Infinite Success

Ashanthi is all geared up to take you by storm with her debut solo album, ‘Sandawathuren.’ Vidushi Seneviratne gets the story behind the scene, while Mettasena captured the pictures.

She has a powerful, disciplined, yet funkily original voice. Been in the show business for the last 8 years, Ashanthi has been bestowed the honour of being referred to as the queen of Sri Lankan hip hop. And now it's time for you to enjoy the melodious results of this successful journey...

Ladies and gentleman… here's introducing 'Sandawathuren,' the country's first female, R'n'B hip hop, solo album. Described by Ashanthi herself simply as a "sound track to life," the album promises to be like everyone's favourite T-shirt - a fresh, realistic perspective to love and life, and having some component that everyone could relate to. With the official launch and after-party for invitees scheduled for November 23, the event will also include the launching of her website, ashanthi.com. But with the album going out to the market a few days before the launch, you can get your hands on this much-awaited creation of pure Sri Lankan talent very soon.

‘Sandawathuren’
Catching up with her last week, hours before she flew overseas to perform at yet another concert in her hectic tour schedule, Ashanthi went onto define the music in 'Sandawathuren,' as “very new and futuristic.” "The album is also quite vocal-based, and highlights my voice more than the other effects. Everything else is only an accompaniment to my voice," she said explaining what makes this album different. The album is essentially a fusion of the newest sounds – a blend of ethnic melodies, hip hop, R'n'B, pop, slow ballads, crunk, bangra and of course giving it some local flavour, baila.

An integral part of the Bathiya and Santhush ensemble, she has become more or less of a local icon of young, female success in a predominantly male-dominated arena. "While this album has something to offer for everyone, I have given the female element quite a lot of emphasis." According to her, when looking at youth hip hop music in Sri Lanka, it is evident that the majority of the music young people have to look up to, is male. "I feel that in this day and age, a girl needs to feel confidence and power in whatever she wants to do. She needs to feel that there are no boundaries, and that the possibilities to achieve whatever she wants, is limitless. This album has the potential to instil these values in the mindset of the youth, especially females."

The make
The album contains 14 tracks in total, with 2 being in English, while the rest are done in Sinhala. 'Sandawathuren' is released under the M Entertainment and Universal record labels. While the executive producers of the album are Bathiya and Ashanthi, the co-producer is Sri Shyamalangan Ranganathan, with the tracks being mixed and mastered at Saregama Productions.

As for the artistes involved in the process of making this album a creative success, and wanting to reach out to the widest market possible, the list is versatile as the music itself. "Bathiya, Sri Shymalangan, Sarangan Sri Ranganathan, Mahesh Denipitiya, were behind the mixing, while Eranga Jayawansa created beats and SFX for the album," she said. Lyrics for the songs, which were conceptualised by her, were done by reputed artists such as Nilar Cassim, Vasantha Dukkgannarala and Hemasiri Halpita, while the melodies were done by Bathiya, Sri Shyamalangan, Sarangan, Nawarathna Gamage, Eranga and Rajeev, music tracks by Bathiya, Sri Shyamalangan, Sarangan and Eranga.

'Sandawathuren' is a blend of the East and West, with a variety of live instruments being used in the songs as well. Bertrum Charles with vocals, Randhir Witana rap/ lyrics, Redrum with rap, Nuwan on flute, Ruwan Weerasekera on violin, Jananath Warakagoda on ethnic drums and percussion, Dave Collins on saxophone and a few members of the Sri Lanka Youth Orchestra on cello and violin, are featured on the album.

Talking about the songs in the album, Ashanthi gave us a quick insight to the range of music you can expect in 'Sandawathuren.' "The day we were recording "Aale," the studio was completely free and I got to really play around with the harmonies and so came up with quite an abstract, experimental sort of creation. It's quite fast and has a hip hop feel to it." The video for the song, which is in its final stages of completion, is going to be the video for the album itself. "One of the slower songs is "Oba Ven Vi," which is very close to my heart. It highlights my range and is quite a tough song to sing," she said. Contrastingly, "Get it crunked," is a track which is completely rap. "I had lots of fun doing this track. Working with Redrum, who is a young, extremely talented rapper, was a whole new experience for me!"

Musical insight
Ashanthi incidentally is the youngest female artist in the country to get signed up with two international record labels – Sony being the first, for her debut duet album 'Oba Magamai' in 2003, and then Universal, for her solo album 'Sandawathuren," in 2006. The entire process leading up to the release of her solo album has been a massive effort by Ashanthi herself, with the planning, conceptualising, choosing of artists, and the doctoring of the album, done by her.

Pillars of strength
And of course none of it would have been possible without the support of her family, and co-artistes. "My mom Antoinette de Alwis, who herself is a pioneer singer in the Western local music industry, has had a huge influence on me. Both my parents and my sister have been very supportive throughout my career. And then of course Bathiya and Santhush, my big brothers, along with my buddy Randhir, are my family away from home, and the connection we share is just amazing!" she said, adding that doing a solo album by any means does not imply that she is moving away from B'n S. And what about musical influences from the West? "Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men, Brian McKnight and Missy Elliott, would top the list," she said.

Around the world
Tour wise the last two years have been hectic, with Ashanthi, as a part of B'nS, having toured Europe, the Mediterranean, North America, Australasia, the Middle-East as well as most of the Asian subcontinent and the far East, continuously impressing audiences. Asked what her most memorable concert was, she picked the show at Trafalgar Square, London held this year. "It was a part of a programme to promote Sri Lankan culture, and the response we had was awesome. Passers-by just kept walking in, and stayed on throughout the show, which was almost 5 hours long. We would've had easily more than 3000 people, and that's probably the best crowd experience I've ever had for my single "Sandawathuren" as well.

Future?
As for future plans, Ashanthi hopes to have concerts featuring songs from her new album, with plans to take it around the country to main cities such as Kandy and Galle, and also hopefully, overseas. Another album, in a different language other than Sinhala too, is on the cards. "I will also be getting involved in a generation concert in December, where young artists from our generation will perform alongside their parents who are veterans in the music field. This will be quite memorable for me since singing alongside my mom is something I have always wanted to do."

So for all of you who have enjoyed watching this talented young artist perform with B'nS fame for all these years, this is your chance to get a feel of her promising solo creations. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for "Sandawathuren" as it hits the market officially as of next week – and from the way it's sounding, it's got potential to make it big.