MUSIC

For constellation:

Thinking safe is an anathema

They named themselves after the stars and set their sights equally high. Constellation is how the stars are aligned, but the bunch of guys calling themselves Constellation aligned themselves to capturing TNL Onstage 2014. And they did, in style, going on to win Best Band, Best Original and Best Musician awards.

A progressive metal band, Constellation agreed their name sounded cool. They also like experimenting with their music. The latter has seen their music evolving and changing, over the course of the past 12 months. Their fans claim the change is for the better.

So what is Constellation like individually? The band's current line-up comprises Eshantha Perera on vocal and drums, Dihara Wijetunga on lead, Shehan Kaleel on rhythm, Aseka Wickramarachchi on bass, and the latest addition, Dhyresh Mendis on keyboards and vocals. "We are a pretty open book as far as each of us goes, so everyone pretty much knows how crazy and fun we are.

We believe in discipline. We believe in constant evolution. We don't like being boring," they claim in unison.

The band is inspired by different genres and different artistes. But their favourites are progressive metal outfits such as Scale the Summit, Opeth, Animals as Leaders, Periphery, Plini, and others. However, they claim each member brings a different style to the band, inspired for jazz to technical death metal.

"Music is part of our lives. A big one. Performing and composing music is something that we cannot live without," they say, while Eshantha admits he cannot leave the house without music to keep him company.

Taking on form TNL Onstage 2014, Constellation performed at 'The Dying Winter Sleeps', more recently with 'Mosh Scream Rock', and are now completing an amazing gig with Rock Fest. In between they have performed for a few acoustic sessions.

In terms of Originals, they have set out a few acoustic tracks, and released a Duology of their first compositions, 'Time and The Blight On Gaia'.

"We have been working with a local artist called iClown, who is one of the most talented Drum and Bass artists we have ever had the pleasure of meeting.

He has agreed to do a remix of 'The Blight On Gaia' and as of now, we do believe it's ready to be released," says the band's frontman, adding that they are planning on reaching an international audience with the remix.

The band is also currently composing music for their debut album.

Sharing the best experience the band members have encountered in their music journey, they say, "The Onstage season is upon us again, it's impossible for us to forget how amazing it was to win it last year. When we kept racking up all the awards for the bands, we were tense and excited, knowing that we were so close to winning the entire competition, which we did. It was a surreal feeling. We still remember how amazing it was".

Constantly changing and evolving, they don't even want to be seen as boring. "We never wished to be mainstream, and we were never planning on playing it safe. Progressive metal is akin to jazz. It's complicated, technical and requires a lot of imagination to pull off, and we dare say we have a lot of imagination in this band" they say in unison.

According to Eshantha, lyrically, Constellation tends to talk about issues such as discrimination and religious conflicts, while at the same time remaining neutral and unbiased towards any sides of the metaphorical argument. "We like our guitar solos, and we really love off-time signatures," he adds.

One of the biggest ways in which they like to inspire their fans is by daring them to be different. "Don't stick to the same safety that many bands tend to sway towards. Do something different and don't give into the fear of stepping outside the box," they argue.

Outside the band life, Eshantha works as a radio presenter at Yes FM, while Aseka, Shehan and Dihara are all doing higher education.

Constellation's biggest challenge had been at the start of their career, where they had an issue with their original drummer, and Eshantha was forced to take on the task of both drumming and singing. Post-Onstage, they realized it was increasingly harder for him to keep drumming and singing due to their music becoming more complex. "Fortunately, Dhyresh joined our team with a massive amount of talent to contribute, and now we have that particular issue sorted out," they heave a collective sigh of relief.

Commenting on stereotypical beliefs about rock and metal that have held back progress, they say it doesn't help when lot of people think the metal community as a bunch of unwashed, anti-government lunatics who worship the devil.

"The reality is that so many metalheads are incredibly intelligent, have such an amazing outlook of life, and dare to speak on real topics that many other mainstream musicians tend to skip on. Secondly, give metal and rock a chance. We spend days and months working on complicated music that takes so much out of us.

We spend so much money practicing for days just to make sure our 30 minute performance on stage is stellar.

There are organizers like Suresh from Stigmata, Shafeek from Killfeed, and Naushan from The Herb and the Remedy, who work so hard to give us opportunities to perform, and end up sometimes having no profit at all. Recognize the talent, and treat the industry right. It's that simple," they say.

- Reporting and pictures by

Heshan Perera