The only two times Yomari Sessions has hosted a live gig, it has been embraced by a full house. Peppered with fans of the folk ensemble Baaja—the trio of Ashesh Kulung Rai, Parbat Limbu and Lawati Kishan Shrestha—and artist Shreeti Pradhan, the premises of Base Camp at Arun Thapa Chowk has buzzed with excitement and with the good vibes of hopefuls who come in to listen to some good music.

Yomari Sessions is one of the few platforms that provides budding artists the opportunity to perform live acoustic sets. Formed under the group Katha Haru, and directed by Shashank Shrestha, Yomari Sessions is a live single-take show formed as a medium for independent bands to exhibit their work. And in the short while that it’s been here, it has quickly made its presence known.

Born from an idea molded by Shrestha, Rishi Amatya and Yuvash Vaidya, Yomari Sessions, according to the organisers, focuses on promoting music and works as a bridge, making collaborations between artists possible—all for some good music, manna for the soul.

One of its founders, Shashank Shrestha, says, Yomari Sessions mainly took shape as an idea to showcase Nepali independent music and as ‘naturally’ as possible. “The idea came to us when we were starting Katha Haru a few years ago.

The initiation, however, only came together after Yuvash expressed an interest in it. He brought together the musicians in his circle and we put in our technical capabilities.”

“Along with Vaidya’s musical sensibilities, he also brought on board Nikesh Shakya, an audio engineer, without whose audio engineering skills the project would not be what it is. There is not an exact science behind the process; we are only trying to encapsulate as many musicians as we can,” he adds.

The videos of the Sessions that are on YouTube are simple, plain recordings of the artist/s and their music. There are no elaborate sets or costumes, nor a storyline to assist the song for viewers to make sense of the music. Most of the videos are black-and-white and have a slightly dull undertone, and it is this raw magnetism that actually appeals and makes you want to give them a watch, but what keeps you engaged is, in its essence, the music.

Shrestha makes clear what led them to come up with the idea: an aim to contribute to the budding Nepali independent music scape and to encourage those who have it to push the Nepali music to a next level. “Nowadays, with Nepali music, I feel that more than just the quantity produced, a lot of thought is being given to the quality as well. There is also a large amount of originality and experimentation that is taking place. And with the internet, the playground is more leveled than ever,” he says, adding, “For us, the idea is to help the creativity in the young people of Kathmandu and to try to do something new and original. All we are trying is to give good, independent music a boost. Eventually, we hope it becomes something that people can always turn to for fresh new bands to keep in the radar.”

With that thought, Yomari Sessions came out with their first edition with folk band Baaja, who have collaborated on and recorded songs Seto Kotha and Ma Bhitra with singer Shreeti Pradhan. Their second featured band, Sakchyam, have worked on a couple of songs, titled Creation, Sathi and Journey, which are available on YouTube. The latest edition features artist Abhyu perform his beautiful percussive guitar instrumental The Farmer.

“So far we have recorded four musical acts; out of which, two have been released and two are undergoing post-production. We are thinking of two more performances to complete this season of sessions,” says Shrestha, with a promise of another season of great music.

The Nepali music has been on the upswing in recent years, and platforms like Yomari sessions, which are providing tools to present original compositions, only adding fuel to the fire.  v