“These years”
A drive through an empty highway, the beautiful evening sun sets in the distance. The warm air runs through your hair, the road ahead seeming endless.
But you don’t have a care on your mind, all those around you slowly melting away as life’s pain drowns in that very moment. To each their own, the newest record ‘These years’ by Asela Perera truly relates to the listener in a personal way.
‘These years’ was officially released to the public, last Sunday at a somewhat crowded Charcoal Gallery Café.
At the launch itself the album was performed in its entirety without compromise. The standing ovation at the end of the night’s proceedings certainly stood testimony to the fact that the record is something to look out for.
Born into a musical family, Asela Perera’s love for singing and playing the guitar began when he attempted to learn the riff played in, “Hanging by a moment” by Lifehouse. Growing up in Austria, Asela watched his father play the percussion and his cousins perform in various bands.
His father’s love for reggae music “slowly rubbed off on him in his early years,” he tells us.
Leaving aside the thousands some artists spend at recording studios, Asela could be admired for his resourcefulness. Recording a collection of songs on a microphone worth 900 rupees, back in 2008, he subsequently released three EP’s (extended play).
Today he is the proud holder of his very first album, which took form in his own humble apartment and in the houses of some of his friends.
The record itself is a product of various new musical approaches and collaboration with different local musicians. The music in essence portrays different styles ranging from acoustic folk music, to Indie acoustic and remarkably bears a hint of Sri Lankan authenticity.
While the music and lyrics were his own compositions, Asela was backed by Natasha Senanayake, Shehan Rodrigo, Savini Chandrasinghe and Aayushi Jain.
Natasha Senanayake played a vital role in providing the flute and piano arrangements for “A Forgone Conclusion”, the alternative version of “ A Forgone Conclusion and the alternate version of “Aftermath”.
Shehan Rodrigo was instrumental in the percussion arrangement while Savini Chandrasinghe performed the Cello for “A Foregone Conclusion”.
Some of the tunes such as “Aftermath” bear the traits of an electro style and takes a little getting used to. But the tracks “Fire/Desire”featuring guest artist, Aayushi Jain, “The art of getting by” and “These years” immediately captivates the listener.
It was not always about his original music, Asela tells us. He started off performing various covers. But he was soon to realise that composing music was his self-therapy and his way of expressing himself.
Though the original music is still more about writing it for himself, over the years Asela became conscious of all aspects of the creative cycle from song writing to musicality to the production and the joy of approaching each song or album as a theme and a project.
This brought about awareness to keep things fresh for himself both musically and lyrically, he says.
As a vocalist Asela is something different. He has a bit of the indie and folk touch to his voice. Nevertheless as a musician he certainly has the potential to go the distance in the industry.
Lyrically speaking, the theme “time and how it moulds us into who we are as individuals today” runs throughout the entire album. Each song deals with the many aspects of this theme, all of which are very personal to Asela.
But the beauty of music is that it could relate differently to every listener and the songs are thus left open to interpretation. To Asela the record is more about “asking the questions you don’t necessarily know the answers to.”
“It was about shedding weight off of one’s mind and penning them down. This meant being unafraid to say what you have to say and to write fearlessly,” he says.
“These Years” could be downloaded via
www.aselaperera.com or
www.facebook.com/aptunes