Bringing ‘Voices’ to life
Hemali Ratnaweera Pic courtesy Shyalina Muthumudalige
A gainst the backdrop of mental health awareness last month, a recent graduate of Asian International School (AIS), Hemali Rathnaweera released her single titled ‘Voices’. A current student of the University of Toronto, double majoring in Economics and Drama, Hemali thinks of any art as a wonderful medium for expression and she hopes to integrate important issues into them that aren’t talked about enough, in order to create awareness.
“Voices is a song that’s very personal to me as it touches on the topic of mental health.” Hemali told us. “Personally, the song to me is about anxiety and advice to give yourself when you’re going through something like that. Writing the lyrics, I wanted someone who was listening to it to know it was okay. That even though it’s not spoken about enough in today’s society, it exists and there are ways to help ourselves through it.” Hemali had always known and understood that music healed, but Voices gave her an opportunity to really deeply understand the concept.
The song speaks about the struggles that come with dealing with your innermost thoughts; the voices in your head. Adult or teenage, anyone can struggle with this, she shares.
“I wrote ‘Voices’ last year and performed it for the first time at a workshop organized by JAM – the Music Society of AIS.” Hemali recalls. “The final version that people listen to now is the result of collaborations with those whose opinions I value greatly.” Hemali further elaborated on how they recorded all the parts separately at Sooriya Village.
She recalls with gratitude the help received from Denham Hakel, Natasha Senanayake, and her colleagues from school; Shyalina, Nethmi and Asher, in order to turn ‘Voices’ into the song it is today. For her, the biggest challenge was really knowing when to let go and accept a final product. “One of the most beautiful things about music is our ability to experiment with it.
There are so many different ways art can sound, but it’s important to eventually stick to an interpretation. I found myself listening to different artists and thinking ‘Wow wouldn’t that sound great?’” she said. Performing Voices in itself was a challenge. An extremely personal and emotional song. “When you’re surrounded by supportive people and you know that there are other people who have felt the same, it’s a matter of prioritizing those feelings and learning that it’s okay to be emotive,” she said.
Studio Recording. Pic courtesy Natasha Senanayake
Despite mental health being a taboo topic, Hemali mentioned that everyone who heard the song, however, whether it be a live performance at an open mic before it was released, or one of the demos made before the final product, was very supportive. In fact, a lot of feedback was positive. Hemali saw that it helped her connect with more people in a way different to anything else. Releasing “Voices” officially in May, Hemali was surprised with the response. “ People I had never spoken to before texted me and told me the song had really hit home. That they could relate. What added to this is that the Sri Lankan community is so tightly knit. We all support each other and I think that’s amazing and so important,” she recalled.
The production process of the song wasn’t all smooth sailing. Hemali shared with us that due to the situation that arose with the pandemic, communication among the team became a lot more challenging. They managed to persevere and get through the process with online documents, video calls and collaborative tools. On the other hand, quarantine had given her a lot more time to dedicate to writing and she’s now in the process of finishing up 3 compositions. “I think it’s important to remember who you are, who you want to be and what you are determined to do in life. When feeling anxious during an interaction, a good reminder is that vulnerability is a way to connect with others. If you find yourself overthinking small things, asking yourself whether it’ll matter in time really does help,” she says.