freiberg, and they will also be conducting a workshop on their music and various Nepali instruments at a musical school there on June 20. Nirakar informed that the tickets for the Trivoli concert have reportedly been sold out already.
The second and third concerts will take place in Dresden, a place full of poets, artists and free-thinking people as well as artistically designed houses. On June 17, they'll be playing fusion and experimental numbers at the Bunte Republik Neustadt Festival which is expected to attract an international audience of over 8000, while the following day will be a charity-like concert at the Petrikhurch in Dresden. Flutist Manose Singh, currently in the US, and sax player Peter McTwister from Czech Republic will also join 1974 AD during that time.
The second phase of the tour includes four concerts and is being organized by a Nepali organization Himalayan Eyes Germany Society for the Nepali community in Germany and Belgium. The first concert will be at Frankfurt on June 23, second in Belgium on June 24, third at NRW Essen on June 26 and the last at Hamburg on June 28. All the concerts will feature 1974 AD followed by a dance party featuring DJ Robin and Bhushan from PartyNepal.com.
Posted on: 2006-06-11 20:50:31 (Server Time)
1974 AD to rock Europe
By Pawan Neupane
Rumors of splitting, evolution of the 1974 AD sound, the band’s goal & the tour of Germany & Belgium-Nirakar Yakthumba tells all to CityPost
Football fever has taken over the world. With the much anticipated FIFA World Cup 2006 already underway in Germany, here in Nepal too, the fever has caught on with football fanatics remaining glued to the television sets from evening till midnight.
Amidst all this football frenzy Nepal's leading rock band, 1974 AD, with PartyNepal.com, is leaving for the World Cup host nation on June 14 to rock Germany and Belgium with a number of shows at different venues from June 16 to June 28.
So was this idea to tour Germany in the middle of this mega sporting event a prearranged affair, or just a coincidence? Won't this affect their tour in terms of audience turnout? Nirakar Yakthumba, bass guitarist of 1974 AD said, "No, the tour was actually planned three months ago, it just happened to coincide with the World Cup."
"But we are planning to watch some matches if possible, and the organizers have said that they'll try to arrange for it," added Nirakar who's a football player himself. "I'm supporting Japan this time and my favorite player is Nakata."
Before this, the group has performed in the US, England, Australia, Hong Kong, Doha and India in the recent past and some say they have been doing more concerts abroad than in Nepal off late. For this, Nirakar said that this is because they were forced to cancel many of their programs in Butwal, Dharan, Bhairahawa and other places due to the then unfavorable situation in the country. And how profitable are such international shows in terms of money? "There's not much profit in music festivals. But we do have many CD sales, like we were able to sell CDs worth US$ 1,000 at the Renaissance Festival in Palo Alto in 2003. And our main objective is to expand our market internationally which would be beneficial for Nepali music," he explained.
1974 AD have won the hearts of millions of music lovers with their blend of folk and rock music since its start in 1994. How have they evolved musically over the years to earn the audiences' love?
"Our first album Time Out had all English songs except Mayalule. Then Sunny dai of Hits FM suggested we produce similar songs with Nepali lyrics in our next album, and I think that pulled the English music-listening urban youth to Nepali music. The thing is that we keep playing and experimenting a lot and there is perhaps no one else who has experimented with so many Nepali artistes, from classical to pure folk and even jazz. We always try to give fresh and different music to our listeners, and I think that's why they love us," Nirakar said.
But off late, some of them have been playing in other groups as well while some have released their solo albums too, and that has spread a rumor of the band splitting. "No, we're not splitting. We've been together for 12 years now, and everyone has his certain individual musical taste which can't be fulfilled while playing with 1974 AD. And sometimes the financial factor also plays a significant role, so we play in other groups also. But our first and foremost preference will always be for 1974 AD," said the bassist.
Nirakar took the remix of their song Chhundaina by Nepsydaz on a positive note but added, "It may be produced in any style, but it must be good." And how do they plan to keep sailing in the current rap-dominated music scene? "We may collaborate with rap artistes in future, but we won't be creating out-and-out rap music," he said. "We hope to take Nepali music to the international market, like Junoon did to Pakistani music."
The band will also be launching their seventh album On Air during the first concert in Freiberg, which according to them is the first Nepali album to be released at an international event. In Nepal, the album will be released by Santana Records by the second week of July. So what is the reason behind releasing it abroad? According to Nirakar, their objective is to be internationally available and work with foreign parties.
Talking about the album, he said that it is mainly rock-based, but certainly has 1974 AD's flavor. It has nine songs including an instrumental, the lyrics are simple and three or four songs such as Aaja Bholi have positive and inspiring lyrics targeted towards the youth. According to him, the album is musically richer than all their previous albums because it is coming out after more than two years and so has all the inputs of the band members' experiences during that time. "We have tried to make it simple and everyone has contributed to each lyric and composition this time. For me personally, this is the best album so far," he added.
The tour, being coordinated and managed by PartyNepal.com and socialtours.com, is divided into two phases. The first phase is being organized by a German organization from Freiberg, with three concerts where 1974 AD will mainly be performing for German and international audiences.
According to Nirakar, the first concert on June 16 will feature them along with three German bands at the city hall of Tivoli in Freiberg, and they will also be conducting a workshop on their music and various Nepali instruments at a musical school there on June 20. Nirakar informed that the tickets for the Trivoli concert have reportedly been sold out already.
The second and third concerts will take place in Dresden, a place full of poets, artists and free-thinking people as well as artistically designed houses. On June 17, they'll be playing fusion and experimental numbers at the Bunte Republik Neustadt Festival which is expected to attract an international audience of over 8000, while the following day will be a charity-like concert at the Petrikhurch in Dresden. Flutist Manose Singh, currently in the US, and sax player Peter McTwister from Czech Republic will also join 1974 AD during that time.
The second phase of the tour includes four concerts and is being organized by a Nepali organization Himalayan Eyes Germany Society for the Nepali community in Germany and Belgium. The first concert will be at Frankfurt on June 23, second in Belgium on June 24, third at NRW Essen on June 26 and the last at Hamburg on June 28. All the concerts will feature 1974 AD followed by a dance party featuring DJ Robin and Bhushan from PartyNepal.com.
Posted on: 2006-06-11 20:50:31 (Server Time)
06-28-2006, 12:43 PM
Hope we will get to see some pics.
06-28-2006, 12:45 PM
I think they planned to come now cause of the hope for watching football. haha
06-29-2006, 05:58 AM
Hope it went well.