Mirror Magazine

 

Bands to look out for
By Marisa de Silva & Ishani Ranasinghe
What's new, what's happening in the music scene these days, you ask, maybe a trifle tired of listening to the same old bands over and over again.Well, you won't be disappointed for there's loads of fresh talent, just waiting to make it to the big league.

The Hierarchize who made their debut with a winning performance at the recently concluded Interact Grammies, (All Island Talent Search) held at Navarangahala, are five talented young Anthonians from Kandy. They specialise in both rap and rock.

Sanka Gayawansa (18), lead vocalist of the Hierarchize first started rapping especially songs by Shaggy, with a friend from another school. Thereafter, he tried some rock with two other friends, Mohamed Omar (17) and Thamir Iftiquar (18) also from his alma mater. Then the rock/rap trio performed at an inter-school competition.

Soon after, they were joined by Free Phillip (17) and Gihan Mackey (17), who have stuck with the group and hope to do so for a long time more. They prefer singing songs of Puddle of Mud, Linkin Park and P.O.D. but their repertoire extends to all kinds of rock and rap songs. They have hopes of performing as a live band, instead of singing to tracks from next year and also hope to come up with some originals in the near future says Sanka optimistically.

Our parents and school have been quite supportive, although, initially, they shared similar reservations about us being rock musicians. But they understand now that we are singing for the love of music and not for anything else, adds Sanka.

Meet Chronic Decorum, six talented youths who also made their debut at Talent Search-2002. Starting off as a foursome Surath Punchihewa (17), Shehan Nelson (19), Nimesh Dissanayaka (18) and Nishan Daniels (18) were later joined by Ranin Abeysekera(18), who later brought in a friend of his, Nadia Isadeen (18).

Lead singer Surath says that they want to create their own identity instead of copying some other band. "Surath sounded good singing and we all could play instruments so we got together and it just clicked," says Nimesh. Already having produced two originals Rock & Roar and Alone, (not yet performed in public), they hope to launch an album in the near future.

Having regular practices once a week, all of them except Nadia are self-trained. Nadia who takes guitar lessons is also a very good piano player with a gold medal to her credit.

They have no set dress code and give little thought to what they wear. On stage they say that time just flies and they have little time to be nervous or scared.

All of them who will be going away for studies in the near future say that music is more a hobby. Performing as a band unfortunately is not really a stable vocation here in Sri Lanka, they feel.

Ground Zero (whose name's pending change) is a nearly all-Royal Band of five 'crazy' young guys who want to make a name for themselves on the Lankan rock scene. If they continue performing like at their debut at Talent Search held last month, they just might be able to achieve their goal.

Nanda Abeysekera (19), lead vocalist comes from a very musical background, as both his parents are musicians. His father being one of the founder members of Cancer, a band that introduced rock music to the local music arena, it's only natural that Nanda should follow in his footsteps.

The band hopes to perform 'unplugged' at an event next month. Thereafter, they'll be on hold until their lead and rhythm guitarists, Suranga Rajapakse (18) and Aftab Aziz (18), finish their A/Ls next year.

The band members seem to have a fondness for unusual props. The cutest of the lot was the Daffy Duck hanging off the bass guitarist cum back up vocalist, Chinthu Viswakula's guitar.

Anik Jayasekara (18), their talented drummer, has a 'glow in the dark' skeleton, fondly referred to as ' Skeli' propped up on his drum set and Nanda walks onto stage with a traffic cone (How it ended up in his possession, remains a mystery!). Many of them have personalised/favourite T-shirts that they wear when they perform but, "We don't have any strict dress code as such. We wear whatever we want to," they chorus in unison.

Two originals, The Unheard Cry and Ignite, composed by Anik have not yet been performed. Anik is inspired by various things he says, and some are actually quite unusual! He's also into jazz fusion. "I started banging forks and spoons on the table from the time I was six and my cousin abroad who had a set of drums showed me how to hold the sticks etc. However, it was Mr. Aruna Siriwardena who taught me all I know up to now. I still have a long way more to go but I owe everything I know, to him."

"We are open to incorporating any instrumentalists to perform with our band if the song requires it," says Afthab. "We all hope to continue with the band as a hobby, not on a full time basis. The whole group is based on fun 'cos we enjoy playing and making music," says Nanda.

"We prefer to play alternate rock and songs from Metallica and System of a Down. We may release an album someday but, not quite yet," says Nanda, realistically.

Suranga however adds, "If the music scene was better recognised and more stable in our country, I would have liked to pursue it as a career. Unfortunately, it's not." "My parents are quite supportive but they advised me against making a career of it as it's not stable," says Chinthu. "My parents got me all the stuff I needed to play but I have been banned from playing until my exams next year," says Suranga with a laugh.

Phase Three literally moves us on to a different level as they don't really fall into the new, up and coming bands category but, unfortunately neither do they receive due recognition for their talent's worth either. Comprising old and young hands in the music industry, the band is made up of Rasmar Lye on percussion, Jude Thyagaraja on drums, Trevin Joseph on main vocals, Ramesh Nonis on lead guitar, Alston Joachim on bass, and Debbie Arnolda on keyboards. Ramesh, Alston and Debbie also join in on back up vocals.

Phase Three features a host of experience and talent, starting with Alston, who could easily be deemed the number one bass guitarist on the musical scene at the moment. Once you've heard him play, you'll see for yourself how he's earned this title. Rasmar together with his brother Dylan has been on the music scene for a long time now. As for Debbie, she has singing in her blood, coming down from her mother Dalreen, one of Sri Lanka's first female artistes to make an impact on the industry.

Phase Three is soon to feature the first local female saxophonist (the versatile Debbie) to perform on a professional level. She was also one of the youngest female solo artistes to start out on a solo career, sometime back. This will add a uniqueness to our music and performances, says Rasmar.

"We like to play all types of music ranging from jazz to R&B to Latin, funk and pop. We don't restrict ourselves to any one type of music. All kinds of music holds some meaning for someone out there, so all we do is tap into that meaning and bring it alive for our audiences."

Phase Three hopes to host a workshop to educate the media on all the various types of music that's out there. "We recognise the huge part the media plays in people's choice of music, therefore we feel that if the media is made aware of the wide range of music available in the world of music, that would enable them in turn to act responsibly by giving the public a variety of music to choose from rather than only what's commercially profitable," adds Rasmar.

Damage is yet another band that is not exactly new in the music scene but are making their presence felt. The band is made up of Ashantha Perera on keyboards, Inshi Deen on bass, Shehan Perera on guitar, Oshan Sampath on guitar and Chamida Dantila on drums.

"We would like to be known as a pop band, but then we don't really restrict ourselves, we play anything," says Ashantha. All of them are full time musicians and they have a couple of originals written by Shehan, Prageeth and Ashantha that have not yet been performed.

So folks keep your eyes and ears open for these exciting sounds. You are sure to hear more of them in the year ahead.


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