Introducing a younger generation to Lankan sounds
Billy Fernando is a musical chameleon. Having started out as a guitarist in the Gospel band “Ezra” he moved on to drumming for the duo Bathiya and Santhush, before embarking on a career in singing in the Sinhala stream. This November Billy will be taking the stage once again with ‘Ra Ahase – Live in Concert’ to celebrate those 15 years he has under his belt as a professional singer.
Billy
Together with his concert band 2Forty2 and twenty five musicians, which include a string and brass quartet, Billy promises to perform some beloved classic sinhala songs with a fresh perspective. Infusing western classical music and Latin brass, Billy hopes to create what he calls Sri Lankan music with global appeal. But its not “modernization” in a conventional sense he says but rather an elevation of the music for global consumption.
Billy gained attention both here and abroad among Sri Lankans, for his remakes of old Sinhala pop songs like that of Amaradeva’s ‘Nim Him Sewwa’. Having toured the world, including Australia and the United States, Billy tells us the reception to his music has been positive from both the young as well as the older generations abroad. According to him the younger generations of Sri Lankan expats who grew up listening to their parent’s music don’t really connect with it and so assume all Sri Lankan music is the same. “They go to a B& S concert and are like wow, this is also Sri Lankan?” says Billy explaining how the younger generation finds a new appreciation for Sri Lankan music once they can relate to it. But by working with the music of the generations before, he’s introducing them to a new sound through the songs they’re familiar with. Essentially Billy is attempting to bridge an inter-generational gap musically. “Its like giving someone who eats rice and curry some hot butter cuttlefish to eat with it,” says Billy.
The challenge the music industry faces according to Billy is to make Sri Lankan music appealing not only to Sri Lankans but also to non-Sri Lankans. Language is one of the biggest barriers he explains, suggesting that one way to go around it would be to use English lyrics to Sri Lankan music. He tells us that only a fraction of the industry actually attempts to overcome this challenge whereas the majority prefers to stick with the current status quo.
But perhaps its not surprising that those in the industry stick to the known when change is usually viewed with harsh criticism. “When Clarence was around he did a change. People didn’t like him [because of how] he sang sarala gee. But today he is a legend.” Billy points out. He notes that Clarence, as well as Rukantha, Bathiya and Santhush, took the industry forward. But adds that the last time this change came was almost two decades ago with B&S. Billy too wants to change up the existing status quo and take on the challenge of making Sri Lankan music one which has global appeal. Those joining Billy on stage will be Lydia Goonetilleke, leading the strings; Naveen Fernando leading the brass quartet; Milan John from Berkley, on piano; Rakitha Ruwan Wickramaratne from Naadro, as a soloist; Upula Madushanka as a bassist; Ranil Gunawardena on guitar; Janith Gamlath on Saxaphone; and a double bassist and clarinetist from Dubai. Audiences can expect to hear remakes of popular Jothipala, Clarence and Gypsies songs, as well as ‘semi-orchestral’ versions of Billy’s originals including ‘Ra Ahase’, ‘Yuwathiya’ and ‘ Kello Kollo’. The string arrangements of which were done by Sachitha Fernando.
‘Ra Ahase – Live in Concert’ will take place at the Ave Maria Auditorium, Negombo on November 10, at 7.30 pm. Tickets priced at Rs. 1500, Rs.2000 and Rs.2500 are available at the Yamaha Music Centre in Colombo; Ticketslk outlets or online at www.ticketslk.com; and Miyasiya Music Parlour.
Billy Fernando and his crew - Pix by Indika Handuwala