Interview with Nima Rumba

It has been 22 years since Nima Rumba first recorded a song. Since then he has made a mark for himself as a singer, songwriter, music composer, and has even acted in movies.
Nima is busy these days performing at gigs and also with Prostyle as their Brand Ambassador. He can be seen soon, on screen as himself in a Gurung film, Ma ( Mother). Have a read about his favorites on music and others.

What kind of songs and artists are on your playlist at the moment?
Hed Candy, Groove armada, One Direction ( this is for my son), Deep Shrestha, Pawan Goley, Narayan Gopal, Arun Thapa and Astha Tamang Maskey.

What genre of music do you like?
Basically I have been listening to all genres since a child. But now, I like electro house, lounge music, chill out music.

Your favorite international artist?
Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, James Brown, George Michael, Bob Marley, John Lennon.

Your favorite national artist?
Deep Shrestha, Aruna Lama, Narayan Gopal, Arun Thapa, Sukmit Gurung, Harish Mathema, Astha Tamang Maskey, Albatross.

Your most favorite song of your own albums.
Happy Birthday Samuel from the album Lolita, which is written for my elder son Samuel. It was released in 2002. He was probably 3 years old and so the song is very precious to me.

What do you keep in mind while writing a song?
Sometimes it comes to me when I am just walking around, sometimes I do it seriously with a guitar. From past experiences, to future imaginations, and present day life activities, and some are imaginative.

Moments of the song Catwalk
Music and lyrics are by Amar Khadgi, whom I met in 1995 at Sangam Studio. He showed me the lyrics, it was very catchy. That era was the golden days of fashion, it was booming. And I thought it suited the situation. Initially the song was actually satirical, so I changed it and made it into a positive one to show support to the modeling scene.

Favorite Lyricist and music composer
In recent times, I like Kalyan Singh , Kali Prasad, Tsujil karmacharya, Ramesh Dahal, Anil Sthapit.

Any Nepali singer that you want to do a duet with?
For sure Astha Tamang Maskey, she is one of the most talented singer I have seen. Like me she is a guitarist, performs well, writer her own songs, composes it. She reminds me of me in the younger days.

Any Nepali old song that you want to revive and sing again?
Since my days with the band , I have been singing Ritu Haruma Timi by Arun Thapa, so I would love to record it in my own voice. It has a special memory in my heart.

How many concerts do you do in a year?
On an average in Kathmandu, outside valley and international , it has to be about 10. Of course I wish there were more gigs.

Any new projects?
I am working on my new album , one at a time. I have recorded one song and just shot a video. The process will take some time, hopefully by the end of this year. I did a duet with Shubani Moktan and am also making a video of it.