Colombo Did Rock!:
by Nilma Dole
All the girls were screaming for Raghav Mathur, the pop sensation who
took Sri Lanka by storm on July 25. The Indian heartthrob from Canada
belted out his hits like ‘Ooh Ooh Angel Eyes’, ‘So Confused’ and ‘Lets
Work it Out (Leke Pehla Pehla Pyaar)’ along with ‘Can’t Get Enough (Kabhi
aar Kabhi Paar)’ and ‘It Can’t Be Right’.
 Partying at the TAJ was definitely happening and with one of the
World’s Sexiest DJ Lauren Pope, there was plenty of hope for the crowds
to get a load of the action. “I’m very happy to be here in Sri Lanka
because the people are so friendly and the weather is great!” she said.
Pumping up the groove, she played plenty of House, R&B, Hip Hop and
Dance tunes to make the dancers shake their booties.
Lauren Pope is a renowned model who even runs her own hair company
‘London Rehab’ but at night, she’s a super duper DJ. Once supposed to be
seen dancing with Prince Harry, Lauren Pope is a hot celebrity but with
a down-to-earth attitude.
Backed by Iceberg Slim, UK’s hottest Hip Hop dude, Raghav gave Sri
Lankan hearts a reason to melt with his cool dance moves and cute voice.
Gyratting to his smooth sounds was the dancing duo BootyCat Dolls who
kept on dancing till the break of dawn.
 Calgary-born Raghav’s claim to fame came when he was recognized as a
versatile songwriter after his win for top original song in 1998 voted
by the National Songwriters Association of America. Having studied at
Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA), Raghav
made his mark as a renowned musician in 2004 when his debut album
‘Storyteller’ sold 1.3 million copies worldwide making it the 6th
biggest international selling of all time in India. Born to Kayastha
Uttar Pradeshi Indian parents, Raghav has got the resume of a bona fide
superstar who has won high accolades like a MOBO award for Best
Collaboration and various international titles for his pumpy tunes and
dance frenzy tracks.
He even gave an insight to his forthcoming track ‘My Kinda Girl’ off
his new album ‘Identity’ to Sri Lankans by performing it at his concert
with a Hindi tracks called “Humarahee”. Giving more than what we
bargained for, Raghav sang a tribute song to Michael Jackson with ‘Black
or White’ in memory of the legendary musician.
Scurrying to chat with Raghav who was suffocating with all the Lankan
girls clinging onto his neck, he managed to say, “I’m so glad to be in
Sri Lanka and the people here are just awesome! I really enjoyed
performing here and hope to be back soon!”
Cosmic Entertainments organized the gig and Kingfisher airlines
sponsored Raghav and his entire entourage to give Sri Lanka a night to
remember along with many other major sponsors making the gig a success!
  
Acuri the colourful Brazilian band was featured at the recent
Brazilian Music Festival held at the Il Ponte, Hilton, Colombo. The band
was joined by flautist / composer / Director R. K. Bikramjit Singh.
Acuri’s appearance in Sri Lanka was through the flagship of the Mantra
World Musicians. The programme of the band was a mixture of traditional
Brazilian rhythms with jazz, rock and experimental music.
Formed in 2003 the band started off as a trio but with the progress
of years the personnel increased to the present quintet. The instruments
used were flute, sax, piano, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass,
melodica, accordion, cavaquino and percussion which gave the band the
infections beat that was lapped up the audience.
Bikramjit Singh - flautist made a welcome return much to the delight
of the audience, who were held spellbound with the melodies produced by
him on the various flutes which proved his artistry. Bikram has played
for more than 250 International albums and his own album “Himalayan
Whisper” was listed for the ‘Grammy in World Contemporary Music.” Bikram
played solo on Wednesday August 5th at “the Blend” and today August 9 he
will be featured again at the Torana Lounge.
Mahes Perera
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