Big names crashing on a ceaseless wave of fast beats and big bucks

The Sinhala music scene is in turmoil. A fast beat and 'non- stop' sounds are the order of the day. More and more big names in the music scene who had developed a style of their own and whom the fans had admired for their unique styles, are today 'victims' of the new wave. Most of their fans don't approve of what they are doing. But big money has got the better of them.

For the cassette producers, cassettes and CDs have become big money spinners. The demand is so great, mainly from three wheelers (we can hear them blast the countryside) and private vans and buses that they are prepared to pay several lakhs to sign up a big name.

Meanwhile, there are a handful - Amaradeva, Nanda Malini, Victor Ratnayake, Sunil Edirisinghe, to name a few - who prefer to stay clear of the new wave. They have not succumbed (not so far, at least!) to the big money carrot.

These singers are also facing another threat - that of others taking over some of their popular numbers. Maestro Premasiri Khemadasa recently teamed up with a new voice, W D Ariyasinghe, to record some of Amaradeva's numbers. Khemadasa is perfectly within his rights legally, because according to the present copyright law, the composer and lyric writer have the rights to the song. The singer merely sings and has no redress if someone else sings them. The law may be there, but what about the ethics?

The answer

If what fans are looking for is a new look, some have given the answer. Take Amaradeva, for example. Following his recent release on the Torana label, Singlanka has just put out a cassette and CD. Titled 'Sasara Vasana Thuru' (that well loved song by Dalton Alwis) Amaradeva has sung some of his old favourites but with new music backing.

One of Amaradeva's early numbers, 'Handapane Welithala' (lyrics by Munidasa Cumaratunga) still remains fresh the way he has rendered it to the new music by Tissasiri Perera. It's nowhere near the fast beat, but it's quite a refreshing change if one has got tired of the earlier version. So is 'Bhave Bheeta Hera' from the film 'Asokamala' (1947) originally composed by Mohamed Ghouse. And among the numbers is 'Somawathi', the nurti style song written by Dr Siri Gunasinghe.

'Sasara Vasana Thuru' is a good mix - a 'must' for a collector. It contains songs which one never gets tired of listening. Mahagama Sekera's 'Ratnadipa Janmabhumi' & 'Patu Adahas', Sri Chandraratne Manawasinghe's 'Suwa Dena Sitha', Augustus Vinayagaratnam's 'Nim Him Sevuwa' (originally set to Nimal Mendis' music) are among them. There are also more recent compositions - 'Dingirala' (Vasanthakumara Kobawaka), 'Sataravaram Devu' (Ratna Sri Wijesinghe) & 'Me Maha Kanda' (Sunil Sarath Perera). and 'Bandun Piri', the hit from 'Delovak Atara' originally sung by Neville Fernando, and if I remember right, has been beautifully rendered by Amaradeva.

So fans don't have to panic. New waves may come and go, but the old favourites will go on..

He has a mission

Nature lover Hema Nalin Karunaratne has done a lot through his popular fortnightly Rupavahini programme 'Navayai Paha' (Five past Nine) to create awareness on the need to protect the environment.

He hits hard at those who despoil the environment. He has shown us in vivid detail the destruction at Horton Plains and other protected areas and spoken of how the 'polythene culture' is spoiling beautiful places. Hema Nalin has a dedicated team of people who capture the beauty of well-known and not so well-known places in our motherland.

Hema Nalin's latest project is a monthly TV publication in Sinhala. Titled 'Sanvida', it is a joint venture between Rupava-hini Corporation (where Hema Nalin works as Assistant Director- Commercial) and the Mass Com Department of the Kelaniya University.

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