Chhimi Dema

“You know it’s been forever; You have left me on my knees; Bruises upon my heart; Leave me for time without you…”

This was North H’s first song, released two years after the grunge band was formed in 2014.

The band will perform at No Mercy Fest in Seoul, South Korea, next month, after which the band will go to Incheon and Geoje in South Korea for their show.

North H is the first band from Bhutan to play on international stages.

North H, a three-member grunge band, performed in Nepal, India, and Thailand in popular music festivals such as Hornbill International Rock Festival.

Their first song “My Darling” was played on a radio show in the Netherlands and Ugyen Tenzin, guitarist and vocalist, appeared as a guest on the show.

Grunge is a sub-genre of hard rock and alternative music that rose to popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s.  Some popular international grunge bands are Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, and Pearl Jam, among others.

North H will be playing their original songs, which will be released in December.

Ugyen Tenzin said that they are thrilled about the shows. “We always wanted to be a band from Bhutan performing on international stages.”

Ugyen Tenzin started the band in 2014.  It took him some time to find his band members.

“I saw people perform gigs but none of them gave me the vibe that they wanted to pursue music passionately as I do,” he said.

After many attempts, he called upon people who were not in the music industry to be part of his band and approached his childhood friends and brother.

The band, for the past eight years, rented a room at Changbangdu and practised every day.  The band recorded, mixed and mastered songs in the studio.

A young drummer joined the band recently and will have his first performance with the band in South Korea.  Ravi Kumar Ghallay, a college student, travels from Paro four times a week to practise with the band.

The band has been practising for last two months for their performance in Korea.

“We worked hard for this,” Ugyen Tenzin said. “I was never discouraged by the lack of audience in the country. I was aware of what I was getting into. Since day one, I focused on following my love for music.”