Illuminate living up to its name | Sunday Observer

Illuminate living up to its name

12 May, 2019

Entertaining others is not easy as it is thought to be. Being in the audience of a top band can be great entertainment. On the other hand ‘Music’ doesn’t grow old and gives the perfect vibrations to enhance the quality of our lives. As the music industry gets packed with young spirits aspiring to become artistes who rock the world, a bunch of young undergraduates with such ambitions have taken to giving of their best to music.

A list of names popped up as suggestions for their band’s title. One of their friend’s first suggestion has been ‘Illuminate’ and that name seemed to symbolise their purpose which was to ‘light up’ the stage, giving life to music in distinct ways. So it was a grand choice, Illuminate is a boy-band compromising six members who have been together since they were schooling. Well, from then, the leisure hours we spent together were mostly about music” said leader Ashane Edirisuriya, who also plays lead guitar and handles vocals too. Being so new and young, ‘Illuminate’ is very passionate about performing live and they have performed at 12 concerts so far including ‘Transcendence’. “Within such a small period, we could emerge as a band. And for that, there are many who support us” said Ashane recalling the days when they stepped into the field with the support of their families, and some bands and artistes such as Daddy, Doctor, Mario Ananda and Dinesh Subasingha.

Illuminate’s path changed after winning at Tantalize 2012. “Winning Tantalize led to many opportunities. Eight bands competed with us and our victory paved the way for many more concerts thereafter. ‘Daddy’ and ‘Doctor’ have shared the same stage with us and we got to perform two entrances in two of their concerts. “The Box Office advertising company offered this opportunity for us” said Ashane gratefully.

Music can lighten your mood with its diverse shades. Music is infinite, so we cannot say we know everything about music and it’s always an experiment and a constant study. Any type of original music enthralls Illuminate all the time, because recreating music is the most exciting part. Ashane is looking forward to releasing a single of their own, with lyrics, melody and music all by them. Illuminate has not yet been featured in TV programs but Ashane showcases his talents in ‘Tone Poem’ on Rupavahini. “I’m the finger style rhythm guitarist for Dinesh Subasingha’s orchestra in ‘Tone Poem’ but as a band we have not yet been invited to programs.

“Our team is so enthusiastic and they are always trying their best to not give the audience what they have been listening to all the time. And we use a lot of technology when performing so that the audience takes some time to identify the particular song we’re playing”. When asked about the specialties of some of the band members, Ashane was delighted to mention the talents his friends contribute. “Our basist Pasindu Waragoda has got super vocal training, he went to Nadeeka Guruge. Even the lyrics for our original would be by him. One of our vocalists, Rehan Bogahawatte has won the 3rd place in a competition. He joined us later. With him we practised for three weeks and went for Tantalize, and yeah that was a big smash! Just us three. The rest of the band members are Pasindu Weragoda, the two drummers; Kavishka Karunanayake and Tharish Perera and the two keyboardists Hareendra Basnayake and Janadhi Vidanagama.

Ask wether they will introduce a female vocalist into the band Ashane said “There will be some changes in the band, some replacements. But the output would be the same: bringing out the existing songs in newer styles. If we feel we need a female vocalist, we’ll invite someone as a guest artiste, but since this is an all boy band, we have not planned for a female member.

Most of the younger generation is now mesmerised by the universal ‘chemistry’ of Music, knowing the invisible good vibes it creates within us. Being such one band in Sri Lanka, ‘Illuminate’ aspires to be called ‘phenomenal’ in many ways. So let’s wish them good luck in all their Musical Efforts!

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