23rd November 1997

The Legacy continues

It seemed an ambitious undertaking for two schoolboys, but the guys were determined. They paid an advance, booked the Wendt and thus committed, launched into the music scene..............
Fifteen years later, Suresh and Husni are still together with the addition of D.K.

It all began in 1982 when Suresh Jaya wickreme and Husni Ghouse , two young Royalists who had a mutual passion for music and the subtle harmony of Simon and Garfunkel teamed up with some like minded friends for a concert at the Wendt. It seemed an ambitiou`s undertaking for two schoolboys, but the guys were determined. They paid an advance, booked the Wendt and thus committed, launched into the music scene.

'It was all really a lark,' says Suresh. They prevailed on Husni's indulgent grandmother to let them practise in her house, and despite trying her patience sorely had a remarkably successful debut. Fifteen years later, Suresh and Husni are still together. There's a third name to add in D.K (Dyan Wijesinha), who came in somewhere in the early '90s, but this is evidently one saga that's still being written.

After long years of appearing as Suresh and Husni with D.K, they have rechristened themselves Alien Accent and are now about to present 'Legacy', a three day concert which in a sense will reveal how long they've come from the Simon and Garfunkel days. Legacy will be staged at the Bishops College auditorium on November 28, 29 and 30.

By the time they had their second concert the very next year in 1983, encouraged tremendously by the reception they had from established musicians like the band 'Cosmic Rays' who so impressed with their initial efforts had volunteered to back them, Suresh and Husni had begun writing their own songs.

So much so that they went ahead and recorded a tape with ten of Suresh's songs at the now defunct Singlanka studios. That album, however, titled 'Dreamers' is one they'd rather not dwell on. 'Terrible,' they say in unison, when asked about it. But it was a beginning.Strangely, songs from that album still keep surfacing. 'Castle and a King' will be redone at their forthcoming concert and Husni has used lyrics of the title track 'Dreamers' for a new song he has written, also for the show.

The urge to write and sing never flagged even as their ways parted after school. Suresh went off to the U.S to study and kept writing songs, playing with a band there. 'Snow,' a track written in that time is now receiving favourable airplay over the local radio stations.

Meanwhile Husni played with several other musicians, among them Deva de Silva, who would subsequently introduce him to the guy who would turn the duo into a trio, D.K.

D.K joined Husni on 'A tribute to Simon and Garfunkel' and with Suresh's return from the U.S, they were well established. But though offers to perform at hotel lobbies and nightclubs were never lacking, the trio always had their vision clear.

To do the sort of music we do, you've got to really love it. There's no money in it.' A regular contract was never in their scheme, they say, partly because of their separate careers and mainly because it never appealed to them. 'We have always had the aim of performing our own music and if we were tied down to singing at a hotel lobby, three nights of the week, then essentially we would have to do 30-40 cover versions and probably ended up sounding very stale,' says Suresh.

Suresh and Husni in 1994 formed their own audio production company, while D.K works at AirLanka.

Adds Husni, 'We're generally choosy about the gigs we perform. Last year we appeared at a show for Eranga and Priyanga, earlier with the Thomas Brill Quartet, a jazz act. You see, our music, you've got to sit down and listen to, you can't really dance or rock to it. So you wouldn't find us at a beat show.'

Their music, they add is no longer strongly flavoured with Simon and Garfunkel overtones, in fact they sometimes get tired of people still identifing them that way. One point they would like to emphasise is that their musical preferences do vary, encompassing folk, rock and jazz, all of which emerge in their own compositions.

Alien Accent will be backed by an impressive line-up of musicians. Rifai Thowfeek, Shafie, Ray, Sudu and Krishna who incidentally has been with them from their first concerts as Suresh, Husni and D.K. Krishna was one of Suresh and Husni's colleagues at Grants, when they all worked in the advertising field and was drawn into their band, adding his inimitable touch with the Ghatum to their music. 'They are all highly talented musicians and given the freedom, they do wonders.' That they are all good friends undoubtedly helps.

Alien Accent, was not their first choice, when it came to a name change. They had, in fact, decided to call themselves 'Legacy', a reference to their music being the combination of so many influences and had even registered themselves as such when they came to know of another band by the same name. "Amazing" recalls Husni, "we had even scanned the Internet to satisfy ourselves that there was no other band by that name anywhere in the world and then we find one right here." Rather than tussle over the name, they switched to what they had chosen to be the name of their concert "Alien Accent". Legacy as their concert now will be known will break new ground for the band in that it will be the first time they perform three nights in a row. They also enlisted the services of theatre whiz Jerome de Silva. 'Jerome was always keen to get involved and since we're not exactly the kind of guys who jump up and down on stage, he will focus on creating some special sets and computerised lighting, which he used for his successful production of 'Les Miserables' last year,' explained Husni. Adds D.K, "Jerome has told us, if anybody thought that the lighting in 'Les Miserables' was good, tell them that your show will be even better." Another feature of the show will be the appearance of their special guests, Aruna Siriwardena, Dulip Gnanakan, and Geeth Mihiripenna on flute, all of whom the trio rate very highly. 'It has been a learning experience playing with them.' There may be a surprise or two more but this they have been sworn to keep under wraps.

'Legacy' the concert was supposed to have been accompanied by 'Legacy' the album, but despite much work having been put into it, Suresh, Husni and D.K have decided to postpone its release, until next year, solely because of the heavy pressures of time. Hopefully, they plan to release it to coincide with an 'unplugged' concert, which is their next big project, provided other constraints like sponsorship are sorted out.

For now though, it's practice, practice and more practice. All three being married, with Husni the father of two means they are mindful of the toll such long hours inflict.

Says D.K ruefully, 'We're going grey..' For fans who might be a trifle shocked, we can say they look as youthful as ever.

One point of interest. They practise long into the night at the home of 'Aunty Daphne' whom they say with deep gratitude has been so kind as to put up with all the din they make.

So if you happen to wander down Elibank Road, late in the evenings, don't expect 'the sound of silence'. More likely it will be Alien Accent in action..........

The band.......

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