Heartcore for Nepal - Sambandha

The song "Sambandha" was recorded in Mangala Secondary School, Babiyachaur, Nepal, in the Summer of 2023. All proceeds from digital sales of this song will fund the purchase of musical equipment and educational materials for the kids from Mangala Secondary School, Babiyachaur, Myiagdi Province, Nepal.
The song features Gerald Clayton, John McLaughlin, Christian McBride, Terri Lyne Carrington, Kit Downes, Anmol Mohara and Dinesh Pun.

1. Sambandha

Michaela Bóková - author of the project, composition, arrangement, production, lecturing, choir-leading

Charis Karantzas - mixing, production

Dinesh Pun - Nepali flutes

Gerald Clayton - piano, composition

John McLaughlin - electric guitar solo

Christian McBride - acoustic bass

Terri Lyne Carrington - drums

Kit Downes - Hammond organ

Anmol Mohara - Nepali percussions

Choir of Students from Mangala Secondary School:

Bhumika Pun
Bhuwan B.K.
Bimal Bishwakarma
Binusa Pariyar
Gunjan Majhi
Jeshmi Bhandari
Kastup Giri
Kriyasan Roka
Nabin Sunar
Nima B.K.
Rejina B.K.
Ritu Pariyar
Rojan Sapkota
Rojina Sharma
Sapana B.K.
Suba Nepali
Sushil Rasaili

Production - Michaela Bóková and Charis Karantzas
Composition - the first melody is a Nepali folk song, “Beni ko Bazar”. The second melody is borrowed from the Gandharva brothers I met in Kathmandu.
Lyrics - Subhāyue Paul, Shreeram Paudyal, Children of Mangala Secondary High School, Michaela Bóková.
Recording engineers (children's choir and Dinesh Pun) Michaela Bóková and Jon Betz
Mixing - Charis Karantzas
Mastering - Glenn Schick

Christian McBride appears courtesy of Mack Avenue Music Group
Gerald Clayton appears courtesy of Blue Note Records

Gerald Clayton recorded by Gerald Clayton, NYC
John McLaughlin recorded by John McLaughlin
Christian McBride recorded at Sound on Sound, Montclair, NJ
Terri Lyne Carrington recorded at Ajari Music, LLC
Kit Downes recorded by Nanni Johansson at Soundfabrik, Berlin
Anmol Mohara recorded at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London

Artwork by the children from Mangala Secondary School, edited by Vojta Drnek
Graphic design by Vojta Drnek
Photos by Jon Betz

Thanks:

Thanks to Vojta Drnek for his generous and loving support, Kurt Rosenwinkel for all the love and music we share at Heartcore Records, Charis Karantzas for his ears and ideas, Jon Betz for capturing this adventure on his camera and for his support, and Tomas Antonic for writing about it. I love working with all of you guys!

Thanks to Shreeram Paudyal, Manu, Pranisha, and Prajwal for hosting me in their beautiful home in Babiyachaur and generously helping the project, Tomáš Beránek and Namasté Nepal and Jiří Sázel for helping me to find the way to Nepal. To Gam Bahadur Khatri and Jhalak Sharma, all the teachers and children at Mangala Secondary School, thank you for welcoming our project. Thanks to all the artists for contributing with their immense talents- Dinesh Pun, Gerald Clayton, John McLaughlin, Christian McBride, Terri Lyne Carrington, Kit Downes, Anmol Mohara, and their labels and managers for making their participation possible. Thanks to all recording engineers who participated in the song production - Nanni Johnson, Ajari Music, Soundfabrik Berlin, Sound on Sound, Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Thanks to Subhāyue Paul from Mumbai, who crafted the lyrics, and again to Shreeram Paudyal for helping me immensely with everything I could imagine and for not only making my stay in Nepal one of the most beautiful experiences in my life but also becoming a close friend of mine, who lives far, but will always remain close to my heart. And last but not least, thanks to my family in Czechia and my extended family in Berlin for your neverending support.