By Mannu Shahi

Kathmandu, Mar. 14: Born on October 24, 1997 as Dibesh Pokharel in Kathmandu, the singer is currently based in Kansas, USA. Though he was the first member of his family to pursue music, his parents were quite fond of arts and allowed him to sing from a relatively young age.

He got his first guitar from his mother and started playing among friends, inspired by musicians like John Martyn, Nick Drake, Bob Dylan and more. In 2014, he moved to the US to live with his parents and continued his journey in music, releasing his debut eight-track album ‘Grahan’ in 2018.

A year later he released his second album ‘Khoj’ in Beers n’ Cheers, Jhamsikhel and was also featured in Saal Sessions around the same time. He was busy making music, doing gigs and being active in the up and coming indie/acoustic pop music scene until he participated in the 18th season of the famous music-focused reality show American Idol in February of last year.

This participation ended up changing his life. From a normal independent aspiring artist to an overnight music sensation, he truly made it big in the global music industry and won the hearts of millions of Nepalis living all across the world. He also stood as a representation of the artistic talents that Nepali youths hold.

His vocal aptitudes and song choices were appreciated by many and this made fans dig further into his past ventures and discover his “folkish” singer/songwriter vibes.

Thus, his last EP ‘Self-title’ came as a shock to many when his writing shifted drastically towards modern timbres and reflected a side completely unforeseen by his listeners. The seven-track EP written, performed, co-produced and arranged by Arthur Gunn and produced by Angelo Tomas inclines more towards reggae and R n’ B influences, even including rap in a few tracks.

Nonetheless, gaining a lot of appreciation and positive feedback for his bold move, most fans remained stagnant and continued to pour their love and attention to the creator.

This was followed by his take on his older material released one after another in an acoustic setting and a single ‘Jalai Mai,’ a delta-blues inspired track fused with Nepali folk flavours. And on March 11, the singer announced that he would be re-releasing his album ‘Khoj,’ with the premiere of his new official music video ‘Kaagbeni.’

Co-directed/ written/ performed by Arthur Gunn, the track is produced by the phenomenal Diwas Gurung, the video co-directed/ filmed by Los Mandu, featuring Ira-ala-mode as the model. The singer claims this track to be an early gift for all his fans and promises to release his full-length album on March 22. So, follow Arthur Gunn on his socials for his latest releases, news and whereabouts.