A Pokhara gig, and a track called Gumayeka

Played a gig in Pokhara with Harip Tatwo a while back, at The Office bar. After the set, this guy comes up shaking hands — turns out he'd come from Dharan just the day before, working through a watchlist of live bands he wanted to catch during his Nepal visit, and Harip Tatwo was on it.

Honestly, gig days get a little hazy — you meet too many people, and that's kind of the point, everyone's just there to spread the joy. But I remember he picked up a Harip Tatwo camper cap, and before he left I caught up with him again at Secret Garden in Thamel to actually hand it over. Good conversation, the kind you have and don't think twice about after.

Then months later, he sends me a track — turns out he sings for a band called Pranova. Total surprise. Song's called "Gumayeka," and the mix is properly punchy — melancholic underneath but with enough grit on top that it still hits like a good rock and roll song should. Vocals are strong.

We went back and forth on it for a while — headroom, dynamic range, where mixing ends and mastering starts. It's genuinely great seeing someone care that much about getting the details right instead of just dropping a track and moving on.

That's the part I like about playing shows — you meet someone for five minutes, and somehow that turns into watching them grow as an artist months later. Good stuff.