Arts
Stigmata wins the Asian crown
Heavy metal has always been a much misunderstood genre by those who only seem to associate it with dark and simply loud music. Yet, the heavy guitar riffs, the fast tracked drum beats or the deep bass lines have the ability to tap into your deepest emotions. The lyrical distortion itself addresses some of the obvious social issues that few dare venture into.
Suresh De Silva: ‘We were blessed’. Pic by Samal Bandara
This is just why winning an international award, especially in a competition that was an open platform for mainstream music, is a big deal not just for the genre but for Sri Lanka as well. And this is what Stigmata achieved last week winning the Asian Music Video Awards 2018.
Surprisingly though it wasn’t the band’s plan to enter the competition at first. As Stigmata’s front man Suresh De Silva puts it, their main aim this year was to focus on their new music and performance. But as fate had it, they were approached by ChannelFix, the organizers of the competition who had encouraged them to take part.
Stigmata’s entry was their newest single ‘Heavy is the Head that Wears the Crown’. After battling 250 plus bands, they reached the top 16 where they had to submit a second video. This left them in a bit of a pickle.
As per the theme given to the competitors the video had to incorporate cities and towns, Suresh explains. So Stigmata turned to artist/animator Randy Chriz Perera, who had previously worked with them on ‘Heavy is the Head that Wears the Crown’.
Randy had suggested the band submit an animated video. And the song they decided on was ‘An Idle Mind is a Devil’s Workshop’, off ‘Stigmata’s recent album ‘The Ascetic Paradox’. This followed a series of conversations between Suresh and Randy and Randy also listened to the song several times over.
“He really went deep into the song and also wanted to know about the concept and the different symbols in it,” Suresh says. In three and a half days, Randy had come up with the stellar animated video.
Suresh adds that if you look closer, one would notice some key destinations of Sri Lanka, carefully crafted to proudly showcase the island’s beauty, whilst also meeting the theme of the competition.
Animation by Randy Chriz Perera
This video entered the crucial stages of the competition – the elimination rounds. And on Thursday (September 20) morning, Suresh was awoken by an excited Tennyson Napoleon (Tenny), the band’s front Axeman with the news- they had won. “I had slept for only two hours and in that time, I had gotten over a 100 messages,” he says, describing the moment as surreal.
“When it came down to the public voting, we were blessed with so many people who came through for us,” he adds. Suresh admits the finals was a tough battle between Sri Lanka and the Philippines that went on for an intense two days.
He describes this win as opening doors, whereby people will start to take Rock and Heavy Metal more seriously now. “The genres have proven themselves time and time again. But this is not just a win for Heavy Metal, this is also Stigmata carrying the Sri Lankan flag high, as a band that proudly describes its music as pure Sri Lankan metal.
The Asian Music Video awards have also now broadened their horizons. Stigmata has never been a band that chased after awards or too much validation. Rather, “We found our own feet, doing our own thing,” Suresh says. But their win has brought them several endorsements and gig opportunities, for which they are grateful.
Right now Stigmata is focused on putting together a thank you show for their fans – deeply grateful to Meraki United, Randy, their team Arcane and everyone else who voted for them.
The band is also hoping they would get the chance to work with Swedish Music Producer David Sivano and Boost Records, the tournament creators.
Eighteen years on and Stigmata still continues to break barriers. The beauty of it all is that they have never shied away from exploring new musical avenues, whilst still staying true to their Rock and Metal roots. It’s why Stigmata remains an integral part of Asia’s musical culture. And the Asian Music Video Awards win was proof enough.
Follow them on Facebook at- https://www.facebook.com/stigmatasrilanka/
Their video could be viewed on https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=i8y6P8m7vTg