|
|
 |
 |
| Sunday, 15 December 2002 |
 |
|
 |
Magazine |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
by Umangi de Mel
Easy going and charming, Ashanthi has been singing with her mother Antoinette de Alwis, a well established musician of greater repute. "I was still a toddler when I used to sing at home with my mom who was with a band called `Peter Prins Combo'," she says. A product of Ladies' College, Ashanthi's introduction to the commercial music scene was through commercials, more specifically the Kandos advertisement at the age of 17. "My dad's a Trinitarian who was classically trained. I guess music runs in the family and they kind of knew that I was destined to be a singer," says the 21 year old, of her initiation to the industry. Singing is her choicest pastime and the greatest passion. "I was with Maryanne David from 1996 and everything I needed to know about music was taught to me by Aunty Maryanne," she says, reflecting thoughtfully that getting a classical training is not an easy task. "Nevertheless I got it from her. And it was there I met Bathiya and Santhush, as we all sang together." Apart from a fantastic voice, Ashanthi also has a knack of composing songs, "I composed my first song `Out of the blue' which is on Bathiya's `Life' album and my initial song with Bathiya and Santhush was `Siri Sanga Bodhi'. That was the beginning back in the late 1999." Hitting it off with `Siri Sanga Bodhi', paved the way for Ashanthi to step into the Sri Lankan music arena without much of a struggle. Her knack for singing, she says is an inborn passion. She's no second banana to the few vocalists who none proved themselves. "I'm trying to launch my CD called `Oba magemai' together with my music partner Ranidu Lankage soon," Although her strong vocals have made a solid impression on the local crowd with the Bathiya & Santhush fusion tracks, catapulting her to the lime light, Ashanthi believes that careerwise, she is in the right place where she wants to be. "I work at an ad agency called `Minds'. Singing is my passion but I'd like to forge ahead with my work at Mind's." When talking about her singing partners, she says that they've hit it off well. "It's excellent, the experience I've gained is just wonderful. We are like a family and we discuss everything it's a tight bond that we share." Ashanthi points out the amount of hard work and dedication that go into their success. "It takes up a lot of our time. But I think we are committed to it so much that all of us put together, we are able to make it work. Of course they have proved it by turning the international spotlight squarely on them after winning the award for the most potential female singer at the Asia Music Festival in Shanghai in 2000, Ashanthi has been able to show everyone that she's just another `nova'.
Looking back at her very first solo which she did in front of a crowd, she says: "It was a huge Rainbow Foundation function. Although I was 17, I was like 'Omigod' and I had butterflies in the stomach," She recalls the way everything fell into places, afterwards. "Actually once you start and get into the groove, all the fears and jitters just melt away." She says that the first few times are usually hard. Definitely not any more for her, though. Asanthi is pretty confident when she says that it's like second nature to her. Hearing the crowd react to her music, she says is the biggest achievement and describes the futuristic music and style of singing as conveying a message. "Taking from two different cultures, we bring the western and ethnic sounds together." So what about life and herself.. She thinks she's.." Um..easy going. And I believe that life has to be lived to the fullest, cause you only get to live once. You need to get whatever you want, done." And love? "It's something really special.. one of the nicest words. A word you've got to use in a positive way and be careful when using it," she chuckles stressing on the last few words.
|
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
| Produced by Lake House |
"I used to sing at little family functions when I was little and
having a mom who is in the music industry, helped me to an early
start." That's Ashanthi de Alwis, Sri Lanka's answer to pop diva
Maria Carey, who with an incredible ability to hit the high notes with
amazing ease is fast making a name for herself in the local music scene as
a diva to be reckoned with. And not just as a feminine back up for popular
duo Bhathiya and Santhush either.
"There were about 25 participants from 15-18 countries. All of
them were like pretty professional," She says that they knew a lot
more than the nitty-gritties of music, that she picked wealth of
knowledge, during a mere two weeks. "I learnt so much from those
guys, all the technical details I didn't know. But they were all very
friendly. In spite of rigorous schedule of two weeks, we had good
fun."
