Astha

ASTHA TAMANG-MASKEY

"An emotionally inspired songstress with a graceful and versatile acoustic sound..."

20 year old singer/songwriter, Astha Tamang-Maskey is an aspiring young new talent rising in the Toronto independent music scene. Originating from Nepal, she comes to the table with a unique sound backed by her acoustic guitar and a charismatic persona. She’s been continuously songwriting since the age of 14. Having written songs like "Hide and Seek" which paints a picture of relationships that come and go, "Painkiller" which describes an experience of trials as a youth and also songs like “Believe it” and “Cross the road” which speak of pressures that budding artists face, Astha’s collection of songs all hold meaning and speak of a deep truth.

As a graduate of the Independent Music Production program at Toronto’s Seneca College, she gained the necessary skills to begin her career as an Independent artist. She has performed at numerous Toronto music venues such as the Smiling Buddha, the Reverb, Holy Joes, the Horseshoe Tavern, and the Opera House to name a few. She has also performed at multiple music festivals in Nepal such as Fête de la Musique, the Chevrolet Miles Music Festival and the Himalayan Blues Festival.

Having been compared to artists such as Michelle Branch, Alanis Morissette and Nelly Furtado, her music maintains a very versatile sound, which was evident on her 6 song English demo. She also had the opportunity to go back to Nepal, which she took advantage of and released a Nepali debut album, "Sabai Thikai Huncha" in January 2009. Independently released by Astha, the album is a mix of acoustic, live and electronic music, with 1 English and 7 Nepali songs co-written by Astha and her mother Susan Maskey. Working closely with Astha was a 22 year old production genius named Rohit Shakya who brilliantly produced the songs on the project. Also featured on the album are prominent Nepalese musicians like: Rizu Tuladhar (Looza) on bass, Abishek Bhadra (JSC Trio) on keys, and Prazol Raj Kanskar (Looza) on drums.

Her first radio single off the album, "Gotta be love" received a significant amount of plays charting at number 1 on the Nepalese FM stations. Her second radio hit, “Jhuto Satya” received a nomination for “Best Rock Vocal Performance” on the Nepalese TV-Image Award 2009.

Back in Toronto now, Astha is polishing and gearing up for her debut English EP release. Young and driven, she has realized that a career in music is her ultimate passion. For one so young, her voice resonates with faith. Astha - the name itself means to have faith, and her faith is in her music.

“Astha has that rare gleaming charm to herself which allures even grown up men to listen to her pretty yet powerful voice singing of teenage angst and puppy love lost.” – Republica Newspaper- Nepal

“She is a gifted singer with a fairly versatile voice. She sounds as good singing ballads over acoustic guitar in the title track as she does while packing heavy pop singles” – Y! Magazine - Nepal

“Finding space here for her sheer talent and passion for music, Astha is probably the freshest sound to hit the Nepali music industry.” –Wave Magazine, Nepal