Recorded music of Sri Lanka

The earliest artists of Sri Lankan recorded music arrival from the theatre at the period when the folk open-air drama (means as Sinhala as kolam, nadagam or sokari) continued the most renowned type of entertainment. The year 1903 album, entitled Nurthi, is the initial recorded album to come out from Sri Lanka through Radio Ceylon. The place, which had long held a control over the Sri Lanka’s airwaves which was created in the year 1925, and one of the Sri Lanka’s founding broadcasters known as Vernon Corea, almost immediately grasped the chance to bring Sri Lankan Music on the English Service of Radio Ceylon.

source of picture: homerecording.about.com

During the decline of the western and Indian creation in music, composer and singer known as Ananda Samarakoon appeared from learning at Rabindranath Tagore’s school at Shanthiketalan which establish a distinctively Sinhalese music custom in the year 1939. His composition such as Ennada Manike, Punchi Suda and popular Namo Namo Maatha (accepted as Sri Lanka’s national anthem later) formed the sarala gee genre. Another musician known as Devar Surya Sena with his western education was pivotal in promoting traditional chants of Sri Lanka to the English best that bore advance position in the country during that period.

Kadawunu Poronduwa in the year 1947 introduced the film industry in Sri Lanka. During in the late 1940s and 50s Sinhala in Hindi and Tamil films accepted the Sri Lankan spectator by replacing their initial words with Sinhala words. Meanwhile, artists such as Sunil Santha, W.D Amaradeva and W.B Makulolouwa started the experimenting with establishing a Sinhalese music pattern.

Pandit Amaradeva, trained at shantiniketan such as Samarakkon took up the Sarala Gee custom alongside with the experimentation of raage types. This became well-known in the country particularly through Sarala gee programs broadcasted in radio Ceylon. Artists such as Austin Munasinghe, Stanley peris, Victor Ratnayale, Rohana Weerasinghe, Amarasiri Peiris, Sanath Nandasiri, Sunil Edirisinghe, Gunadasa Kapuge, Edward Jayakody, Ranga Dasanayaka, Ekvin Peiris, Rookantha Gunathilaka and Iraj & Ranidu carry on the custom.

C de S Kulatilake Makulolouwa assumed Sinhalese music should be followed by the customs of its traditional music known as Jana Gee. He got great many of the Sinhalese traditional poems by touring within the country and tried to establish a distinctive pattern. Late artists such as Austin Munasinghe, Rohana Beddage and Lionel Ranwala assisted in the establishing Makuloluwa’s Jana Gee pattern.

Sunil Santha took a western method in his composition that encouraged the church music. He opposed of getting rudiments from Hindustani Raaga music to establish Sinhaslers music. This was proof when he was later restricted from Radio Ceylon after refusing to audition for Indian artist known as Ratanjankar whom the organization had introduced from South India to manage the affair of the direction of the music on their stations.

Premasiri Khemadasa who is also known as Khemadasa Master is one of the very powerful composers in Sri Lankan music. Encouraging the western classical music, Hindustani music and also the Sinhala traditional music, he composed in his own pattern which became well-known in the later 1960s. He is one of the highly recognized film, stage and TV drama composers and his song is utilized by the tops directors in the nation. Khemadasa Master is which also popular for making operas and cantatas.

Essential to the compositions of these artists were songwriters such as Chandrarantne Manawasinghe and Mahagama Sekara who in their words presented deeply poetic and honestly expressed knowledge and many of which also popularized a sense of nationalism in a nation that had gained independence less than a generation before in the year 1948.

In the period of the 1960s and government limitations on travel to India original works became in vogue in film music, however a few renowned films remained to sellers that stolen songs under the influences of music composers such as P.L.A Somapala and Mohomed Sally.

The mid-1960s, saw the beginning of the pop groups such as Los cabelleros dominant by Neville Fermando, La Ceylonians dominant by Noel Ranasinghe (popular as King of Calypso in Sri Lanka), The La Bamas, The Humming Birds and Los Mucachos; all of whom played calpso-pattern baila borrowing their pattern from Caribbean traditional-singer known as Harry Belafonte. This combination of Caribbean calypso with local baila was controlled by two groups: The Moonstones, and the Golden Chimes dominant by artist such as Clarence Wijewardene and Annesley Malawana.

Sri Lankan pop/film music tried to hold a big part in Sri Lanka’s market during in the late 1960s and early 70s but during in the 80s, Indian film music had again replaced the indigenous artists as the highest-selling segment of the Sri Lankan music industry. In the 80s the disco-pop artist known as Rookantha Gunathilake appeared to become one of the very renowned musicians of the period. Many of the young artists followed Rookantha and his pattern during in the 80s and 90s.

MIDI/Computer based music entertainment and recording were brought to Sri Lanka during in the 80s by Keyboardist/composer known as Diliup Gabadamudalige. He was the initial person to use a complete MIDI based playing keyboard system and also use MIDI/Program and Music software/Computer based music studio and entertainment in Sri Lankan. Diliups assistance has been known by the government of Sri Lankan and he was been honored the Kalashuri name and he was also awarded as the initial Lyle Godrich Memorial Honor for Support to the western Music industry in Sri Lankan in the year 2011.

The Gypsies has continued to be the renowned ensemble for over four years and the Sunflowers (band) are the most extensively recorded orchestra for closely three years.

Since in the year 1998, many pop/R&B orchestra have appeared in Sri Lankan and the very renowned of which is known as Bathiya and Santhush who pull encourage from the Europop orchestras that travelled the island. Among their accomplishments; they are the initial Sri Lankan orchestra that has contact with an international record label (Sony BMG), and were an essential part in the label’s introduction into the nation’s music industry in the year 2002 and 2003. They have gained international awards for their works, and have performed in several countries which include on the BBC radio in the United Kingdom.

Dinesh Subasinghe composed the first ever Buddhist oratorio known as Karuba Nadee and brought the olden instrument known as Ravanahatha to Sri Lankan Media. He also introduced few evolves to this olden instrument, he introduced a distinctive pattern and method to play it like a Sarangi. In the year 2007 for the initial time he introduced this instrument to electronic media in Sri Lankan and into the recording music firm; also he used this tool for A.R. Rahman’s poetry group CD and  some of the Indian Tamil movies. Dinesh Subasinghe who has supported an essential role for the achievement of musical life in Sri Lankan, and has been defined as the Sri Lanka’s most famous and creative  Televison artist and youngest film presenter during that Period. His compositions are famous for mixing western eastern classical music with electronic music beats, world music genres and folk instrumental arrangements.