By Rochelle Jansen
"Wow!" "Fabulous!" "Marvellous!" "Extraordinary!"
Spellbound audiences reluctantly trooped out of the Bishop's College Auditorium on March 22, 23 and 24. They seemed not to want to emerge from the 'out of this world' experience that had lasted all of three hours; a musical odyssey of familiar and not so familiar tunes and lyrics. Yes, it was Alien Accent performing their show 'Rites of Passage'. A show so good that fans went on all three nights.
"One more! One more!" the audiences repeatedly cried out at the end of each show. And heeding the call of their ardent fans, Suresh, DK and Ricky along with their musical ensemble came back on stage to once again thrill their audience with more and more 'alien' sounds.
Combining the best of Sri Lanka's musicians from Western instrumentalists like Shane Berenger on lead guitar, Shobi on bass, keyboardist Kumar De Silva, Priyantha Basnayake on the bamboo flute, Aruna Siriwardene - a master on drums whose hidden keyboard prowess was by no means held back, Sureka Amerasinghe with her haunting melodious flute and recorder, along with Oriental maestros Jananth Waragoda and Ratnam Ratnadurai on percussion and the tabla, Rohan Silva on the harmonica and pedal steel guitar and Billy Fernando on the trumpet, together with the unassuming Suresh, DK and Ricky, the concert was a winner from the beginning.
So much so that Sri Lankans living abroad who heard of the release of their CD 'Rites of Passage' at the concert frantically e-mailed sisters and friends over here to purchase a CD for them so they would not miss out on the sounds of Alien Accent.
"It is very encouraging to see people appreciate original music," said DK over air on the eve of the final concert. For all Sri Lankans who witnessed Alien Accent live were proud to have the song writing talent of Suresh and Husni, not forgetting the flavour that DK and Ricky add to the arrangements. Arrangements so well handled that the variations and blending in of different harmonies and instruments gave the audience some truly different 'alien' sounds.
An added treat for the audiences was the show put on by the three types of drums: by percussionist Jananath, tabla master Ratnam and Aruna Siriwardene - each displaying the beauty of their instruments, with beats and echoes that enthralled and delighted the onlookers.
Thilan Wijesinha didn't disappoint either. Backed by a sitar and mandolin in addition to the usual instruments, his rich soulful voice did justice to Cats in the Cradle', and his original composition 'The Loss of Innocence'. The image of Richard De Zoysa which kept appearing on a screen on the cyclorama for this song was a haunting reminder of the dark period in the country's recent past.
Steve De La Zilwa's direction in projecting these images as well as presenting the musicians on screen as they performed gave the concert that extra zest.
And of course producer Jerome de Silva's master touch did not go unnoticed.
A simple yet effective set, exciting lighting effects, skilful sound balancing and the smooth transition from song to song gave the concert that extra finesse.
The audience's responses clearly indicated a vote in favour of quality original music. Be it based on the fisherman's chant or the impressions of a sixteen-year-old boy, the music of Suresh, DK and Ricky won the hearts of all who heard them. And may they rest content that this concert will go down in the annals of Sri Lanka's showbiz as one of the best in original music.
Great music, guys.
Just one question: when's the next show?
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