|
|
 |
 |
| Sunday, 29 August 2004 |
 |
|
 |
Magazine |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
A pleasant blend of East and West by Umangi de Mel
Ranidu Lankage going on 22 looks rather occupied on the set. Getting a word seems kinda impossible since the make up artist is busy preparing Ranidu for the shoot. Actually making of the video for Ranidu's hit song Ahankara Nagare in his debut solo album Diviyapura which was launched recently looked pretty interesting with bits of every culture that has merged into the video. The solo Album Diviyapura (All my life) is apparently a blend of concepts ranging from the east and west, the crux of it being R & B, Hip Hop, Drum and Bass, Dance, soulful ballads and traditional Sri Lankan sounds. Ranidu says the album has helped him complete his vision of creating music which surmounts the barriers of class and culture. "The video will be released somewhere at the end of August. I'm very happy with the production. The first album Oba Magemai sounded more 'Popish'. Even though Diviyapura is also a pop album, it has more depth to it. The concepts of the songs are based on feelings which are my personal experience and I feel that the themes have matured along with emotions. The first one sounded more electronic as a result of my exposure to that kind of music back then. But now being in the United States I seldom hear the type. It's always good stuff like R & B and Hip Hop". He explains. Ranidu also known to produce globalised Sinhalese music talks about the very first steps of his life as a musician. "It was back in school that I got an opportunity to try myself. I joined the Western band and learnt melodica and side drums under Ms. Anita Fernando, at Royal College. My mum bought me a piano when I was 15", he says. Ranidu reveals that he had always been passionate about music, especially pop and hip hop, "And always wanted to do something similar. It was my dad who got me a huge key board from abroad as an O/L gift". Ranidu's talents have not been merely restricted to the music field. He has achieved nine Distinctions at the G.C.E. O/L 1997 and thus has been awarded the Royal scholar award by Royal College. He had also been placed fourth in the Island and third in the Colombo district at the G.C.E. A/L examination in 2000. He has performed brilliantly in sports too. Having represented Sri Lanka at the Asian Junior Squash Championships 1999 Ranidu has captained the Royal College squash team and has been awarded colours for three years. He hasn't stopped there ... Ranidu has also represented Royal College in cricket swimming and Rugby at various levels. "I learnt the basic programming skills under Dilup Gabadamudalige and then I started composing music at home. I learnt a lot through experimenting and composed Bathiya and Santhush's hit song 'Manusathkule' in the year 2000", he reveals and adds that it had been the very first time the public got to hear his music. Ranidu has also directed and composed music for the opening ceremony of the Asian Athletic Championships, in 2002. "Before that I performed with bathiya and Santhush and I was a member of the winning team at the '2001 Azia Dauzi' music festival in Kazakhstan. I left Sri Lanka for studies after sometime", he explains. "I guess I kinda changed musically after I went off to college at Yale. During the first year in college I changed directions too. I gave up performing with Bathiya and Santhush and started thinking about a CD of my own. I had wanted to do something with Ashanthi for a while and decided to do the album 'Oba Magemai' in January 2003". He talks about his first album that has been pretty popular among the public with which Ranidu became part of the youngest duo to be signed by an International record label, namely, Sony music. The track has topped the Sri Lankan pop charts for a total of 12 weeks and has received many reviews from critics and music lovers. According to him 'Oba Magemai' has received airplay on the BBC's radio I in England as well as Australia. Experiencing two extremes of music, culture and life Ranidu feels that his effort, time and hard work have paid off considering the fact that the album sells well. "After the first CD, I felt that I could do better and I never really stopped, it has been an ongoing process cause I figured that I wanted to do something different with my sounds. I was influenced by MTV producers like Dharell Williams and bands like 'Out Cast' and artistes like Alicia keys but mostly I was inspired by Asian people that I met such as DJ Bobby Friction and Nihal who are really popular there". He says that he's also inspired by Hindi music, "I studied Hindi at Yale I've got a lot of Indian friends who used to jabber in their language and I used to feel a bit out of place. I think A. R. Rahman produces lovely stuff and I learnt the rest through living in Sri Lanka". He says that many musicians are influenced by the music of other countries, "You are not just a Sri Lankan or an Indian but a combination of a lot of things. And the music scene has changed too. You can't be playing '80s stuff and call it hot, but they come up with new stuff. The saddest thing is sometimes when people realise that they appreciate a track in Sinhalese, they are reluctant to give recognition to it. Whereas in India, they egg on the artistes and back them up in every way. It's the quality that matters and not the nationality or language". Ranidu switches topics to the local music scene, "It's definitely improved but needs more change. You get a lot of talented youth playing merely covers but it's lot better if they do their own thing and get people to appreciate the difference". Diviyapura contains 12 Sinhala and English tracks all composed by Ranidu. It also includes a Rap track which features the BBC's top Asian DJ, Nihal and a remix by Iraj Weeraratne, a popular Sri Lankan Hip Hop and R & B producer. The lyrics of the 12 tracks have been written by well known Sri Lankan writers such as Bandula Nanayakkarawasam, Vasantha Dukgannarala, Kalum Shreemal, Nilar Cassim, Chanaka Jayasekara and Thanuja Jayawardene of Rasa Risi Gee fame. "I did the lead vocals and Devashrie de Silva, who won the 2002 showboat Karaoke Championship performed all back up vocals. Yohan Rajapakse and Ranga Dassanayake were the co-producers for the album, which was done at the Hit Factory studio by Ranga Dassanayake. And the distribution of the album is 'Ransilu' music", he says talking about those who helped to make his vision a reality. Studying for an Economics degree at Yale University in the United States at the moment Ranidu seems to handle both his love for music and studies well. Wrapping things up, Ranidu says music can be defined as a first love, "My next goal is another album, hopefully. I'm also collaborating a lot with Iraj. I'm singing with him in his album which will be out soon", he says. ############ Is Hip-Hop Taking Over Fashion Hip-hop and fashion have settled into a relationship where one influences the next. As hip-hop drives current trends, rap artists are coveting classic couture. It seems rappers have discovered what the landed gentry have known all along: Nothing says filthy, stinking rich like conspicuous consumption. How you like me now? If your definition of success is mainstream acceptance, then hip-hop has arrived. And unlike the pioneers of the genre, who donned Adidas and the occasional gold chain, many of today's most recognisable wordsmiths prefer to rock the mic in Versace. Where there was once politics and strife, there is now bling bling. Lots of bling bling. The staggering success of rap has generated a nouveau riche sensibility. It's become clichéd yet mandatory for rappers to flaunt Cristal, fleets of Cadillacs and diamond-encrusted Rolexes. Fashion was simply the next worldly possession on the list. "It's necessary we styles in Burberry," proclaims Foxy Brown. "It's necessary we rock the Sean John," responds Noreaga on a track called "Stylin'" that the two recorded together. Hip-hop is no longer just team jerseys, puffy coats, rugged boots, and tilted headgear. In this climate of big pimping, rap's derivative style of dress is sleeker, gaudier and comes with a much higher price tag. That means the clock is ticking for the archetypal, pubescent white kid with the 34-inch baggy jeans falling down his scrawny 10-inch waist. A time when proximity to a mall can no longer ensure that imitation of the standard hip-hop uniform is indeed on the horizon. Deep impact The music industry has been taking hip-hop seriously for years and now that so many Americans with disposable incomes are sufficiently hooked on it -- not just the urban trendsetters and their suburban wannabes -- mainstream fashion is beginning to take it seriously, too. Isn't that right, Mr. Mizrahi? If designers were once weary, or simply indifferent, they are now anxious to throw a little hip-hop into the mix. I wonder if the look's proven track record of profitability had anything to do with laying old reservations to rest? With the studio providing much of the inspiration for contemporary apparel, many of this season's must-haves reek of a good remix. The knit hat and polar fleece are both examples of why hip-hop is owed a debt of gratitude. It's even possible to be ankle deep in hip-hop and not know it. Consumers' borderline obsession with old-school footwear is actually an homage to a time when Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys were the face of the genre. Either recycled by the original manufacturers or knocked off and marked up by high-end labels like Diesel, the proliferation of shoes from the Reagan administration demonstrate the power of hip-hop to define style. A young Wall Street-type might scoff at what he perceives as the hip-hop look -- the prevailing stereotype of oversized everything -- but hip-hop is no longer confined to such a narrow interpretation and I'm willing to wager that at least some of his after-work ensemble is going to reflect elements of its infiltration. My way or the hizzighway Somewhere along the way, industry moguls began to realize that nobody was more fit to be purveyors of the hip-hop lifestyle than those who knew it best. Why should Tommy Hilfiger fall ass backwards into outfitting his loyal followers when icons like Russell Simmons and Jay-Z eat, sleep and breathe the stuff? That entrepreneurial spirit breathed life into Phat Farm, Rocawear, Enyce, FUBU, and a host of other brands. Their enormous success can be attributed to an intimate knowledge of the rap game. Not just any hip-hop personality can launch a clothing line. It requires a certain amount of credibility. Something tells me that MC Hammer trying to peddle shmatas would not be pretty. And that's not to say that Hilfiger, Polo and Nautica -- three brands that caught an early ride on the hip-hop express -- no longer have that credibility, or have fallen out of favor with the consumer, but rather that a growing market leaves more room for choice. Wear's it at I may be more powder than Eminem and my jeans may fit just right, but it's hard to exist in the free world without recognizing that this is the era of hip-hop. And with the clothing imitating their art, it's a small wonder that rappers are turning up at fashion shows and generally taking a more vested interest in la mode. They are, after all, helping to shape it. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
| Produced by Lake House |
In an era where ethnic music has been able to conquer the world,
there's more focus on Sinhala stuff which has crossed borders to rock
global music lovers. The local music scene seems more progressive and
creative ... And it's the artistes that make all the difference.
