Chuck Schuldiner Project

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Interview with Anan from Nepal based Technical Death Metal Band LAASH


Laash is a Nepali Technical Death Metal band with the founder members consists below in the list:

• Umesh: Vocals
• Anan: Guitar and Vocals
• Sanjay: Bass
• Manish: Drummer

Here is the short interview with Anan the bands Vocals/guitars..

Greetings Anan how are you guys going?
Fine, going well, must say that. In fact Post valentines hang over still...

Talking about Laash how has the journey been from 2012?
Yeah it was good, lots of challenges though. Composing stuffs, making songs happen, doing live shows, recording, adjusting schedule and time with the daily professional life. It’s really challenging and so far very enjoyable.


Well, that’s for sure. Anan, tell us how did the journey of laash begun?
Laash was formed on late 2012. Before I joined, they had a different guitarist bassist. I joined on December 2012 after their guitarist left; we started doing death metal stuffs. Covering bands initially. Well, it didn’t take longer than several weeks after which we started jamming on my riffs and started writing songs. Laash is a name coined by Prabin(Binaash) . He said they choose Binaash as their band name over Laash. I wanted something simple and straight forward for a band name. And it was right spot on.
Well i was aware of it and you guys even gave tribute to Binaash by covering their track Bancharo.. The 1st gig i witness you guys was Summer fest back in 2013 and you guys were amazing at that show..
Ya, Binaash have been a very influential band for us. Prabin dai (Brother/senior) even used come to our practice rooms. It was a huge inspiration. I have been his fan since i was a school boy. He has read all my lyrics as well and always asks about our band when he meets us. And yeah, summer fest was one of the first gigs we ever did. It was pivotal moment, as we entered the underground scene that day. And we still are here.

Anan coming beyond Laash tell us how your journey in Metal begun?
That dates way back soon after my birth haha.. really. haha. I used to grunt and all during my early childhood and still i am nicknamed 'ghoru (anan was always grunting) in my home. I have to admit I was exposed to English songs only when I was at grade 8 or 9. After the cent up, exams i was just randomly grunting and all, and my big brother said that you should try death metal. It was the first time I had heard that term. I had no clue what that was. After slc, 3 months gap, I extensively learnt guitars from my elder brothers. At 11 welcome party, I performed TNT six feet under cover. It was the first time, I played with distortion. Then, there was this sudden log wave. Everybody in the col knew how to play laid to rest. It was all fun. Gradually, I started listening to many other artist. Besides metal, I also followed many guitarists as well, and learning them side by side. It all began a very long time ago. Learning and development is very gradual. I still have a long long way to go. I had long wanted to form a band. It was just not possible. Drummer problem was serious. And right when I thought of quitting and focusing on my MBBS, I got call from Laash.

So being an MBBS student and currently posted in Nuwakot how do you manage time for the band?
Its not as bad as it sounds. Before I left, we created a set list of 6-8 songs, just in case we have to perform live. Self practice is the core of it. However, it is hard to be a tight band without playing together. It is very difficult when you see the guys after so long and play together, but its manageable. Apart from that, we are continuing our compositions. I write riffs and drums over here in Nuwakot, record it and send it to Kathmandu. Similarly, they send me their composition stuffs. We interact time and again. Lyrics and theme has already been discussed. However, I also have to adjust these all with my studies. I have to study alot. And its really alot.


MBBS is for sure a tough study and self practice is a must so coming back to Laash as far as i know you guys are preparing yourself for an E.P tell us about it?
Ya. We are on the process of recording. Till now we have completed one song. It's in the final phase of mastering and it will be released soon. Our record will constitute 5-6 songs. Composition of 5th and 6th songs are undergoing. Till now, we have spent lots of time, almost a year in consulting seniors and going to any studios, as well as improvising already made songs. Our record will be titled sambhog ko aastitwo

Few days back you guys had provided me the demo Paap and it for sure is amazing. Coming to the bands lineup can we know about it?
Line up:1. Anan Shakya: Guitar, Vocals; 2. Manish Shakya: Drums 3. Umesh Adhikari: Vocals 4. Sanjay Shrestha. These are the people who appear in the stage. There are many people working behind the scenes Mr. Labesh Shrestha- our photographer, Mr. Anish Bajracharya- Our brand coordinator, Mr. Sunil Rajak and Rajesh Pandey: Our hard; Mr. Riken Maharjan- our sound manager; and some portion of our management is handled by SNRMB, Mr. Sunil Rajak and Rajesh Pandey are our roadies

So Anan you are currently studing MBBS. Apart from you what do the other guys do apart from the band?
Guys have jobs. Umesh and Manish works in Deep Music, Sanjay in clothing store. Sanjay is a management student too.

Like above you guys have already told us about how you guys prepare Anan we will like to know what really Laash's music talk about?
Laash literally means dead body. I take it as a truth. It is a inevitable part,whether you like it or not. Therefore it is not the name of the band that plays happy songs. I want to really emphasize on the lyrical part. I have written almost all the lines of the songs. I don't just write it. I write it after it happens to me. It is a really complicated process to write down lyrics. Most of the lines are written while i am on the road or bus. I don’t write more then a line or two at a time and slowly work on it. Basically its all feelings. Wide array of feeling.s We have some gore stuffs too. Songs about emptiness, rage, sex, money, power. So basically speaking, each lines can strike you. Very good for the purpose of putting on a fb status as well. I would recommend you and all to go through our lyrics, especially Petrification of your extinct innerself. Those are my best work till date

For sure I am going through it. So guys we will like to know are you guys well equipped?
Ya sort of. But it's not all complete. I have my set ready. I use x cort x series guitar, customised to emg pick ups, down tuned to heavy gauze strings. I just sold all my pedals and am working on using daw. Guys have their gears too. It vocalist doesn't have a Mike though. Haha He is a lucky bastard. Lol

We are all from a country where metal is evolving and how hard is it for you guys to continue this genre of music which the society considers pain in the ears?
It's a sad part and i don't even think about it anymore. Sometimes i wonder what if i had a pop band. What keeps me going is that it satisfies me. I am a very selfish person in this matter. All anger and frustrations accumulates, and once i play raktamya, i feel lots of relief. Now, what do i care some one laughs at me for growling. People say kei bujhdai bujhdaina. Then i say, "what do you understand by rolling in the deep? “ I am not offending that song though. I think it's hard because it's not a traditional form of music and people are not accustomed to it. Once they listen it carefully and read the lyrics, there is good chance that people may like it. But the main problem is they don't do that and jump straight to judgemental conclusions

Judgemental conclusions have always been a problem here. Talking about bands upcoming gigs any updates?
Not much. I think we will be playing at hell awaits. But, it's not sure i think.

So Anan, any message to the fans?
 ‘All lesson learnt in life, known from the dawn of time.’ – a beautiful line from Pantera’s walk and unfortunately very true. So, whatever I got to say has probably been told before. With that being said, I want to focus on few critical things. One main message I want to give to the listeners and also to all the muscians is that- ‘Please don’t use music as a material to show off.’ Showing people that I got a black burzum tshirt and not knowing who the fuck that is, bitching in friends circle about the band you rarely know of, playing V guitars and not knowing what the pick up is. Listening, playing to metal is a source of entertainment, passion. Being a hypocritical metal guy is really stupid and I would gladly beat the hell out of such fools. I would also like to call all the listeners and people to give our band a shot. There are two ways we can be heard of.
 1. Live shows and
2. Album.
There’s a difference in two and it would be cool if people understand us. Listening to our songs just once or watching us for half a minute and being judgemental at the same time is pure crap. Read the lyrics, try and understand the construction of music and think for a minute what was going through my head when I made it. Why it sounds the particular way and not the other way. It is hard to do that in live shows as sounds made by amps and Pas are not the pure reflections of band’s science. So adjust accordingly and wait for us!! For the time being, we are planning to get just get one of our songs out. Check out the quality and give us the feedback. By the end of the year, we hope to put out our record. At last, I would like to thank all my family, friends and brothers who have helped us in our every step. Without them we would not be what we are now. Still, we have a long way to go. We are here to stay! There are many other promising bands as well. The metal scene is evolving into something new. New sites and organizers, and project such as SNRMB has uplifted the entire scenarios. And thanks Sagyan, for taking your time to do this write-up.

Lastly, a space for Laash, if we have forgotten to ask anything feel free to ask us here. Space all yours
Not much. Nothing that i can think of right now.

THANK You Anan for your time..
No man, thanks to you!!

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