The story of OutControlJoys begins where two of Nepal’s underground punk bands—Anautho Prashna and grindviolence outfit Rog—left off. After a final DIY show in 2017, both bandssolved dis as Pokhara’s once-active hardcore scene began to quiet down.
“We all the members from both bands got busy focusing on our individual professional careers,” recalls the musician behind OutControlJoys, who found himself entering what he calls a “quarter-life crisis.”
That period away from heavy music became a time of discovery. Initially drawn to post-rock bands like Explosions in the Sky, Mogwai, and Mono, he eventually stumbled into a new world: the guitar-driven haze of bands like Alvvays, Airiel, DIIV, and The Radio Dept. “In the era of algorithmic recommendations, discovering similar bands one after another wasn’t too hard,” he says.
But it was one release in particular—Japanese band Cattle’s Somehow Hear Songs EP—that clarified what he was chasing.
“The mix of noise, wall of sound, melody and melancholy felt like the perfect sound. I didn’t even know there was a genre called shoegaze back then. I used to google ‘post-rock band with vocals’.”
One moment that hit especially hard was watching DIIV’s 2016 Best Kept Secret set on YouTube.
“It completely shifted everything for me. The guitar-driven melodies, the stage presence, the raw energy, the imperfections and little mistakes—it all felt so punk, and I was instantly drawn in.”
He started jamming again with the bassist from Anautho Prashna, using a drum machine to cover DIIV and Joy Division, and sketch out original ideas. When that bassist left Nepal, the path forward turned solo.
Following the lead of bands like Hibou and Wild Nothing, he recorded a demo called “Faraway” and posted it to SoundCloud in early 2019. The isolation of the pandemic became a creative opportunity. Using an iPad and GarageBand, he crafted his debut EP Division, released January 9, 2021 via Ris Records, and formally launched OutControlJoys.
“I never thought I’d ever play OutControlJoys live,” he admits. But the decision to perform came after encouragement from S. Rai, who had provided vocals on “Sunrise” from Division. With Prashant joining on drums, they began to organize their own shows. “Honestly, it’s a big achievement in itself for OutControlJoys haha,” he reflects. The current lineup includes Manees on bass, Prashant on drums, and the project’s founder on guitar and vocals.
The second EP, Unturn, followed on January 9, 2023. It marked a new phase—live performances and plans for a full-band album. But those plans changed when both S. Rai and Prashant moved abroad. The result was a return to solo work for the newly completed self-titled LP.
“With this album, I wanted to fully dive into the wall of sound approach,” he explains. The reference points range from early shoegaze pioneers like My Bloody Valentine, Ride, and Swirlies to contemporary names like Tokyo Shoegazer, Whirr, Nothing, and Pinkshinyultrablast. “Also taking inspirations from bands like God Is An Astronaut and Mono to incorporate elements of post-rock helped to shape the textures and dynamics of the album, giving it the emotional depth I was aiming for. Also Daniel, who mixed and mastered the album, played a key role in molding the sound exactly the way I envisioned it.”
He traces his earliest sonic influences to Beach Fossils, DIIV, Wild Nothing, Menon Meurt’s self-titled EP, and Joy Division, saying those helped shape the post-punk undercurrent of Division.
Over time, his taste has leaned toward fuzzier, denser shoegaze. “These days, I find myself more drawn to and inspired by the Southeast Asian shoegaze scene. For me, it’s quickly becoming one of the most exciting and vibrant underground shoegaze movements out there.” He points to Death of Heather, Sunlotus, Motifs, Biirthday Party, Telever, Beetleflux, Heavener, and Slowwves as standout names in that space.
While Nepal is hardly known for shoegaze, there are signals of an emerging alternative current. “If you’re looking to explore the current scene, check out hardcore bands Nainsook, Total Menace, Six Coffins and Strangle,” he recommends. “Also check Teorag and BADxEGGS for some interesting punk rock and ska.” He highlights Snzvgrg’s debut EP, which draws in dream pop and shoegaze—“still a rarity here”—and notes that Shailu Rai’s Nametine Chitra EP brings a blend of indie rock and dream pop reminiscent of Far Caspian.
The live landscape for alternative acts remains scattered. “Kathmandu has a growing underground hardcore scene, naming it as KVHC (Kathmandu Valley Hardcore), and it’s been evolving into something pretty solid,” he says.
Other cities like Dharan and Pokhara had more active scenes in the past. Today, most gigs are DIY by necessity, taking place in temporary spaces or bars, with few permanent venues.
Festivals like Hill Fest and Jamka Bhet offer rare, recurring stages. Hill Fest is a two-day punk/hardcore festival in the rural outskirts of Kathmandu, now in its fifth year. Jamka Bhet, combining skate/BMX events with live shows, just held its second edition, which included a performance by OutControlJoys.
Despite the physical distance from the broader shoegaze community, he doesn’t feel disconnected. “Honestly, I don’t feel any pressure. Shoegaze is a niche genre that celebrates itself much like how punk and hardcore did years ago. So when listeners discover OutControlJoys as a Nepalese shoegaze act, the response is usually supportive and sometimes pleasantly surprised.”
Still, the lack of live exposure to his musical influences leaves a mark. “The only real sense of isolation I feel is that, being from Nepal, it’s almost impossible to truly experience that immersive shoegaze atmosphere live. Seeing the foreign bands you love on stage just isn’t a reality for us here… that kind of live connection, which so many people elsewhere take for granted, is something we rarely get to experience.”
For OutControlJoys, the act of making music remains a personal pursuit. “At the end of the day, it’s not about where it reaches,” he says, “it’s about how it feels to create something that’s true to what inspires me and what I love.”
