Asel Karannagoda, a 22-year-old undergraduate, is making waves in the local music industry. Despite studying logistics management at a Malaysian university, his heart lies with music. He is extremely passionate about his music and he produces music of his taste as a hobby. 

Aside from music, he is also a sportsman and takes part in water polo, rowing, and swimming. 

Brunch caught up with Karannagoda to find out more about his latest single Satana Wedanawa, and his journey into music. 

What inspired you to get into music? 

I grew up in a musical environment as my father was a musician. He was a guitarist in a band back in the 80s. While this was a huge inspiration, looking at other musicians in the industry since I was around eight years old has also made me want to do what I’m doing now. I’ve been learning new guitar skills and to play other instruments by myself through videos on the internet ever since I was young. 

Being in the music circle at my school, Ananda College, has helped me gain a lot of confidence when it comes to live performances, as I got the opportunity to perform before an audience of 2,000 to 3,000 people. I suppose, perfoming live and seeing the reactions of the audience is a feeling that kept me inspired as well. 

How did Satana Wedanawa come to be? 

Depression amongst young people has been something that I think about a lot and it was something I felt needed to be communicated with everyone. My friend Devin, being a lyricist, and I, as the music composer, were able to work together to find a way to communicate this to the youth by creating this song. 

What was the process behind creating the song? 

First, I recorded this melody that was stuck inside my head for some time. Then I sent it to Devin and asked him to write a song with this idea that we had, and surprisingly, he was done within a day. After moving on to composing, I was able to finish up a decent demo of the song. Listening to the demo made me think that there is so much more we can do with this song. That is when Chanuka Moragoda came in. I sent him the demo and asked for his ideas as well. Thereafter, we were able to work on the song together and get the best outcome we could get. 

The beat, which consists of a bass and a clap, was kept throughout the song. And when the Sri Lankan traditional drums were included, they mixed so well that the first listeners couldn’t even identify if this was a western or eastern song. It is actually a mix of both. The strings give a more cinematic vibe while the brass brought in the aggressiveness into the music. And we added guitars throughout the song as well to add a touch of rock.

Was the music video filmed during the pandemic? Did you face any challenges? 

Yes, it was shot two weeks after the recent lockdown. 

There will always be challenges when it comes to projects like this, but we had some unusual challenges due to the pandemic. It took us over two months to get permission to shoot this video. Likewise, there were other things that had to be looked into during this time, like the production crew being limited to less than 10 people when the whole cast had eight in it itself. Furthermore, using guns in the video also became a problem even though they are fake. More challenges were faced even at the last minute, but thankfully, we faced them well and nothing went wrong during the shoot and I am happy about that. 

A special thanks goes to my friend Chandula Perera, who is the cinematographer, editor, and also the colourist of the video production. After shooting, we told ourselves “we don’t have to rush” and took a good two weeks to edit the video. This helped us identify mistakes every single day and we were able to polish it even more. 

What is the message behind the song? 

We all go through tough times in our lives, and it is nothing to be ashamed of. This song is about depression/stress/overthinking and anything you could possibly think of that brings negative energy to your life. And it’s not only about that, the main message given is about overcoming the pain. That this pain has to be fought mainly by yourself, and that talking to someone about this would help you push yourself to overcome it. 

This has become a common issue these days that no one likes to talk about, especially at difficult times like this where the whole world is fighting a pandemic. The lyrics even show the behaviour of someone who is struggling to fight this pain. But it says that you should never give up. 

On a side note, this song is not limited to our interpretation. It's my personal opinion that a song should be interpreted by the listener in any way that they like. If the song resonates with you, that’s all that matters. Satana Wedanawa can be taken in many ways, as the listeners may have different ideas about the meaning behind the song. Sportsmen striving to reach their goals, students studying for exams, etc., are some examples. 

What was it like working alongside another artist? 

Art and creativity is unlimited when it comes to creating melodies, tunes, and music, even if it’s done by one person. Now imagine three people. Having Devin Waduge on board is a huge strength, as he is experienced and has the talent of writing in such a way that you could connect with the song. Collaborating with Chanuka Moragoda was a whole new experience for me, and getting his input for this song made it better than ever.

I look forward to working with more young, talented individuals who have a passion for music and love creating new content for our community. 

Do you have plans for 2021? 

Yes! 

It is hard to realise that we are already in the third quarter of this year. Time does really fly. 

 

I have some more music in my archive which will be ready by September/October. I am also a little slow when it comes to finishing up projects, as I’m focusing on my studies as well. But if everything goes according to my plan, two more singles will be released in 2021. I am overwhelmed by the responses I have received so far and I hope more and more people will continue to enjoy the music I create.