Some voices only wake after sundown. Turn the lights off. Light a candle. Press play.
Inspired by The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice
Three photographs and a letter written after midnight.
They say the night keeps no promises. I have found the opposite. It remembers every one.
I have walked through candlelit halls where the clocks forgot to tick, and stood at windows while the storm wrote its long letters on the glass. Every song I write begins there: in the hour when the city sleeps and the heart refuses to.
If you are reading this, you are awake too. Stay a while. Let the music be the lantern.
Yours, after dark. B.
For Lestat, Louis and Armand, and every soul who ever fell in love with the night.
Inspired by The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice. All words here are original.
Bibek Rana is a Nepali singer-songwriter writing songs about love, memory and moving on, and an artist who paints and sketches between sessions.
“Kasai ko yaad, Kasai ko Saath.”
Bibek, on Sadhana Chahana
Official lyric videos from his YouTube channel, plus every single so far.
Gothic tales, original and short enough to read by candlelight.
In a town where every clock stopped at midnight, a girl kept one watch ticking. Each night a pale stranger came to buy a single minute from her. On the hundredth night he asked for nothing. He only wanted to hear the ticking, he said, because it sounded like a heartbeat he had lost long ago. She gave him the watch. In the morning, every clock in town began to run again.
He played at the cathedral steps after dark, and the roses in the old garden turned their heads to listen. One winter he did not come. The garden kept a single red rose blooming through the snow until spring, when a new violinist arrived with his eyes and his song, saying he had dreamed of a flower that waited.
When the house was sold, the new owners found two hundred letters beneath the floor, all addressed “To whoever stays awake.” None were signed. Each ended the same way: “The night is long, but you are not alone in it.” They put the letters back, and wrote one of their own.
Every scar a story, every job a verse.
Long shifts, heavy lifting, teamwork and timing. The discipline that keeps the music going.
Painting and restoring classics: Volkswagen Beetles and other VW classics, Mustangs and racing cars, plus furniture. Patience, prep and a perfect finish.
Precision knife work, speed under pressure and respect for the craft.
His project: an atelier of hand-crafted candles with delivery across Nepal. A website, not an app.
Gothic books and new releases, music business and Nepal disaster updates, freshly gathered every visit. Every story links to its original publisher.
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Sources: The Guardian Books · Literary Hub · Reactor · Google News · Billboard · Rolling Stone · Pitchfork · Music Business Worldwide · Billboard Business · ReliefWeb Nepal · The Kathmandu Post · The Himalayan Times. Headlines are fetched live on every visit (cached for up to 5 minutes) and belong to their publishers.
Even the night has a heart. If you can, lend yours.
Nepal’s national Red Cross, on the ground in flood-hit districts.
Donate on the official site ↗Red Cross Red Crescent appeal supporting the Nepal Red Cross response.
Donate on the official site ↗Health, nutrition, water and protection for children in Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading.
Donate on the official site ↗The government’s official card gateway for disaster rescue, relief and rehabilitation.
Donate on the official site ↗Health, financial and addiction-recovery help for people in the music industry.
Donate on the official site ↗Crisis relief, mental-health and wellbeing support for Australian artists, crew and music workers.
Donate on the official site ↗Every button opens the organisation’s own official donation page. This site collects no money or details and is not affiliated with these charities. Give only through official channels, and beware of personal QR codes or accounts.
Original paintings and sketches by Bibek. New pieces are being added soon.
Recent posts from his feed, sorted by category. Tap any to open Instagram.
ReflectionRings, glasses, a black coat1 May 2024The CastleSpires against a storm sky1 May 2024Love and BeautyAn old storybook, a winged girl1 May 2024Way of the Warrior戦士の道 · home studioSydney · Sep 2024
Training Day🥊⚡Sydney · Sep 2024
Mirror, MirrorWhite shirt, late nightThe Crown, Melbourne · Dec 2024
Holiday Whites🎄✨❤️Dec 2024
Melbourne After DarkSkyline from the CrownMelbourne · Dec 2024
Table TalkPerfect pairsThe Crown, Melbourne · Dec 2024For gigs, features, collaborations and art commissions, send a DM on Instagram.
This piece will be uploaded soon.
