Documenting Sri Lankan Metal Scene through a Camcoder

Its been sometime since Drg and I did our first feature documentary  with four Sri Lankan metal bands called Arise. When we decided that we wanted to do this documentary we hardly had any material to work with, even though the Sri Lankan metal scene has been alive and kicking (at least in a very smaller scale) for so many years there was hardly any live footage to be found. In fact for certain bands even though they had been playing for more than five years they only had a few band pics and some live photographs to share with us.

This was indeed a tragedy, but of course when looking at the number of people who were coming to local gigs, supporting and encouraging the metal movement this was hardly a surprise. So in order to create the documentary apart from band interviews we traveled between Colombo and Kandy recording a number of gigs within a span of around one year. The footage we got were of very low quality, gigs were recorded off a Panasonic DV cam which was very bad in low light conditions and did not have a lasting battery. However once I was able to afford a decent camera I started recording off more gigs and band performances. Not to mention that these also have the shaky camera movements and some times bad low lights, but still within the span of last 1 1/2 years we have been able to slowly document most of the bands in the Sri Lankan metal scene on video.

As most would agreed the best feeling of a metal track would be to listen to it live. As of late with help of several friends we have started to use dual cameras for gig recording. This is no way an easy task, since we are not using any professional cameras, additional equipment or live editing. The hardest part comes at the editing sessions where footage from the two cameras needs to be synchronized and edited. Also the audio tracks on most of these gigs are not professionally recorded so we are ended up with the audio feed picked up by the camera itself. However once an edit is completed and when you go through the footage several times, the satisfaction you get is unmatched.

Of course we got a long way to go in terms of videoing gigs professionally though this can be taken as the first few steps in that direction. And kudos to everyone who are attending gigs and making it possible for bands to perform and supporting in any way they can.

This video was taken from behind the stage, its shaky and not of the best quality at all, but still love this. Capturing that performance and the crowds reaction was just epic!

Our latest dual camera experiment featuring WLG, an upcomming metalcore act from Kurunagala. 

Well you could find more videos of lesser and better quality than these at our youtube channel along with live performances of a number of well known local metal bands, check them all out at http://www.youtube.com/mathawaada

Sri Lankan Art – Teek wechcha ape kalaawa!

In recent conversation with my fiancé, the point came in to the surface whether I’m losing my depth in art or not. Simply my answer was that now I’m more influenced by the stuff like Kill Bill, Demon Ananda’s pulp novels and Cowboy Bebop, so my motive now is to bring that atmosphere and tone in to our audience in any way I do art. That’s why I tend to look for Monroe and Jimi Hendrix in the stencil graffiti and more unorthodox concrete style in my poetry.

In Sri Lanka, virtually every art form is dominated by the work which consists of certain degree of visible depth and similarity to the reality. In films the applauded ones are reality based dramas directed by well renowned, award winning directors. The mainstream films lack everything, even a moderately good, original plot. In Sinhalese Literature the good ones are tend to be the translation of famous novels, and better original work is mainly popularized by the reality based themes. You can’t see western best selling kind of paper back thrillers or sexy pulp novels here. In drama – it’s same, In TV- it’s same, In paintings and drawings- it’s same. Damn-I’m bored… Even the Sri Lankan English Language drama and literature scene is not getting enough attention though they are trying to be different and more creative than their native counterparts. Why Sri Lankan film makers not doing horror movies? Why they are not going for simple romantic movies which are set in suburbs and based on ordinary people without sticking to weary bollywood formula? Why don’t writers try raunchy subjects and thrillers? Where’s Sri Lankan original techno, rave, trip hop, electronic or computer instrumental music?

What is the reason for this homogeneity? Is it because we are intellectually bankrupt? Or lack of finances for the innovation because of less audience and market scope? I don’t know… but the point which is important is that Sri Lankans try to be on the middle path to get the maximum benefit- not going to the extreme experimentalism or to the massive meaningful crowd pullers. Even if they go for either sides (very few) most of them are incorrect approaches or being neglected by majority which is not the case in other art-rich countries.

I hope somebody would break the shekels. I hope I will see the work similar to Quentin Tarantino here, the turntabilism, the pop art, simple romantic (not bollywood-formula bullshit) and trashy horror movies, and more street art too…

Oh baby! I have a dream…



(P.S. - Thanks for Somea and my fellow juniors in Uni for popularizing the word “Teek” and the word and usage borrowed from them.)

Suraaangani, Suraaaangani, Suranganiita Maalu Genaawaaaa! Way to go machaan! Way to go!

It’s been nearly 5 months since I made my last post in MW. Welcome, social and all the other events of the campus have just finished and finally I got some time to mingle around my PC for a longer writing episode such as THIS BRIEF POST and not to forget next it’s going to be the exam-kickoff which is going till April 23rd. oh! What a life… anyways let’s start the show.
After hearing the remix of this famous retro Bila hit, it has struck me in a different chord which compels me to write this note. It’s not just a remix of and old song which has done to cater mass market or to get some publicity. If it has … still it got a deeper meaning in the arrangement of the newer version which is put down by the contributing artists unconsciously.
The song is the mirror of what we should be as a united country in the future years to come. Because we need a fresh start, we are exhausted and tired by the 30+ years of war and now we need to look at how we are going to start the new chapter without making the same mistake our past generations made 20 years ago.
The song has trilingual touch in it and it can be accessed by everybody. Sinhalese listen to it because the melody is in their blood. Tamils too can enjoy it because the newer version’s beat is pretty much familiar Kollywood dancetrack beat frequent in the Tamil movies. It is such a catchy little tune which does much more than just entertaining, it provides the platform for both our races to enjoy ourselves without trespassing other one’s freedom. I personally feel that this is the starting point of the social cohesion among next generation of Sri Lanka.
We need a new way, a new way of expressing ourselves and getting to know others. We have to find a method, a modern one to understand other communities. So I think we have found that in music. Just need more contributions from the new generation of artists to strengthen and to wipe out stains of blood which ruined our nation’s image and the past.
Way to go machaan way to go! If we are on this track you can do much more than Delon’s false patriotism and M.I.A.’s verbal freedom fighting.

Delon diss M.I.A.; The TRUTH and the TALE…

Artist should stand up against the discrimination, injustice and they should communicate certain prevailing issues to the society they behave in and as I think that is a main social responsibility of any artist in any country. but in this case things are happening vice -versa.
Delon says he’s standing up against the discrimination which induced by the L.T.T.E. where as M.I.A. is a hardcore supporter of this terrorist group and says they are “FREEDOM FIGHTERS” because her farther used to be a L.T.T.E. supporter who fled from the country in 1980s. But in this case both doesn’t have the right to express such an “affection” (I don’t know may be) for their respective people or nationality or whatever because now both of them are living outside the country and both are having the freedom and becoming successful doing what they like to do; the music. I don’t think that somebody who’s outside from the country can feel the exact pain of the people who are living in Sri Lankan border villages or the pain of the refugees and displaced or the fear of the ordinary people who are traveling to or in Colombo by public transport such as buses and trains. Can they feel what we feel or are they using it for their cheap publicity gimmick.
If they are caring artist who truly think about their country, then they should put down all those cheap narrow mindsets and use their music to communicate the real issue and bring all Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims and make them understand each other to enhance the ethnic harmony in this war toned country.
But now what is happening is that all so called patriotic assholes( both Sinhalese and Tamils) viciously glamorize this incident and turned this to a big controversy and they are putting more and more hay (or may be petrol or diesel I suppose, because crude oil is cheap in the world market) to the burning fire.

Hip hop and Sri Lanka; Where B&S and Iraj ruined the show!

Why would I say something like this when others appraising them as the forefathers of new music generation in Sri Lanka? It’s true that they did something, they changed the whole Sri Lankan mind set about the live performance and they did introduce us with a sound which was new to the ears of the Sri Lankans.

But what happened to the people’s ideology about this new art form which took the world by storm in the early 90’s to present day? Both B&S and Iraj made the big breakthroughs using this art form but they didn’t introduce the whole concept or the roots of the hip hop to the Sri Lankan younger generation who was eagerly followed and still following them. what happened thereafter was that all the guys tend to look like rappers even in their day to day lives and new “wannabe gangsters” rap bands became visible in every inch of this land and everybody tries to rap over the ass of a girl or just some gibberish without any sense over a catchy tune to get to stardom and then all the radio stations make their dough by placing them in the top positions of their charts.

The thing is that they all missed the point. They don’t know anything about The Sugar hill gang or Public Enemy, they don’t know how the disco died and the first rap hit rapper’s delight change the whole spectrum of world music. They don’t know anything about hell like life in projects or the reality of gangster’s life.

When Iraj was just emerging in the scene of music we got to hear good stuff like stop the virus, Sri Lanka 2030 and when he got in to the mainstream, track like J-town story which I think the best music video Sri Lanka has ever produced. But after that it happened other way round. The thing is that both of them; B&S and Iraj, didn’t go there to educate their younger generation about this new art form and didn’t try to use it for worthy causes to inform or to educate people about certain issues prevailing in the society.(they did but it’s not enough) If they did that, misunderstandings in the minds of the younger generation and Sri Lankans about hip hop culture and rap music would have been eradicated and we would have been able to see some rap bands who do music not to just make paper or to gain instant fame, but to use it for the betterment of the society and mankind.

But still I think all the hip hop lovers in Sri Lanka have a hope… in future…

“Music orientated When hip hop was originated”
Zack De La Rocha
Rage Against The Machine