Robin Tamang 1963–2023

When Robin Tamang landed in the Nepali music scene in the late 1990s, it was immediately clear he was a rock and roll force to be reckoned with. He spent the next two decades leading and nurturing the rock music scene in Nepal, and acting on screen.

His unexpected death on the night of 4 July, has left friends, artists and fans in Nepal and across the world in shock. He was 60.

Nepal in 1990s was a study in contrasts. The Maoist insurgency was spreading like wildfire across the countryside, and Nepal’s infant democracy was engulfed in violent conflict. But the country’s oldest millennials, the Gen Y, was coming of age.

In the cities, where people benefited from the opening up of the economy after 1990 and remained relatively sheltered from the war, younger Nepalis were growing up with increasing access to satellite tv, the Internet and local FM stations.

It was a time of simultaneously discovering grunge and all eras of rock, inspiring many youngsters to form bands. ‘Studying abroad’ was just beginning, so the young were still in gradually globalising Kathmandu. 

It was in this landscape that Robin teamed up with the band Looza: to form Robin N’ Looza: and also opened Bamboos, the live music club in Thamel.

When Robin N’ Looza:’s debut album Nepal was released in 1998, it quickly cemented the band’s status as the biggest rock star in the country. The album was brash, political, gleefully blues-rock, seamlessly bilingual (Nepali and English). 

Suddenly, classic Nepali ballads had transformed into loud rock songs. Looza:, a band already brimming with musical virtuosity, and Robin, with his commanding voice, versatile songwriting and musical experience, proved to be a powerful harmony.

Nothing like it had ever been heard from a Nepali band before. The title track Nepal became an immediate anthem, with its contemporary lyrics about the state of the country resonating deeply with a generation of audience who knew their country was troubled, but had never been told how and why.

In concerts, the song was a form of release for the audience, a sense of a shared conversation between them and the band, with young men and women passionately screaming along the chorus, 'Nepal, Nepal! Mero Gulab ko Kada [the thorn in my rose).' On stage, Robin was the charismatic topless rock and roller while members of Looza: were their refrained selves.

For the 90s generation, it was perhaps the first time that a local Nepali band sounded as good as any international rock god, and delivered the same level of divinity on record and on stage.

Off stage, the Bamboos Club was among the best live music venues in its time, and a place to watch Robin N’ Looza: on weekends. It also served as a platform for young upcoming bands. Albatross, the most popular modern rock act from Nepal, was one such emerging band in 1999.

'Robin dai & Looza were the first to give us a break as we started to perform in the streets of Thamel,' bassist Avaya Siddhi Bajracharya wrote on his Instagram tribute to Robin on Tuesday.

Also writing on her Instagram, singer Abhaya Subba Weise said: 'In your songs you live on, in your revolutionary ways you live on. Nepal has lost an iconic legend in physical form but his legacy will live on. In our hearts you live on. Travel well to the other world you great ROCKSTAR. Thank you for your vast contribution. You will always live on and on.'

Robin N’ Looza: went on to release two more albums, Aadhunik Angaanma (2000) and Bhool Ma Bhulyo (2001), and the band continued to perform together till 2005.

In 2006, Robin And The New Revolution was born. With his new band, Robin went on to release four albums: Keta Keti (2006), Hamro Desh (2010), 13,000 (2011) and Muglan (2019).

In the last decade, Robin also established himself as an actor, starring in a series of movies, starting with Chhadke in 2013. He was also in its sequel, Chhadke 2.0, released earlier this year.

When not performing on stage or on screen, Robin spent considerable time helping aspiring musicians find their feet, or sometimes, their confidence.

While his residence was in Budhanilkantha, Robin was most at home in Thamel. On any given day, he would be walking down a street or riding by on his motorcycle. He had also taken to flying a drone for fun during his hikes and getaways. In the summers, he liked to go to France and spend time with his daughters, Tara and Jade.

Robin’s mother Saraswati Chhetri the eldest daughter of Aamaji Sobha Kumari Chhetri who served in the 10 Gurkha Rifles between 1938 and 1972 as a midwife-nurse, passed away in 1975, when he was just 12 years old. 

His father Major GCO Keshav Tamang MBE SLJ was in the British Army and died in 2020, and the family moved as his work required, living in Singapore, Hong Kong, Brunei. The youngest of five siblings, Robin was not one to be lost in the crowd. At 6’5”, his looming presence was commanding, but he exuded humility and warmth.

A trained mechanical engineer who later switched to psychology before running a night club, Robin returned to Nepal in 1996 after spending 17 years in Canada. 

He was found unresponsive in his bedroom on Tuesday evening. The cause of death was not known till the time of publication.

“Keep things simple, follow the righteous path, seek the truth, treat everyone equally, don't bitch about your life do something about it.......... Karma comes back to you ten folds,” he wrote on Facebook, on 31 December 2021.

Messages of love, respect and gratitude continue to pour in for Robin Tamang, a true Nepali rock icon. 

Kashish Das Sherstha once performed in Bamboos Club in 1999, and hosted several concerts featuring Robin N’ Looza: between 2000 and 2005. He last met Robin on 30 April, 2023.

Watch Robin Tamang performing Nepal in Highlander GharMa Session in 2020.