Harmony in contrasts
The artists belong to two different genres. Yet they blend seamlessly together. Suresh De Silva, the frontman of ‘Stigmata’ armed with vocals to kill is well versed in all things metal and rock, whereas Sanjeev Niles’ mellifluous and expressive voice is classically trained. The new year brought with it a new chapter for the two musicians who released their new single ‘Cadence of Your Tears (Freedom’s Chains)’ last Sunday (January 25) at Paragon Muzik Studios, Nugegoda.
The result of two passionate musicians, coming together, the song opens a window to the listeners’ soul with lyrics that speak on a personal level. Their friendship stemming from their Sunday school days, Sanjeev and Suresh have both shared a passion for music their entire lives. “It was great to see the way Suresh brings creativity into the song. He has been producing original music for the past 15 years and it was wonderful to work with him,” Sanjeev tells us.
He adds, “I had wanted to do something like this for quite some time now, primarily because I felt that the classical genre was lacking original music in Sri Lanka and I wanted to add to it.” The song also introduces a completely different side to Suresh who is well known as the frontman of Sri Lankan heavy metal band Stigmata. Suresh showcases his smooth vocal style that complements the song perfectly.
Speaking to the Sunday Times Suresh said, “One way I look at the song is that it builds with the irony of hope. Faith, love, hope and trust are funny things. You have to believe in and endorse all those things at a price. I think the world is self-destructive; it has a way of creating and destroying itself which is ironic and people also have that condition, This song is about finding hope through a sense of hopelessness if that makes sense.”
“This song stems from an honest place,” he adds. “Our expectations are that people who are open-minded will give it a chance and give it credit for what it is.”
Adding that they did not know what to expect from the beginning, Suresh says that the biggest challenge was whether the vocals would gel together.
“In terms of attitude and essence we bring very different things musically. We didn’t want to do anything conventional or traditional. We wanted to let the song have its own identity. We didn’t want to make it sound more metal or more progressive. So what we thought is let’s bring our individual influences and inspirations with our vocal styles.”
“Lyrically I would like people to hear the song for themselves and build their own perception of what it is about. And that’s the true beauty of art and literature. We want people to experience the raw thing,” Suresh tells us. Recorded and produced by Ravin David Ratnam, Cadence of Your Tears (Freedom’s Chains) will be available to download online.
The musicians: Sanjeev Niles and Suresh De Silva and above, guests at the launch