Derek goes for New Chapter

By Mahes Perera

In the words of the song it's a whole new world for New Chapter, the outfit led by guitarist/vocalist Derek Rutnam who is confident that the new outlook on music has widened their success in Europe. Unfortunately the group is not playing in Sri Lanka but in Switzerland.

Before the christening of New Chapter the band was the popular Backstage which was in and out of centre stages in Switzerland and Germany for an unbelievable 18 years, and they hope to fly down in the near future to give our music lovers a taste of their creative styles in commercial and 'serious' music.

Derek during his youth studied at St.Patrick's College in Talawakele, moved over to Hindu College, Bambalapitiya and ended up at St.Benedict's College, Colombo 13 before he was drawn into the vortex of the music vibes.

Question: Playing for 18 years in Europe is no easy task considering the fact that competition is intense, you have to maintain a high standard and you cannot fool around with your music. When did you and your group members come under the influence of Benjy Ranabahu?

Answer: We were playing with Benjy in his band Aquarius in Europe. When Benjy decided to come back to Sri Lanka. I formed Backstage with the boys. This was in 1977 and we played in Europe most of the time. Fortunately we came to Sri Lanka twice and performed at the Galadari Hotel. Our performances in Europe were mainly in Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Holland.

Holland welcomed as over and over again and we enjoyed playing to the audiences. When I formed Backstage I had Sanjay Alles - keyboards and vocals, Aruna Kalyaratne - keyboards and vocals, Adam Amaradasa - bass and vocals, and we were joined by Karol Balaza on drums. Sanjay, Aruna and I we were with Aquarius. Adam was playing with Super Pink and Purple.

Q: If you enjoyed 18 years of success as Backstage what was the necessity to change the name of the band to New Chapter? And is there a marked difference between the two?

A: Yes there is. As Backstage we played chart hits and Top 40 material.

We played in pubs and night clubs. Now as New Chapter which came into existence in 2011 we are handling challenging vocals in hard rock, funk and jazz. It is pretty interesting, not so commercial. Now we have a different picture to project which has helped us.

Q: As New Chapter did you have the occasion to play on stage with other groups, like at open air concerts?

A: Yes we did, mostly with Swiss bands. Sometimes at open air concerts you get two bands or sometimes five bands. Each band has a set of ten songs - that's it. In two hours the concert is over. What is obvious at such occasions is the discipline among musicians.

Q: You are living in a country that is predominantly rock oriented what is the 'serious' music that your band plays, that you were talking about earlier?

A: Switzerland is more into rock music. The serious music that I'm talking about is jazz. We are into it, because of our drummer he brings in new ideas to colour our music and as a result we are influenced by him. In jazz you have a lot of chords, you have to work a lot, practice a lot.

You have to try out new arrangements, develop your improvisations and I'm happy to say not only I but also my band members we are learning every day. I don't think the learning will end like closing a chapter. There's something new every day.

Q: Who influenced you in music especially in singing?

A: Steve Lukather of Toto fame is my idol. His guitar playing and vocal stylings are great. He is considered the best recording musician and he has worked with all the leading names in the international scene. Remember Africa? It became a rage the world over.

Q: Now that you are open to a variety of music in Europe have you moved into composing and have you any idea of putting your music on to a CD?

A: I do compose. I dabble in jazz funk rock, influenced by Tower of Power. As for a CD we are working on it. It will be a mix from gospel to funk.

The song writing is done by Adam and Sanjay while Aruna does the composing.

Q: When you started playing music in Europe with Aquarius what was the difference in music between Sri Lanka and Europe. Our musicians played the same chart hits and Top 40 material - you cannot say we were far behind?

A: No we're not far behind. Only thing is, we had the opportunity of meeting established musicians, interacting with them, going to their clinics and learning lot about music and how to play areas which we found a trifle difficult. Having come back after these long years there's a huge change in the standard of our Sri Lankan musicians. There are good musicians playing with groups. I guess Youtube has helped.

Today it is easy to be a musician. You have everything from A to Z how to play and chord work. In our days we hadn't this facility.

We had to rely on other musicians, go and watch them play, ask them how this or that is done.

Q: Are you and your members full-time musicians in Switzerland?

A: No. We play at weekends. On the other days we work 9-5 jobs. We decided to play only at weekends, because working on the other days we enjoy social benefits when we are senior citizens.

Q: Which are the other Sri Lankan bands playing in Switzerland?

A: As far as I know only one. That is Freak Out. Remember Roy Atapathu the drummer, he is the leader of the band. New Chapter plays at Lichenstein. Today people prefer small clubs or small locations. Discos are huge - they exist. But the live music scene is concentrated in small venues.