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quintessential accent It’s a beautiful Monday morning and I make my way towards the Bayleaf down Gregory’s Road to meet up with a group of people, who have revolutionised the music industry in Sri Lanka for the past two decades. Over the years they have managed to dazzle their audiences, and prove that they are some of the most accomplished players out there. Going twenty years back in time, Alien Accent started off with just Husni and Suresh with DK joining the duo five years down the line. Back then they were yet to take on the name Alien Accent, and were known as Husni and Suresh with DK. It was in 1997 that they took on the name Alien Accent, which soon became a household name here in Sri Lanka among the music loving public. A few years later, in 2000 to be exact, the line-up for the band changed with Ricky Bahar coming in. In 2002, the trio Suresh, DK and Ricky launched their album ‘Rites Of Passage’, which contained a unique mix of original compositions featuring the fascinating sounds that have come to be familiar tunes with the band. Some of the compositions were over a decade old, and the album was often referred to as the best of Suresh, former lead singer Husni, DK and Ricky. “We have always tried to promote the composition of original music,” says Suresh, adding that Alien Accent as a band had a style of music that was more to do with folk rock, and are influenced by the likes of Paul Simon and Sting. It’s been a while since Alien Accent got onstage to put out a show; the last being in 2002 when they launched their album ‘Rites Of Passage’. And now after a gap of three years, they will once again thrill the audiences of Colombo as they get geared up to do yet another concert at the end of this month. “It has been some time since we had a show,” says Suresh adding that usually when it comes to their concerts they go all the way, giving us an understanding of what to expect from the concert. Their previous concerts, which were produced by Jerome De Silva, have always had everyone talking. “When it comes to our shows, we try to go beyond the usual standards of local concerts.” They have always been keen on promoting original music… therefore when playing at concerts they mostly perform their original stuff with a few covers. “When it comes to the cover, they are mostly from our favourite musicians,” he says, adding that when they are playing these songs they try to fuse a bit of local music into it as well. They arrange it to suit fusion, for example, if there is percussion in the song, they try to replace it with the sounds of the local drums, hence giving it a unique touch that would get the crowd interested. As they get ready to perform, there is also something which is different about the band. New to the line up is Dillain Joseph, who comes in as their lead vocalist, and do note that this is the first time they have had a female singer in the band. “It’s been a childhood dream of mine to perform with them,” says Dillain with a smile, adding that she did not think she would ever get the chance to perform with them. She goes on to say that it was really great that once when she just happened to meet them they invited her to join the band. Since this is the first time they are having a female vocalist in the band, they have had to make a few changes in their tracks, “We have to work out ways to fit the harmony to suit a female vocalist.” A concert which will go on for nearly two hours, Alien Accent will be joined by guest artistes, who will undoubtedly contribute to making the experience memorable. One such artiste will be Sanjay Divecha, a highly accomplished guitarist who has played with big names in the US like Santana. He has in the past recorded with Alien Accent back in LA. “We are really lucky that he has agreed to come and play with us at the concert, because he was in India these past few weeks,” says DK, adding that joining them will also be Aruna Siriwardhana, Thilan Wijesingha, Surekha Amarasingha, Jananath Warakagoda and Ratnam. It certainly has been a while since they have been seen at one of their own shows. Why now? “At the moment we are working on a new album, ‘Badges And Blades’, and we wanted to try out the new material with the audience,” says DK. So is this a concert that would definitely be a must-attend? I certainly think so. Alien Accent will take the stage on September 30, October 1 and 2 at the Bishop’s College Auditorium. The main sponsor for the show is Del Air Events, with Suntel coming in as the co-sponsor. Media sponsors are YES FM, MTV, Daily Mirror and The Sunday Times. |
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