Mirror Magazine

Mirror Magazine

Livin’ it with BNS
By Vidushi Seneviratne
Futuristic. Revolutionary. Youthful. Fresh. All words that describe the music of possibly the two most impressive musicians ever to enter the arena of Sri Lanka’s ethnic fusion music. Belonging to the top-notch in this genre of entertainment, they have delivered – right from the word go.

So what if this same energy, the same attitude, and the very same essence of Sri Lankanism, coated with all the ingredients essential to take on the modern world, were to be duplicated in maybe… clothes??? Yes… that’s right. Bathiya and Santhush (BNS), the duo who have and continue to revolutionise contemporary Sri Lankan culture, are now launching their very own clothing label. Under the brand name ‘BNS,’ the tagline for their brand will be ‘Live It.’
Catching up with Santhush a few days ago, we learned that this innovative idea had been brewing in their minds for some time. “Sri Lankan youth are an extremely talented and charismatic section of society, in both the local and international context. But due to various drawbacks in the education system and so on, certain segments of our youth don’t have the confidence to really be what they want to be.”

According to him, what is necessary is to remain Sri Lankan in attitude, but also be receptive to the changes taking place around us. “With our music, we have always tried to communicate how proud we are to be ‘us,’ and formulate strategies to get where we want to go. Now we plan to transfer the same message through this other medium, and we’re very excited about this venture,” he said.

Santhush went on to add that we can safeguard our culture and everything great that comes with it, but changing our flavour to accommodate the changes taking place in rest of the world is up to us. “It’s all about being ourselves in the present changing world, with all the globalising and technological changes.”

The clothes under the futuristic BNS label will portray all of the hard-core, present day, youthful elements, along with a dose of ethnicity as well, all of which are essentially a part of the duo’s music.

Starting off with casual clothes for both men and women, they hope to launch and release their trendy products under the BNS label, in about a month’s time. While they have identified an apparel company to do their products, the creations will first be sold in selected shops within Colombo. They have two designers working with them, and their products will range from t-shirts and shirts, to pants and also women’s wear.

The tagline for the brand ‘Live It,’ can be taken to any dimension. “It can either be taken in the context of ‘being me,’ or can be a reflection of Sri Lanka being a limitless paradise with opportunities and happiness, or can simply portray people being in love and all the freedom that comes with it,” he said. A main element behind the designing and the conceptualising of the brand is Randhir, the hip hop artiste in their musical outfit, with Ashanthi pitching in as well.

Adding even more innovation to the launching of BNS is the fact that the label will be launched simultaneously in Sri Lanka and Australia, along with their website www.bnsmusic.com. So why Australia? “The Australian market is not only multi-cultural, but also very futuristic and experimental, and so it is the perfect place to try out something new and original. This cosmopolitan nature of Australia makes it easy to find pockets to market your creations very easily, whatever the market you are targeting.”

Following the same approach, they use to take their energy to the rest of the world through their music, since their inception to the local music industry in 1998, for Bathiya and Santhush, the launching of their clothing label will be a reflection of “what we really are.” “Sri Lanka’s rich culture and versatile human resources we have are more often than not overlooked, because of negative aspects such as the war and more recently the tsunami. But we need to create a connection and ambience with the rest of the world, which will enable us to take on everything that comes with the modern-day changes.”

So for all of you who thought Bathiya and Santhush were the revolutionaries of Sri Lankan ethnic fusion music, here’s another avenue to explore them, as they explore the limitless possibilities of their futuristic outlook to life.

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