Sentiments of home
Panduka Samarasinha grew up in Kurunegala and played the Eb Tuba for Maliyadeva College. Today he lives in New Zealand, but his days in Kurunegala have left their impression on him.
In fact, his childhood has influenced his transformation from a schoolboy playing the Tuba in the school band to a professional musician releasing his first solo album. The album titled ‘Week of Shame’, has been almost six years in the making and was released in November 2015. The music has been influenced by his many experiences both in Sri Lanka and in New Zealand.
Panduka went to Jazz school at the University of Auckland from 2006 – 2009. However, speaking to him about his work makes it clear that his music is not influenced solely by his time in jazz school – it has grown and evolved with him over the years. Many of his tracks have a story behind it – the best example perhaps being his favourite tune. This tune, which he has named ‘Yal Devi’, is interesting owing to the idea which sparked him to write it. “I pictured this large alien object – the train, and the people withtheir many emotions. Imagine the groove representing the train itself, and the melodies representing the people, or even vice versa – enduring an epic journey together,” he says, explaining the sentiments behind the song.The music he wrote in 2008 was influenced by jazz composer Marcus Miller, but the following year he was moved by the music of jazz trumpeter Miles Davis – and it was this artist’s music, along with a few of his other experiences, which made his focus less on mainstream music. A brief stint back in Sri Lanka in 2010 has also left its mark on him – he spent four months meeting many artists with whom he collaborated. He says that while the fast paced experiences which he enjoyed in the tropics made him quite happy, they also made it difficult for him to settle back into the stillness of Auckland. He did adjust to the stillness however, because it was after these experiences that he released his album.
Although a brief glance at Panduka’s life makes it seem as if his life has been smooth sailing, he is the first to admit that life was never as easy for him as one might think. However, it was T.M. Jayarathne’s arrival in Auckland to perform at a concert in 2013 which really drove him to move forward, and move forward he did- he even played bass for the concert. Looking back, he feels that his performance at the event was something he regards with pride. Although the concert was a definite high point of his life, he still had other aspects of his life which he needed to overcome.
He feels that the act of finally releasing the music has been almost therapeutic because it has allowed him to let go of all the years of hard work and feel a sense of accomplishment.
Having released his first solo album, he is looking at life more positively now. Regarding the ups and downs of life, Panduka says that he focuses on the present moment and also believes that everything is in the mind.