Mostly Shuvam Shrestha posts his music on his Instagram account, YouTube and Spotify. And he whips up something different for every single one of his posts. Some posts are of him singing into the camera with a microphone.
Shuvam Shrestha loves potatoes and he has even written a song about it. “Millions of veggies in this world but darling you’ll always be my potato,” he croons in his song “Potato”. A 23-year-old UI/UX designer Shuvam loves music but the music he makes is unlike anything you have heard till now. Quirky lyrics, atypical subject themes and layering his songs in a blend of sounds, Shuvam’s music dabbles in many genres, is often humorous, introspective, and always charming.
Mostly he posts his music on his Instagram account (@shuvum), YouTube and Spotify. And he whips up something different for every single one of his posts. Some posts are of him singing into the camera with a microphone (and making quite a performance of it). Sometimes he uses animation pieces and edits his vocals in the background. He writes about vegetables he loves and the ones he doesn’t.
Shuvam shares that he started making music as a way to cope with insomnia. “I started writing lyrics for the music I made, recorded it and began posting them on my Instagram account,” he explains. He started getting good reviews and soon enough got signed with an independent hip-hop record label. However a year into the label and performing at various events, he realized that the place didn’t align with what he wanted to do so he parted ways with the company. Then he set up a studio in his own bedroom and has been making music there ever since.
Prime Minister Dahal dances to folk tunes in Pokhara
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Shuvam lists Kitaro, a new wave instrumental band, as one of his first musical introductions and admits that he never wanted to become a musician. “I just loved writing and making music. It was a hobby,” he says. When he started he made fun acoustic tunes to Lo-fi hip-hop. “Today what I make is Poppy R&B-ish. I’m sure it will change with time,” he says adding that his songwriting process is quite elaborate. “I take an event from my life and exaggerating the story to a point where it’s no longer about me. I write songs about random vegetables and liquors and the final product is always amusing,” he explains.
A regular day in his life would be getting up, drinking coffee, having lunch, making music and then strolling around the streets of Thamel. And it is in these moments that he picks up on the most mundane subjects and bases his next musical project on them. He uses a software that emulates an actual synthesizer. That way he can do some sound designing to get his own unique sound. “I personally prefer the default sound of the Rhode. I use a midi keyboard only,” he shares. Shuvam says that he would like nothing more than for people to have fun and dance to his music. “Maybe cry too afterwards but having fun comes first,” he concludes.
On Shuvan’s playlist
Midnight Snack
By Homeshake
Homeshake is the reason why I even started making music. I used to think that making music was an extremely complicated process. But Homeshake came up with such a chill and refreshing album with the most minimalist sets of instruments that music making did not seem impossible anymore. I felt a compelling urge to make my own music after listening to his album.
Random Access Memories
by Daft Punk
My music often forays into EDM and Daft Punk was my introduction to electronic music. Most of the drum sets I use in my songs are inspired by them. There are so many Daft Punk albums that hit differently but the recent album is one I go back to all the time. Daft Punk represent all that dance music is and, with this album, they redefine dance music and they do it with finesse.
Silk Road
by Kitaro
My dad used to play this album all the time when I was a little kid. This album was my first introduction to music. I kept asking my dad to play this CD because it was so soothing and fun to listen to. I think some part of my music making started from here. I definitely detect influences from this album in my music today.
Demon Days
by Gorillaz
I don’t believe in favorites when it comes to things like albums. Everything you listen to will affect you differently so I don’t like measuring and ranking them on how much they affected me. That being said, if I were to be stuck in an island with only one album to listen to this would be the one. It’s so ahead of its time and contains so many elements that you still discover something new every time you listen to it.
2
by Mac Demarco
I just really like this Demarco guy. His mannerisms, the chill nonchalant attitude, and just his entire self have really helped me build my personality to what it is today. He is a next level artist with a flawless discography. 2 however is the most remarkable to me. His guitar work and songwriting are great. Also Homeshake was Mac Demarco’s ex-guitarist and I probably would have never discovered him without Demarco.
