‘Photographic Breath’ And Making It Big In Europe

By Raisa Wickrematunge

You could say Chitral Somapala (‘Chity’ as he is informally known) was destined from a young age to go into music.

He grew up immersed in it – his father P. L. A. Somapala and mother Chitra were both legends in the local music scene (his father as a film music director, and his mother as a singer).

But while his parents left their own unique legacy, Chitral says that he always wanted to do something different.

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By Easwaran Rutnam

Formed in 2009 as an alternative music band, Salvage is now all out to give a new identity to rock music in Sri Lanka.

Band leader and vocalist Chrisantha de Silva said that while rock is their main genre they do experiment with their music to give it an unique touch.

“We want to salvage the music scene in Sri Lanka and hence the name Salvage. We keep our lyrics simple and personal,” Chrisantha said.

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Twenty-two years ago, two guys began an impromptu Simon & Ga-rfunkel session…

Roshan Premasinghe and Naushad Rassool were rehearsing together with the Merry An Singers for an upcoming concert.

During a break from singing, Naushad was drawn to a corner of the rehearsal room, towards a favourite tune by Simon & Garfunkel. Strumming the immortal music was the Mary Ann Singer’s backup guitarist, Rienzi Pereira.

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By Easwaran Rutnam

He is an award-winning television personality, multi-lingual and equally at ease in both French and English and runs his own Public Relations and Media Consultancy Company.

Kumar De Silva, one of the founder members of the Alliance Francaise de Kotte, was last week bestowed with the ‘Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres’ (Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Letters) by the French Government.

Kumar De Silva said that he was surprised when he received a letter from the Ambassador for France in Sri Lanka Christine Robichon informing him of the decision to induct him as a Knight in the Order in recognition of his significant contribution to promoting French culture in Sri Lanka for more than quarter century.

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By Sarah Hannan

For those who have been following the rock music industry in Sri Lanka, Paranoid Earthling is not an unfamiliar name.

The band is known for their lyrics based on universal topics which mainly focus on social issues that are faced on a day-to-day basis.

This year the band got an unique opportunity to perform in Kabul, Afghanistan at the Sound Central Music Festival – Central Asia’s only alternative music and arts festival.

Sound Central Music Festival was founded by Travis Beard and was an outcome of the tiny underground music scene in Kabul between 2006 and 2010.

The first of its kind in Central Asia, the initial festival was a one day event which attracted over 500 Afghan youth and was held on 1st October 2011.

This year the festival featured 27 artistes from Australia, France, United Kingdom, Sweden, USA, Mexico, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Compared to the initial festival in 2011 the current one had grown bigger and attracted over 1600 music enthusiasts during the 3-day festival period. Day 1 (October, 2) was dedicated to Women where female artistes and any band which had a female artiste were given the stage to perform for the female fans.

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Taylor Swift scored her first U.K. No. 1 album last week as “Red” debuted at the top. Writer-producer Labrinth was also celebrating a first British bestseller, as the grammatically-challenged “Beneath Your Beautiful,” featuring Emeli Sandé, opened atop the singles survey.
Swift reached No. 5 in the U.K. in 2009 with her chart debut “Fearless,” peaking one place below that with the 2010 follow-up “Fearless.”

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Pusswedilla at the wedding of the Royals and Pusswedilla at the UN

The Honorable Chaminda Pusswedilla has been around the world and met top leaders and celebrities. But his problems in his country Arsikland seem to never end.
Q: What are your thoughts on the many amendments made to the Arsikland constitution? And to repealing certain amendments.
A: Now peeples are asking to erase the 13th amendmentings to the constitushen. I told my sectary Cyril Nitharamasuffering to look for it. Now we have 38 amendementings to our Arsiklandconstitushen. Poddakamaaruy to look for these things.Olso I have to keep track of oll these things olso ne? You see, the 23rd nullified the 21st, and number 33 made number 28 unnessesary. Olso number 24,27 and 34 (after very careful scrootiny) were found to be saying the same things..so we put number 35 to replace those three and AFTER that found out that we needed 24,27 and 34 so we put 36 to amend 35.. NOW some idiyots are saying no need of 13 kiyala..thisArsiklandconstitushen is becoming a maara problem…

Q: Recently there was a decision to tax all wells being dug for water for commercial use. Are you in favor of this tax?
A: Why is peeple shouting for putting the smoll tax on the drinking waters wells? Lot of peeples are taking water for free and putting into bottels and selling.. As you oll know Arsiklandbuggetdefishit is very big..olmost 9.9% of the GDP.. (Cyril Nitharamasuffering thought that GDP was standing for GonataDunnaPunnakku) anyway becose we have no money we are now taxings a lot of things..water that you for drinking for washing and oll.. I olso will bring a toylet tax..you will oll have to pay a tax for the number of times you USE the toylet. Rs. 2 for a number 1 and Rs.4 for a number 2… olsoollpatriyotics citizens have to do minimum 4 number 1s and 1 number 2 per day.. totel tax for month Rs. 360. For those Arsiklandiyans who are having constitushenel problems we can give free laxatives olso..

Q: Recently the Nobel committee awarded the Nobel peace prize to the European Union. Do you think they deserved this award?
A: So the Nebbelcomitee has decided to give the EERIPIYAN UNION the Nobbel Peece Prize. When my sectary Cyril Nitharamasuffering came and told me the news I thoaught that he had (as usual) got it mixxed up. The Eerope is now going bankrupt, Britten is still not using the Euyromoney, spane is bunkaloth, greece is full kodey (we olso bought some greecegovenment bonds and full loss) Ireland is poor..
I am still wondering “Mona mala hilawwakatada EU ekataNobbelekadunney?” They are ignoring oll the things I have done for world peece.. Now i am thinking next year even if they give the Nobbel prize to me i will not take it.. I will tell them to stuff the prize.. Like I said when my friend Oberemer was given the peece prize over me “Giving Obermer Nobel peece prize, is like making saddambaghdad’s girl scout of the year..what are they going to do next? Give angel merkel the miss world title?”

Q: Lots of people seem to forget important events. Is this becoming a
problem in Arsikland?
A: There are some very Impottence moments in histerry:
1. When asked by a journalist as to what happened to a million Jews at Awswhich, Hitler said “I forgot”
2. When asked why he invaydede Iraq, killed so many peeples and didn’t find any WMDs Podi Bush said “I forgot”
3. When asked by a Secret Service agent what Ms. Luwinski was doing under the Presidents’ tabelClinten said “I forgot”
I forgot… the two best words to use when…you have forgotten…

Q: Recently there was a public rally calling for the abolishing of the Presidency. What are your thoughts on that?
A: Today I will tell oll of you a story. Once upon a time there was a hospitel and there were doctors and nurses and pashentsolso. Now the head doctor of the hospitel was very good and kind and had been a doctor oll his life, he studied medicine and knew how to treat pashents and run a hospital. This hospital had a secoority department. One day, there was a big virus that spread in the hospitel. The head doctor and OLL the peeple in the hospital inclooding the head of the secoority department got together and cleaned the virus and made the hospitel safe again. After this, the chief secoority guard tried to take over the hospitel AND become the head doctor. Oll the pashents got together and told him “You are only a Sikka, don’t try to become a Dokka. Just becose you garded the hospitel and helped to cleen the hospitel doesn’t mean you can RUN the hospitel and become the head doctor”.

Q: Is it true that the former French president requested your advice on winning the election and you refused to help him?
A: It is very sad… Sarkossycolling and full crying saying “AneyPuswedillaMahaththayo I am losing elecshen, what can I do?” I told him “Machan, Sarkyoyaapita full size daanakotaewaganahithuwenadda? How to help you now?The worst thing to happen to ANY president is for a President to become an EX! Now you have become EX, ithin now you are like the lellanathikehelgediya”
Q: The new French president announced that he is taking a pay cut of 30%. What are your thoughts on that?
A:That new frenchie presidential fellow Francis Hollande is anouncing that he is taking 30% pay cut lu and ollpeeples are saying “aney you are very good Hollandeputha for starting at the top”. I have this to say to Hollande “Malli, 30% is NOTHING, do like I do, and take a 100% PAY CUT!” Yes my dear peeples of Arsikland, I have not publishings these things for publicity, but oll of you must now that your beloved leeder works, morning, noon and night, nokaanobee, dahadiyamahansiyaoll the time to make YOUR LIVES full of milks and honey flowings, AND I do it FOR FREE!

By Easwaran Rutnam

She is young, pretty and has a voice to sweep an audience off its feet. But for Maria Soysa her talent is not just in singing.
The 24-year-old was destined to be a singer from a very young age but in time she also took up drumming and joined a band as a singer cum drummer.
“Mom says that at the age of 3, I would sing or dance to anybody who comes over. So I guess it’s something I have always wanted to do. But in the end it was all by choice and I thank God that I have a supportive family,” she told The Sunday Leader.
The youngest in the family, Maria’s first band was the ‘Creators’ in which she was the percussionist.
The band was all about fusion music. It was an instrumental band. “We mixed sounds of the Tabla ,Violin, Guitar, Bongo and Flute.
I was the only girl in the band,” she said.
So has being a young girl affected her progress in the industry? Maria says no and that it has in fact helped her be the person she is today and she has no regrets on deciding to be a musician.
Maria says she loves the feel of a drum but had initially tried the guitar and keyboard.
“I Just love the bass, the toms and of course the Symbols”.
Maria says as a singer at times she sings cover versions but she has her original tracks as well.
“Recently I did a song with Rudilicious and I was the lyricist for the song. I am the lyricist for my songs and I have co-written originals for all the bands that I have been in. That includes 9th Avenue, Restricted and Whirlwind,” she said.
Maria is also involved in radio and she says she always thought that if she won’t be able to pursue her music she would join radio or television as a presenter. “I got involved in radio in 2009 as a news reader and thereafter switched to presenting,” she said.Maria says she looks up to different people for various reasons including the greats like Celine Dion and Oprah Winfrey.
“I look up to different people on their achievements for example Celine Dion for achieving her dreams and not losing her head ,Jeniffer Lopez for the fact that she works hard to get what she wants regardless of what people say and the list goes on. I also admire Oprah Winfrey, a woman who has come a long way,” she said.
But she also notes that she looks up to her mom and her family members who have been her guiding light throughout her career.
Maria says her ambition is now to give her music international recognition and one day form her own company.

Written & Composed by
Jehan Aloysius

Music Performed by
Avanti Perera

Choral Arrangements by: Deshan Cooray & Eshantha Peiris

Choral Direction by
Eshantha Peiris

Missy Flame

By Easwaran Rutnam

Her parents wanted her to be a pianist. But she had other ideas. Shanaki Perera, better known as Missy Flame, is without a doubt the leading female Disc Jockey (DJ) in Sri Lanka. But her rise to the top was not a bed of roses and it took a lot of hard work, dedication and of course talent to be where she is today.
Born to a family with a musical background Missy Flame was encouraged by her parents to take up piano lessons.
“Ammi (mom) enrolled me into piano classes and one day my parents hoped I will be a piano instructor. But with my studies I just could not focus and progress as a pianist,” Missy Flame told the Colombo Gazette.
A big fan of retro music Missy Flame had a hidden interest to be a DJ and one day she decided to pursue that goal with a little help from her friends.
She approached popular DJ and friend Steven Pieres who offered to teach her how to mix music on a console as there were no female DJs around at the time.
Missy Flame was eventually encouraged to also follow electronic music which was growing in popularity in Sri Lanka.
Her break as a professional DJ came when she was recruited by the club/pub Bristo Latino where she remained for about 6-8 months.
But her DJing skills were then limited to just mixing CDs and she was contacted by another popular DJ Tareeq Musafer who urged her to join his DJ academy to learn using the turn-tables.
Missy Flame learned the skills to use a turn table and after one year at the academy she was all ready to set Sri Lanka on fire…or should we say flames.
She recalls her father was not too happy with the idea considering that she will be in an industry where she needs to stay out very late around hundreds of strangers on a dance floor.
“Before when I was very young dad used to stay outside when I used to go for parties and at times even walks in to see if I’m ok. That’s how concerned and protective he was. But now he has begun to understand things and is happy with what I am doing. Mom is also happy I’m doing what I love,” she said.
Despite being a male dominated industry, Missy Flame says she does not feel uncomfortable being a female DJ especially since she gets a lot of support from the top male DJs in the local industry.
Today there are two other well known female DJs in the local industry, namely DJ KC Grey and DJ Sunara and Missy Flame feels though it’s tough to be a female DJ it’s not impossible.
“At the start I was shy and scared but now I have adjusted. I’ve understood how to entertain the crowd and make them happy,” she said.
Miss Flame has over the years performed at several parties and events including the Hikka Fest, Red Bull ‘X’ Fighters as well as weddings, birthdays and corporate events.
“A DJ is not just playing track after track. There are so many little things that go into it which you don’t even realize. The key needs to match when mixing and so on. It’s really hard. There are so many details and even I am still learning day after day,” she said.
Her most embarrassing moment as a DJ was when she was invited to perform at a party at Shelton Beach in Mount Lavinia.
Missy Flame arrived at, what she assumed, was the venue and was escorted inside to spin the disc, which she did for a god one hour.
After she finished her performance she approached an organizer at the gate and asked for her payment and she was in for a shock.
Missy Flame was told she was at the wrong party and the venue she was looking for was actually next door. An embarrassed Missy Flame ran next door where the organizers had been waiting for her for several minutes and did her thing.
Missy Flame has a full time job and spins discs as a hobby but she hopes one day she will be able to be a full time DJ, play internationally and produce her own music.