“When we first selected the band’s name, it was a random decision. We were slotted to play a show together and didn’t know what to call ourselves,” says Deepak Pradhan, the bass player and leader of the band ‘Ko?’. “Then we realized that it was after all a good name as our music is all about questioning our identities.” ‘Ko?’ (liter­ally ‘Who?’ in English) is a new band w i t h experi­enced musi­cians who have been active in Kathmandu’s live music scene for a quite a while. It was Pradhan (40), a popular figure in the musical hub of Thamel, who put together musicians aged 25 to 40 to form ‘Ko?’ With Pradhan on the bass, ‘Ko?’ also includes Manxil Shahi on vocals, Manoj Bhujel and Suzeen Nepami on guitars, and Dhiraj Jung Karki on drums— very inspired by ‘Puddle of Mudd’.

Self-iden­tified as an alternative rock band, the band actu­ally started by covering grunge, and the influ­ence can be felt in their originals too. And with the Ameri ­can rock act Puddle of Mudd as their big­gest inspi­ration, we get an idea of what ‘ K o ? ’ sound like. Their songs mostly speak of the existential angst in individuals as well as in our society. “All band members are searching for their soul and that’s what is reflected in our lyrics too,” says Pradhan.

Their latest video release “Paisa” predominantly defines the band’s sounds and what the audience can expect from them in the days ahead. “Paisa” is a hard-hitting num­ber with a straight beat and heavy guitar riffs, topped with a varied range of vocals. The music video is an abstract rep­resentation of their music and is already creating waves on social media.

The journey thus far has not been smooth, the band members explain. Forming a completely new band was difficult as they’re not young boys getting together to make music, but mature artists who have their own tem­peraments. Then came the problems of personal com­mitment, creative balance, and all sort of other difficul­ties rock musicians in Nepal typically encounter.

Making new and original music and surviving solely through it is almost impossi­ble here—and that is the big challenge for ‘Ko?’ as well. They have to carefully weigh their finances and support for their families, especially when their music is niche and results are unpredict­able. The band members thus work full time to cover their cost of living while trying to eke out some extra time for the band.

One of the guitarists, Nepami, now works in Malay­sia and all his inputs are now online. Such has been the story of ‘Ko?’. “We have to manage time for rehears­als and recording. We also have to collect funds for the expenses incurred in record­ing and making videos,” says Pradhan. “So everyone in the band has to work extra hard to fulfil their other commit­ments, and to be able to put together time and resources for ‘Ko?’.

Yet the band remains con­fident that their struggles will pay off, and plan on recording and releas­ing their debut album by mid-2020. With “Paisa” already getting the atten­tion of music lovers across the country, the band plans to increase the frequency of their performances and con­tinue writing and recording to get the album ready as soon as possible.