Phiroj Shyangden

Phiroj Shyangden is a Nepalese-American singer, guitarist, composer, songwriter in the Nepali language. He is the founding member of the band 1974 AD and The Original Duo. Shyangden lives in New York, USA.

Early life
Phiroj Shyangden was born to parents Kharkey Shyangden (father) and the late Narbada Shyangden (mother) in Takvar Tea Estate, Darjeeling, India. He went to Betten High School in Tukvar, Darjeeling and completed his college degree form Darjeeling Government College, North Bengal University, India in 1986.

Shyangden is a self-taught vocalist and studied western classical music (guitar) from Jeeven Pradhan (Darjeeling Melody Academy), a noted music teacher from Darjeeling. Shyangden moved to Kathmandu in 1990 where he worked as a music teacher in Gyanodaya School, Lalitpur.

Formation of 1974 AD and 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. During this period Shyangden did most of the writing and compositions for the band. Initially the band played western rock music and covered Bryan Adams, Deep Purple and various other rock acts. Shyangden left 1974 AD in 2008 amicably to pursue a solo career and moved to New York in 2009. He released a self-titled studio solo album, followed by Zindagi Asal Cha.

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 reunited with 1974 AD and released a new album titled Nirantarata. The band now consists of the original lineup.

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