About the artist
A DreamFolk Experience is an artistic project that reimagines the folk and ritual sound traditions of Nepal through contemporary performance, composition, and immersive sonic storytelling. Rooted in the musical heritage of the Himalayas, hills, and plains of Nepal, the project blends expressive vocals in Nepali, English, and modern Sanskrit with traditional instruments including the Tungnajo (a hybrid of the Himalayan Lute Tungna and its cousin Hilly Lute Arbajo), Nepali bamboo flutes performed by Rajesh Nepali, while Regan Awale is a Nepalese-born sarod player, composer, educator, and ethnomusicologist based in Sydney, Australia. He holds a Master’s degree in Music and a Bachelor’s degree in Music (Ethnomusicology).
His music draws from Eastern classical traditions while embracing contemporary and cross-cultural collaboration. Regan has toured and performed in Nepal, Germany, and Australia, appearing at international festivals, concert venues, and cultural events. Through performance, composition, and education, he is dedicated to sharing the rich heritage of the sarod while connecting diverse musical traditions with audiences around the world. Sarod and Damaha/Tyamko fused with modern kit percussion. These acoustic elements are combined with live looping, electronic textures, and cinematic sound design to create a contemporary musical language that remains deeply connected to ancestral energy.
The work draws inspiration from what I describe as ancestral musical memory, rhythmic patterns, vocal nuances, and embodied knowledge carried across generations through community practice, ritual, and oral tradition. As artists from the Dalit and Newar community, a historically claimed artisan-musicians and instrument makers, we explore how inherited cultural knowledge can be preserved, transformed, and shared with new audiences while honouring its origins and complexity. Through performance and creative research, the project seeks to reconnect audiences with endangered instrumental crafts, ensembles like Panche Baja/Naumati Baja, Newari Dapa-khin / Khin Baja such traditional sound worlds, and overlooked cultural narratives. Rather than approaching history through grievance alone, A DreamFolk Experience transforms lived experience and collective memory into a space of dialogue, resilience, and cultural renewal. By bridging traditional Nepali musical practices with contemporary cinematic and electronic forms, the project creates opportunities for cultural preservation, artistic innovation, and intercultural understanding.
