Rato Mato: Young musician offers a fresh take on Nepali folk

In Nepal, rato mato (red mud) is often used to build houses and to line the walls and floors. There is also that famous saying “rato mato, chiplo bato” (red mud, slippery road). The same rato mato that decorates the home, often becomes the death of many as they slip and fall on such paths. For Diwas Gurung, music is a kind of rato mato. 

“Music is a nurturing organic thing,” says Gurung. “We create it and we depend on it for sustenance, for shelter and for protection. When things are bad, music is there to nurture us. For me, creating music is like building a house and maintaining it. You have to practice, try new things, otherwise your house will crumble.”

But music is also a “chiplo bato” (slippery road). A career in music is often suicidal in Nepal. There is no money in music and neither is the respect. Making music is a hazardous path to walk, and often, many fall to their deaths. But that doesn’t stop people like Diwas from walking on the same path. 

For Nepalis familiar with the underground music scene in Kathmandu and America, Ayurveda and Diwas Gurung are familiar names. Gurung, a graduate of Budhanilkantha School and Ithaca College, is an integral part of the underground band Ayurveda, which enjoys surprising popularity among the Nepali diaspora in America, especially on the east coast. Rato Mato is Diwas Gurung’s solo effort. A marked change from Ayurveda’s heavier rock sound, Rato Mato embraces Nepali folk music with fresh-faced appeal.

Consisting almost entirely of covers, Rato Mato is an eclectic mix of genres. Predominantly, the sound is folk-fusion, with Gurung covering a number of old Nepali folk songs. The opening track, Asarai Mahinama, is one of the album’s strongest. Originally by Chusang Dukpa, this classic gets a makeover in the form of a ballad. Accompanied by the guitar, Gurung’s vocals are clear and soft. It is the kind of voice that one does not hear often in Nepali folk, which may be why this album doesn’t sit well with older folks. Often Nepali folk songs are characterised by their world-weary vocals, the cracked voice of a hard life. Sure, Diwas doesn’t sound like a 70 year old who’s seen the world but it is exactly this kind of nuanced improvisation that makes the record stand out. Gurung brings new energy to the old songs. No longer are they autumnal and sad, instead there is life, a joy in singing and playing. Gurung doesn’t assume an accent, as young Nepali singers so often do (i.e. Albatross). He doesn’t strain himself trying to sound like someone else. His vocals are uniquely his own: young, fresh and engaging. 

Standout tracks on the album include the rousing Machi Kadaile, originally by Sudan Sharma, Herda Ramro, a Pokhreli folk song and Mai Runchu, originally by OB Soaltee. Machi Kadaile starts off with a catchy bass line, a very Western sound but Gurung’s vocals add the Nepali all on their own. Herda Ramro is the more folkier of the tracks. An acoustic guitar features prominently, along with a madal and tambourine but what reminds one of Nepal is the rhythmic shouts that punctuate the background, reminiscent of lok-dohori. Mai Runchu is once again Diwas singing by himself with his guitar and it feels like an old 80s ballad, just sung in Nepali. Again, it is his vocals that elevate the track.

The only track on Rato Mato that perplexed me is Hit ko Dautari, a song that almost feels off of a metal record. That is not to say that it’s a bad track, which it definitely is not, but it just a little strangely placed in the middle of Rato Mato. The only track that I feel wasn’t quite up to par is Sanjha ko Belama, a 1974AD cover. Ayurveda creeps into the song, and so it becomes less Gurung and more Ayurveda, not necessarily a good thing always. The one English track on the album, which is also the only original composition, feels like a Deepak Bajracharya song. The lyrics on it are laudable and it gels together perfectly, a short, satisfying little track. 

“This album is a fusion of Nepali melodies and rhythms with western and African sensibilities,” says Gurung. “Some of it was premeditated but a lot of it just happened that way, it just felt very natural.” The album retains that sort of feel, it lacks the smooth mechanical sophistication of an over-produced record. 

And although the tracks are a little raw, there is heart in the music. Gurung’s ambitions aren’t “grandiose.” He feels happy just making music and if some Americans get to know Nepali music through him, all the better: “I happen to be in a foreign land, if my music makes the people here a bit more culturally and musically informed then that's great. But just making music makes me happy.”

For more information and free downloads go to:

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