I met them on a lazy Satur­day afternoon—hot, humid and just lethargic. Now Saturday afternoon is not a good time to meet musicians. With complaints of how their (and mine) Friday-night she­nanigans had them still sleep deprived, we slugged a few cups of coffee at Basantapur before finally mustering the energy to get to the office of Skathi Records—a literally underground studio at Lagan where the band ‘Shree 3’ rehearses. Totally worth the time and energy spent though. I was awestruck by their raw energy and how tight they sounded even in rehearsals. I also man­aged to get a raw video foot­age of “The Monk”, a song with an infectious guitar riff, from their upcoming album. (Follow the QR code for the video.)

 

The band came to life in 2016 as a side project of three proficient musicians already playing for different other bands. Sarad Shrestha (Tumbleweed) on guitars and vocals, Rozet Gurung ( Jugaa, Nude Terror) on bass and Robin Neupane (Tum­bleweed, H.O.S.) on drums complete the lineup of Shree 3, a power trio. Nothing to do with the dynastic rule of the Ranas; the name Shree 3 just signifies the number of band members.

 

As for their music, although band members do not pre­fer tagging themselves with any single genre, at its heart Shree 3 is an alternative rock band that also explores stoner rock, desert rock and a lot of grunge. With Sarad’s heavily overdriven guitars and unique finger-style playing, his raw vocals reminiscent of the alternative greats of the 90s, Rozet’s groovy basslines, and Robin’s steady drum beats, the band is a complete pack­age of skilled musicianship and scintillating energy.

 

 

“We make most of our music while jamming at rehearsals,” says Sarad, who also writes lyrics for the band. “We discuss topics and then conceptualize the songs we’re going to work on. A song may originate in one of Rozet’s bass grooves or Robin’s drum beats.” For inspiration, the band looks up to heavy music from the 60s to the late 90s— heavy metal, punk, rock n’ roll, grunge and all.

 

Shree 3’s previous singles “Eutai Antya” and “Sanity Wreck” are already popular among Nepali listeners and their latest, “Maze”, is also getting a lot of attention on social media. The band, even in its short history, has already been able to tour eastern Nepal—a region where Nepali artists long to play. Love and support from the easterners is a measure of success for any Nepali artist. The band already has a small but supportive fan base across the country, per­haps owing to the reputation of band members from their past exploits. “We have been taking it slow at Shree 3 due to our commitments with other bands,” Sarad says. “But now that we are releasing our first album, we will be doing more shows around the country.”

 

“This is an experimental album,” Rozet talks about “Drabya Dharma”, the band’s upcoming album. “There are 10 songs, each one sounding very different to the others. We have tried a lot of sub genres. Our influences come to play here and we’re still trying to find our sound.” Robin, one of the most pop­ular drummers in the current music scene, adds that the inspiration for Shree 3’s music comes from the grunge era of the 90s as well as progressive rock. “I like to keep it groovy and not complicate the music with technicalities,” Robin says.

 

Drabya Dharma (roughly: ‘the religion of money’) is an independent album the band is set to release on its own. “As the name suggests, our themes are mostly distraught individuals and how they relate to the world,” Sarad says. “But there are messages of awareness in our music too,” Rozet adds.

 

Without a record label, the band is releasing the album with the help of its friends, namely Skathi Records and US-based Tarang Entertain­ment. “We got great response to our previous singles which motivated us to cut the new album,” Sarad says. “With a few English numbers, we’re also trying to enter the inter­national arena.”

 

Shree 3’s “Drabya Dharma” is set to release amid a con­cert at Purple Haze, Thamel, on May 18. Local acts ASM, Kaagaz and Hermeneutics of Suspicion (H.O.S) will be sup­porting Shree 3 with open­ing performances. After the release, the album will also be available on online platforms like Spotify, Bandcamp and iTunes.