Phiroj Shyangden () is an Indian singer (American citizen), guitarist, composer, songwriter in the

Nepali language Nepali (; , ) is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Himalayas region of South Asia. It is the official, and most widely spoken, language of Nepal, where it also serves as a '' lingua franca''. Nepali has official status in the Indian st ...

. He is the founding member of the band

1974 AD 1974 AD is a Nepali rock band, formed in Kathmandu, Nepal in the early 1990s. They experiment with various genres of music including Nepali folk, ragas, rock, funk, blues and jazz. 1974 AD are amongst the most successful recording artists ...

and The Original Duo. Shyangden lives in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Early life

Phiroj Shyangden was born to parents Kharkey Shyangden (father) and the late Narbada Shyangden (mother) in Takvar Tea Estate,

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. He went to Betten High School in Tukvar, Darjeeling and completed his college degree form

Darjeeling Government College Darjeeling Government College is a co-educational government-funded college established in 1948 in Darjeeling, West Bengal, India. The college is in North Point, Darjeeling. Courses It offers postgraduate courses in Botany, Zoology, English ...

North Bengal University University of North Bengal (abbreviated as NBU) is a public state collegiate major research university in North Bengal region of West Bengal, which is located in Raja Rammohanpur, Siliguri, Darjeeling district, in the Indian state of West Be ...

in 1986. Shyangden is a self-taught vocalist and studied

western classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

(guitar) from Jeeven Pradhan (Darjeeling Melody Academy), a noted music teacher from Darjeeling. Shyangden moved to

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

in 1990 where he worked as a music teacher in Gyanodaya School, Lalitpur.

Musical career

Shyangden, along with Nirakar Yakthumba (bass guitar) and Bhanu Ahamed (drums), formed the band 1974 AD in 1994 whilst they were teachers in Gyanodaya School in Lalitpur,

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

. During this period Shyangden did most of the writing and compositions for the band. Initially the band played western

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

and covered

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...

and various other rock acts. Shyangden left 1974 AD in 2008 amicably to pursue a solo career and moved to

in 2009. He released a self-titled studio solo album, followed by ''Zindagi Asal Cha''.
Phiroj Shyangden's First Solo Album by Taal Music
''

The Original Duo

In 2016 Shyangden and Pradhan reunited under the name 'The Original Duo'. They toured five states in the US in 2016, and Nepal, the UK, and Australia in 2017–18. In 2019 The Original Duo recorded and released the album ''La Hai'', with lyrics and composition by Shyangden.

Reunion with 1974 AD

In July 2019, after almost a decade, Shyangden and Pradhan reunited with 1974 AD and released a new album titled ''Nirantarata''. The band now consists of the original lineup.

Awards (with 1974 AD)

Discography

Albums with 1974 AD

* ''Time Out'' (1996) * ''Samjhi Baschu'' (1998) * ''Satabdi'' (2001) * ''Jungi Nishan'' (2002) * ''Limited Edition'' (2002) * ''Pinjada Ko Suga'' (2004) * ''On Air'' (2007) * ''Nirantarta'' (2019)

Solo albums

* ''Phiroj Shyangden'' * ''Zindagi Asal Cha''

Singles

Timi ra Ma

References

External links

Phiroj Shyangden official YouTube channelPhiroj Shyangden Facebook page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shyangden, Phiroj People from Darjeeling district Nepali-language singers from India Singers from West Bengal Indian male songwriters Indian guitarists