Music has been a great healer | Sunday Observer

Music has been a great healer

18 June, 2017

To quantify how much he loves music would be impossible. From his early days, music has always helped him get rid of pain and in the process, he has fallen in love with it. He is DeLon, a well known figure in both Sri Lankan and U.S music industry. He revealed his passion for music, his upcoming videos and his future plans, to the Sunday Observer.

Having started off his career as a rapper, DeLon said, in year 2013 he decided to give up being a rapper and become a singer instead. “I questioned myself; do I really want to be known as a rapper for the rest of my life? Is that what I really want? I decided, it is not what I want to be. Then I took lessons to learn more about music. Stay passionate. Keep your passions close to you. Stay in love with what you are in love with. Enjoy what you are doing. Do not be reasonable about not living.”

Dedication

Further elaborating on how he kept on practising to be a better singer, DeLon reiterated the fact that dedication is what matters most.

“It is all about how much you want to persist and be consistent at, something I learnt being an athlete. In college, I was a long jumper. At first I could only jump 16 feet but with practice I was able to jump 25 feet. You have to keep practising and be dedicated and love it. That is a valuable lesson that I learnt,” said DeLon.

Commenting on what he thinks of why people do music, he said, some people make music to earn money and some do it to become famous. However, DeLon does not believe in any of that. “I do not operate that way. I operate with passion and love. I love music to the core.”

He takes great pride in saying he is from Sri Lanka. Living in the U.S DeLon said, the two countries are two different worlds to him. He enjoys both and said that it balances his life well.

Brain

“I studied Real Estates and Finance. So I have a background to understand how money works. I invest the money I make from my music in Real Estate. They are mathematically boxy trades, therefore, definite. Music is indefinite. That balances my brain so that I can stay sane,” he added. If you are a fan of DeLon, you would have probably noticed the fact that his music is more of a fusion type. He said, that is mainly because of his melodies and believes that a fusion is always good, something new and interesting. “I myself is a fusion. I am neither 100 percent Sri Lankan nor 100 percent American. I am not a 100 percent singer or 100 percent a rapper. I am 100 percent of both. I love both. Hence, I incorporate them into my music.”

He came to Sri Lanka to do a music video but had ended up recording five more songs. DeLon expressed that his decision to do a few songs in Sinhalese is purely to express his love for his fans.

“I am doing it out of respect and pride and not for money. I have not made a dime in this country. In fact, it was never about money. I do make money as a musician in the U.S. This country is where my pride, my passion is, who I am and where I am from. So I will give anything to this country, in that sense. The U.S is where my skill is set and money comes from,” he explained.

Audience

His latest music video, Aadare, released a few days ago has already become popular among the local audience. Revealing his intentions as to why he did the song he said, it is time the country hears what he is doing. “So I started off by making what you call a “crossover track”. It’s a fusion but a delicate one. The song, “Aadare” has some Sinhalese in it but not completely a Sinhalese song. With this song I am crossing it over to the next space that I want to live in, which is more of Sri Lankan mass market. The response to the song is overwhelming.”

His Sinhala song, Saraagi as written by Shehan Galahitiyawa which will be released soon is an exception, said DeLon,“I just make music. I do not think who it is for. This is the first time I am making a song specifically for the people in my country. All I wanted to do was to make a great Sinhala song.”

Here is something you did not know about DeLon. He has written a movie script which will probably be filmed next year and already completed writing a T.V show. “Currently, I am writing another one. I have written two books as well. I write a lot. Music is not my only avenue.”

When asked about his ultimate goal in life, the answer he gave makes him distinct from other singers. “I want to be able to be instrumental in building infrastructure in third world countries, using my money. It had been my goal throughout. It changes everything. I want to build thousands of acres of infrastructure in Sri Lanka, India, and Africa, places that matter to me.”

DeLon also thanks his fans for the immense love they have been giving him over the years. He hopes all of them will keep supporting him in the future too. 

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