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group of eighteen-year-olds have their next step figured out In an age where rock bands are sprouting and creating a revolution in Sri Lanka, Next Step say that they sing a cappella simply because they enjoy what they do. “We know everyone’s into rock these days,” adding that they think rock is cool, but they wanted to do something different and challenging. A cappella music is not given enough recognition in this country, says Jonathan. “There’s so much exposure for rock bands and karaoke, but when it comes to a cappella, some people don’t even know about it,” he says adding, “it’s a case of ‘a cappella, huh??’ - they think it’s a dish or something!” All members of the Trinity College choir, they formed the group in January 2001 – the year they did their O’ Levels. “We first thought of forming a group and singing to a karaoke track,” says Hansa, “and our next step was to do away with instruments altogether, and sing a cappella.” And, the next step taken, enter the group with an apt name. The foursome are all 18, and are sitting for their A’Levels this April. “Except me,” quips Jonathan, who left after his O’ Levels and is an aspiring minister. “But not the political kind, you know, the religious one,” he is quick to clarify. Inspiration and encouragement, for this group, came primarily from another group comprising senior Trinitians called ‘Brothers in Black’, they state, as they recall how they used to watch talent shows together, awe-struck by the talent of the older boys. “I remember being awed by what they did,” reminisces Hansa, adding, “Since we had the voices for all the parts, we decided to go ahead and form the group.” The group doesn’t use accompaniment, as it would then result in the loss of the a cappella flavour explains Jonathan. Their first performance was a rendition of In the Still of the Night at a talent show organized by the school Social Service Union and there has been no looking back since. They have swept the boards at many talent contests in the hill capital, namely best group and all-round performance at ‘Reconduire’, 2002 and best group at ‘Teen Invasion’, 2003. In addition to the best group award at ‘Beat Cyclone’, 2003, Next Step was also named best in the group-singing category at ‘Talent Search’ 2003. The group’s bass singer Hansa has also won awards at these events for his solo performances. At ‘Teen Invasion’, Next Step performed an original Take My Love to Heaven, which tells the story of a couple in love who are separated by war. “As a group we have a responsibility to come up with something unique and different,” says Hansa. The group has no specific ‘leader’ as such, and agree that it all boils down to a collective decision, where everyone’s viewpoints have been taken into consideration. Participating at TNL Onstage 2003, for them, was a great experience, as they harmonised quite a variety of lyrics. “Amongst the many rock bands at Onstage, it must have been quite a different thing to hear our gospel and Sinhala songs inside MKOP!!” grins Jonathan. Being an a cappella group, most of their performances are renditions of classical music, with Boyz II Men hits being a contemporary favourite. “We sing Yesterday, In the Still of the Night and Follow Me quite a lot,” they say, adding that they hardly practice these days due to exam commitments. “TNL wanted us to do some jingles in a capella but unfortunately we couldn’t because we had exams,” says Hansa. “Singing is a passion for us,” says Jonathan, adding that there are times they have tried parts they have never practised, but which have paid off during a performance. “We love what we do,” says Manjula, revealing that there have been instances when the quiet of the Kandy streets have been disturbed by their singing, “not to mention people looking at us as if we were out of our minds,” he grins, “but it didn’t really matter.” With exams around the corner, and parents nagging them to study, the foursome have got their time tables cut out until April. “But once our A/Ls are over, we want to really kick off things,” says the relatively quiet Richie. They plan to stage their own show in collaboration with other artistes towards the end of this year. For these guys who are into a form of music they consider ‘unique and beautiful’ that’s the next step to take. |
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Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
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There
are four of them, they sing a cappella, and most importantly, they
love what they do. Meet Next Step comprising Hansa, Jonathan, Richie
and Manjula – four guys from Kandy whose speciality is harmonising
tunes unaccompanied by instruments. 