Something new with Sura Asura

What’s it all about? Purnima Pilapitiya checks out a musical project that combines both traditional and contemporary Sri Lankan music

The cover art reminds one of an ancient heritage site or an exotic local brand. The name of the project “Sura Asura” refers to a battle being fought in a parallel universe between two groups of devas; both good and bad. It’s almost impossible to put a finger on what exactly it is all about. It takes a quick Facebook search to access their official page and the project’s first music release.

Titled “Aviddha Paya” the timely release of their first track on Independence Day marked the start of a new journey for Sura Asura who shy away from calling themselves a band, but rather a project that is hoping to redefine contemporary Sri Lankan music.

It is near impossible to limit them to one genre. Listening to their debut track, the song essentially in Sinhalese, carries undertones of classic rock and a rather grungy vibe on the whole. Lyrically simple yet profound, the song is about travel and the individual journey a person must make in his life.

“We started out with the aim of a long term plan,” explains Yasas Ratnayake, the composer and lyricist. Quite simply old friends who shared a love for music, Sura Asura was born because of the close knit relationships between them and the community values by which they were greatly influenced. What started off as a couple of friends jamming together, resulted in the project taking shape about three and a half months ago. Its beginnings were similarly unpretentious - a simple melody in the back of Yasas’s mind reached the others with a lot of positive feedback and potential for a new and different sound.

The past few months have found the boys adding the finishing touches to the rest of the tracks. Much like their music, there is no set line-up with everyone adding to the composing, singing and playing. Sarani Perera handles guitars, keyboards and helps Yasas with the composing. No one song is alike, with traces of classic rock to upbeat dance numbers and soft jazzy ballads.

Not unknown to the local music scene is drummer Harshan Gallage and Uvindu Perera on bass while the raw vocals of bassist Shivy Fernando and guitarist Ryan Somaratne echo their overall down-to-earth demeanour.

They draw inspiration from classic bands like Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin to newer, edgier groups such as the Cinematic Orchestra and Zero 7. Some might remember Sarani, Harshan and Uvindu from the fusion band Triloka which created waves in the music scene with their energetic blend of Sri Lankan and Western music. The band left a deep impression on Sura Asura who also cite Musicmatters and Baliphonics as contemporary Sri Lankan influences.

“We’re trying to incorporate a musicality that has been previously unexplored,” explains Yasas. The ‘sound’ they are trying to create is both familiar to the Lankan ear while incorpo- rating Western elements in a completely original and unexpected way. The result; a sound that is a distinct departure from the Indian and English pop hits that both dominate and shape the local music scene is one they want to contribute to.

But make no mistake, Sura Asura isn’t here for a short phase of revolutionary musicmaking. Much like their first single, the project hope to release a new track every month culminating in their first album release later in June. Growing up in the age of the internet they only see endless possibilities for music and musicians everywhere. “With the internet there is an infinite amount of music you can be exposed to,” says Yasas. Breaking away from the usual radio playlists, their music is engineered to deliver a personal listening experience.

Melodies that play with our listening palate and straightforward lyrics- the constant internal struggle between good and bad, wrong and right, maintain a balance in a person, at least according to Sura Asura. It’s why the name was seamlessly linked with their concept. Much like their experience so far, they hope for their audiences too it’ll be “something that will take you on a journey”.

You can find Sura Asura on Facebook: facebook.com/ suraasuraSL or follow them on Twitter: @suraasuraSL