Intenze Sounds are Intense!

by Nilma Dole

Making ripples on the airwaves with their song ‘Sindu Hendewa’, the band Intenze are an upcoming outfit that are hoping to take on the music scene by storm. Comprising Amila on vocals who helps with the rapping, singer Buddhika also offers his suave style. Udara is the maestro composer and rappers Chamira and Trevin also share the stage to make Intenze happening.

Their genre revolves around a funky mix of R&B and Hip Hop with elements of rap thrown in for good measure. Says Amila, “We like to blend in many flavours into our music and offer an integrated style.”

They also say that they are influenced by Indian, Chinese, Arabic and other cultures whilst producing ‘Slow Flow’ tracks that inculcate a pleasant atmosphere. “Every band member has their own flavour and the five of us have different beats so we have a good mix,” highlights Amila.

Talking about banding up, Amila says, “Chamira, Trevin and I met up in school and we took part in several talent competitions from year 2000 onwards.”

Thereafter, they were champions of the All-Island Talent Search (Rap Category) in 2001 and eventually they formed a band called Hailztorm in 2005. “We met Buddhika and Udara and got together to start out our own thing with a much bigger goal of making it to the music scene in Sri Lanka,” says Amila.

Even though they claim to be mainly a rap group, harmonic music is provided by other feature artists like Nelu Adhikari and Samitha Mudunkotuwa for their songs. They are happy that every song of theirs offers a different style.

Amila points out, “You can identify a band because they play the same type of music in all their songs but for us, every song is very different.” Their music taste and rap is different while they cater to a wide audience who like listening to easy music. “We always give 100 percent to our music and like to blend subtle and different beats,” says Amila.

A collection of their songs are in the pipeline. They have their own production studio called ‘Intenze Studios’ for which Buddhika says, “We like to have our own time to produce music so it is more relaxed”. They hope to release their album in September this year of which the name will be a surprise to their fans. They have also joined forces with international acts like the TR Gang to produce top-notch music.

Production of pre-album release visuals are currently underway. For ‘Sindu Hendewa’, Wasantha Dukgannarala composed the lyrics and the mixing and mastering was done by Ranga Dassanayake while Udara did the composing. They say, “Some songs have been produced quickly while others takes longer because creativity comes to us at different times.”

Their advice is, “Learn well if you want to make it big but you will face lots of challenges and disappointments”. They say, “If you have a passion, go for it”. The band members thank their parents, those who have supported and helped them in the music industry and all their loyal fans. Watch out for the debut video very soon!