 by Mahes Perera
“It was a casual break time during a practice session with Merry An
Singers that saw the birth of Flame as a trio and then over the years
the trio became a quartet, a quintet and even a sextet as an eclectic
mix of musicians came and went always embellishing our music” says Naushad Rasool the leader of Flame. Blessed with a powerful voice he has
steered the group through many successful lanes to be the popular group
they are today.
 They perform regular gigs on Fridays at the UBG (Hilton Residencies)
and their fans have trebled which is unbelievable. What strikes you the
moment you begin listening to them is that they present their music with
happiness and spontaneity born of musicians who are highly talented to
listen and follow improvisation of one another and react accordingly.
“Folk was our speciality at the outset of our musical career. We were
ardent Simon and Garfunkel fans, and without exaggeration we hit the
headlines and received the Observer Golden Clef Award in 1994 for the
Folk Band of the Year category.
But today the music of Flame is steeped in the timeless classics of
the 60’s and 70’s with more than a passing nod to contemporary artistes.
Of course there’s folk, folk/rock, rock and roll and vintage rock! We
cover Eric Clapton, Dire Straits and even Pink Floyd and Santana along
with our folk stuff,” continued Naushad.
You’ve had your personnel changes and who doesn’t have it. How does
your group read now?
“Of the founder members myself and Rienzie Pereira - guitar and
vocals, we are still there.
The others who joined us are Chris de Alwis - vocals/guitar, Primal
Liyanage - vocals/guitar, now we have guitarist Kamal Perera of Mirage
fame, Lal de Silva - bass/vocals, Nishantha De Abrew - keyboards and
Niroshan de Silva - drums. I’m extremely happy to have them in the band
Flame because all of them have the ability to change track from good
time music to dance music which has resulted in many performances of the
band at weddings and top class concerts and overseas concerts for
airlines.
Your fans commend your performances as a band that knows how to
please a wide audience what does the future hold for Flame?
“A concert is on the cards the band’s first of its own, is slated for
late this year. Rehearsals have begun, some originals have been
composed. The concert format will differ from what audiences have been
used to - more about it later.”
It is obvious that music is a passionate hobby to the members of
Flame who like the proverbial moth were drawn together despite their
different environment to interact with one another and give happiness to
countless music lovers. |
