 An evening of immortal hits
by Mahes Perera
It is heartening to note that
young Ruskhan Karunanayake with his band Chimes of the 70s is staging a
musical extravaganza to revive and spread the golden sound of the late
Clarence Wijewardena. “I am a committed fan of Clarence and his music
and I’m making every endeavour to encourage youth to listen and
appreciate Clarence’s song.
 That is why I’m organising this concert “Immortal Hits - Just for
you”. The concert will be held on July 31 at the Bishop’s College,
Auditorium and I’m happy that the response so far has been very good”
expresses Rukshan singer/guitarist composer who has written some new
songs in the Sinhala pop idiom for his band to perform on that day.
The concert will also feature luminaries of the 70s music. On stage
will be Indrani Perera, Anil Bhareti, Nihal Nelson, Vernon Perera,
Shyami Fonseka, Rukshan Perera and Sri Kantha Dassanayake who
undoubtedly will add colour to the whole concert, and are happy today’s
youth are moving forward to spotlight the beauty of Clarence’s
compositions, which made an inspiring impact on the Sinhala music scene.
The entire concert will be threaded together by the compere Dr. Vijaya
Corea.
Whilst conducting rehearsals for this great day Rukshan is busy
recording two albums by two Sri Lankan artistes now domiciled in
Australia. “Nalin Jayawardena and Nimal Punchihewa one time drummer of
the Super Golden Chimes will be launching the two albums at the concert.
Nalin’s album titled Paata, Paata Samanalayin contains about eighteen
songs and many lyricists including Bhadraji Mahinda Jayathilake, Sunil
Govinnage and Dr. Vicumpriya Perera extended a helping hand in the
compositions for Nalin and Nimal. I put them all together at my studio
Udeshan”, says Rukshan.
Chimes of the 70s, comprise Rukshan on guitar/vocals, Sohan Anuhas -
keyboards, Dilshan Wijeskera - rhythm guitar, Chamara Jayarathne - sax,
Chaminda Pushpakumara - drums, Isuru Roshan - bass/vocals, Udesha
Karunanayake, eight-years-old on drums, Nirmani and Vindya - vocals.
Adding support to the band will be Osanda Gamage and Sanduni Athulage -
vocals and Wijith Peiris - former drummer of Moonstones and Golden
Chimes. The band will also perform some fabulous English hits of the
70’s while the rest of their concert repertoire will be original
compositions. |
