All kinds of fusion 

by Anuradha Kodagoda

The much-awaited music festival of the year, The Jaffna Music Festival 2015 will get underway at the Jaffna Municipal Grounds on May 30. The sister event of the Galle Music Festival, the Jaffna version is an initiative of the Sri Lanka-Norway Music Cooperation and is implemented by Sevalanka Foundation in partnership with Concerts Norway. Artistic direction is from Aru Sri Art Theatre, with core funding by the Royal Norwegian Embassy.

The Jaffna Music Festival, being held for the 3rd year in succession, is now a calendar event for local as well as international music lovers, and has become a bridge across the cultural difference that once cleaved the communities.

The Festival has become a looked-forward- to-event where passion, harmony and creativity come together on one stage to speak to everyone irrespective of man-made barriers such as language or religion.

The main musical event of the Festival, slated to be held on May 30 at the Jaffna Municipal Grounds from 4.00 p.m. to 11.00 p.m. will focus on Folk, Traditional and Folk Fusion. The Festival however will be kick started with a photographic exhibition from 3.00 p.m. onwards, displaying pictures of the previous Festivals. As in the previous years, the main Festival will be preceded by the the Children’s Festival to be held the Sangliyan Park Jaffna from 9.00 a.m. to 11.00 p.m. on May 29.

Brief history JMF

The Jaffna Music Festival and the Galle Music Festival are the two main music festivals that attract over 25,000 local and international music fans.

The Jaffna Music Festival was initiated in 2011 in a bid to bring back the forgotten folk traditions that have been passed down for generations and fell into neglect during the 30 year conflict. The folk music, dance and drama showcased over the three-day Festival helped revive the forgotten folklore of the North and East, while giving the , as the people an opportunity to experience and appreciate other cultures.

Two years later, the 2013 version of the Festival showcased an eclectic mix of music – which included folk, contemporary and classical, attracting an audience of over 25,000 over the two-day period.

Main Festival

The main music Festival comprises nine local music performances in what is being described as a vibrant combination of traditional folk music with modern fusion. The nine music groups comprise almost every division in the country and represent almost every genre of music.

Groups performing at the main festival are Banku Raban- Mathugama, Sabaragamuwa Bali- Ratnapura, Yaal Kiramiya Sangamam- Jaffna, Sufi –Ampara, Baliphonics – Colombo, Pooli Koothu- Batticloa, Udappu – Puththalam University Collaboration Act (Jaffna/Batticloa/Peradeniya universities) and Thappu - Kilinochchi .

In addition to local music groups, as in every other JMF, this time too there are three international groups from Bangladesh and India, taking part in the event. These are

Agnee and Shankar Brothers from India and Band LALON from Bangladesh.

Agnee, is an award winning band and well-known for their deep rooted Indian sound, soulful melodies and electrifying guitar solos. They are hugely popular and commercially successful in India and have been taking the stages by storm since 2007. The group is the first band in India to release a fully animated video for the song ‘Ujale Baaz’ and their huge hits including ‘Sadho Re’, ‘Kabira’, ‘Shaam Tanha’ and the MTV Roadies theme song.

Band LALON meanwhile, is one of the most popular bands in Bangladesh. Their music takes the core essence of ‘Lalon Shai/Sain’ a Bengali Saint, mystic, songwriter, social reformer and thinker, whose song lyrics were meant to engage in the philosophical discourses of Bengal. Lalon tries to incorporate these meanings and words in the front line with a mix of Rock music – creating a brilliant blend and unique presentation of Bangladeshi music. Recently, they performed at the 68th Session of the UN General Assembly held at the UN HQ, New York.

Shankar Brothers is hailed as one of the foremost and serious young musicians in India, and carry a 300-year-old family tradition. Taking the art of Shehnai to a new level, Sanjeev and Ashwani’s music represent an unparallel blend of traditional classical music with a modern approach. The brother have to their credit a wide spectrum of performances and have mesmerized the audiences at various local and international music festivals.

Children’s festival

The aim of the Jaffna Music Festival is not only to showcase the diverse traditions and musical genres from around the island, it is also geared to specifically introduce these musical styling’s to school children and young people to further stimulate their awareness and interest in the performing arts.

The Children’s festival titled ‘Music For All’ will have many interactive activities such as music along with lyrics writing, video production, vocal training, dubbing as well as art workshops.

The children’s festival is organized mainly to encourage children to understand the language of music as well as enjoy it.

Children will experience dance and music along with lyric writing, video production, vocal training, dubbing as well as art workshops.

As at the past festivals, the Jaffna Music Festival will serve as a much needed meeting place for local and international artistes and provide a forum where they can share, exchange, fuse and interact with other artists.

Northern and Southern artistes and audiences will have the opportunity to experience and interact with artists from the North, East, South and West and be introduced a diverse array of musical genres.