• Partners with SLT-Mobitel to launch ‘Tharunai Thama’

Marians, which is among the top bands in Sri Lanka’s music industry, is this year completing 35 years of giving fans new tunes and melodies, and is making this celebration even more unique by tying it with the launch of Sri Lanka’s first 3D music video. Tharunai Thama, powered by SLT-Mobitel, is celebrating Marians’ 35th anniversary while also redefining the music industry.

The song was released on 1 June at PVR Cinema at One Galle Face Mall, and also marked the launch of mStudio, an online music platform that aims to empower Sri Lankan artists, as well as Sri Lanka’s first 3D commercial.

Still young, 35 years later

Three-and-a-half decades is a long journey for a music group in an industry that is volatile and easily impacted, especially by recent challenges like the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic crisis. Despite this, Marians has stood strong, and is showing they have no intention to slow down by releasing a music video that embraces technology.

Speaking at the launch of Tharunai Thama, Marians Founder Nalin Perera shared: “In our 35-year journey, we have had ups and downs and laughter and tears, and made good and bad decisions. Today, as a band, we live in many hearts across the globe. I am thus proud to say that myself and our band is ‘tharunayi thama’ (still young).”

He went on to say that the band intends to celebrate their 35th anniversary in July. “We had an idea to produce a song for this occasion, and thought of handing this task over to someone who can write the lyrics and create the song. However, my wife turned this idea the other way around, telling me that this was something I could do. This became a huge responsibility in my life and I worked on this for months,” Perera shared.

He added that, after talks with SLT-Mobitel, they wanted to launch the song in January, but that there were delays. However, these obstacles were overcome, and Marians was proud and delighted to present Tharunai Thama to its fans.

Embracing technology

As Marians launched a cutting-edge production, SLT-Mobitel also showed just how open they are to technology. SLT-Mobitel Group Chairman Rohan Fernando shared: “We are 160 years young. We are still evolving, the reason being, we are no longer just a telecom company. We are evolving to a tech company. Evolvement and research and development (R and D) are the most important going forward and staying alive.”

He explained that in everything the company does, they look forward and embrace technology, giving customers the best they can think of. This was a contributing factor to their partnership with Marians.

The SLT-Mobitel Chairman commended Nalin Perera’s efforts in bringing the music industry forward, and hinted that there was more to come because SLT was not a company to hesitate to embrace new technologies.

This is something they are proving with Sri Lanka’s first 3D commercial and first 3D music video, and said in a statement that the video depicts the excellence of technology prowess coupled with state-of-the-art VFX music and rendering. The project took three months to complete, and introduced Sri Lanka to a whole new dimension of visual storytelling.

A platform for aspiring musicians

Going beyond the 3D music videos and commercials, SLT-Mobitel also launched mStudio, which aims to bring to life the dreams of aspiring musicians in the country, giving them a platform to showcase their talents, connect with each other, and perform quality acoustic renditions. SLT-Mobitel believes mStudio will “revolutionise the local music industry through the power of technology, providing an original online platform for aspiring Sri Lankans to elevate their musical talents and lead the domestic musical industry to the next phase of advancement”.

SLT-Mobitel General Manager of Marketing Charaka Perera shared that the launch marked a celebration of music, technology and limitless possibilities, and said he sees it as an intersection where the creators of music are meeting the business of music.

“If you look at these two ends, the creator and the business, the connectivity is all to do with the value chain in music. In this value chain, SLT-Mobitel, being the national telecommunication and technological provider, saw a void that had to be filled.”



It is with this objective that they considered the possibility of using the latest technologies to power music, which led to the launch of mStudio. The platform has four verticals, he said, explaining that these are mStudio Online, mStudio Live, mStudio Unplugged, and mStudio talent.

The making of ‘Tharunai Thama’

Executive producer: Nalin Perera

Powered by SLT-Mobitel

Artist: Marians ft. Kaizer Kaiz

Visual director: Saminda Wathawanavithavage

Cast: Marians, Amanda Silva, and Cool Steps Dance Studio

Lyrics and melody: Nalin Perera

Rap lyrics: Kaizer Kaiz

Music arrangement: Dushan Jayathilake

Lead guitar: Prasanna Rosa

Rhythm guitar: Ruwan Fernando

Bass guitar: Chaminda Silva

Keyboards: Dileepa Managala

Vocals: Shivantha Fernando

Drums: Subash Punyasoma

Percussion: Jayantha Kandabadage

Audio recording studio: Dush Recording Studio