• How music can transform an artist’s life 

Music has always been a part of our lives. From classical music to EDM tracks, music has found a way to connect with all of us. For musician Ashwin Ranasinghe, music isn’t just a hobby but a passion that followed him through life. 

He spoke about music, his passions and his journey through his career. 

Following are the excerpts of the interview:

Tell us about yourself 

I was born in 2002 and grew up in Cambridge UK, regularly visiting Sri Lanka. At age 17, I started uploading music alongside studies to be an inventor/scientist, mainly in medical/environmental areas. 

 You can search ‘svono svono’ to find my music on all streaming platforms (e.g. Apple Music and Spotify). On YouTube, it’s ‘ASHWIN KRD SVONO’, which is where I upload the most. On Instagram, I mainly post as ashwin_ rds. 

I mainly use guitar, piano, synthesiser and my strymon bluesky reverb pedal to create fusion soundtrack-style music with strong ambient influence. It is hard to describe, best to listen to, but I will explain the feelings and emotions behind the music in this interview so the reader can listen with some context.

My first uploads were based on compositions from around age 14–16. My first album, beyond new domains: part 1, was independently released at age 18 to an international audience, just before starting my university degree in chemistry with medicinal chemistry in the UK.

I then released many EPs and Singles throughout university. Alongside music I’m also working on projects relating to ethical nanotech for cancer medicine, tropical disease medicine (e.g. dengue), and environmental causes. 

I also do charity work, often using my music to support causes like Save the Children and tropical disease and cancer charities. I chose these areas due to a lot of suffering I witnessed when I was 14–16. I also almost died from a tropical virus at age 14, and I made a promise to help in this area.

These invention ideas in biotech and nanotech have also been influenced by my music and music technology.

How did you first get into music and what inspires you as a musician?

I have been composing and self-teaching since around age 10, but really started developing my own style around age 15–16. My first upload was at age 17 and my first album release at age 18, Beyond New Domains: Part 1. Since then I’ve been releasing a lot of music, and I’m currently working on a triple album which will contain a long and meaningful story. I’ll tell more details about how I started music later.

To answer directly what inspires me:

The biggest inspiration for my music is the music I make in my mind during life and thinking about life. My music is often like a soundtrack to my life, journeys and to dreams. It is very visual and story-driven, or sometimes comes directly from improvisation. There are two main lanes: inspiration from non-music moments of life itself, and inspiration from musical improvisation.

For example, the way sunlight falls through trees in nature inspires certain reverb effects I use. The vastness of the sky and thoughts about how to help the world are reflected in the soundscapes I make with guitar and reverb pedals. Some passages sound like shallow tropical ocean water, or being far from home at night under the stars thinking of your family. 

Simple moments like sitting at the table drinking green tea with your amma, or distant childhood memories and future visions of life. And so many more examples.

Space, alien worlds, dreams, and abstract imagined worlds also inspire the music a lot. I also have long-form story ideas in my mind, and my upcoming triple album will be very narrative-driven.

A lot of music is inspired by dusk, sunsets and open skies. I often meditate with my eyes open watching the sky and letting ideas flow. Sky watching, hikes, long bike rides and long vehicle journeys are the root of many ideas.

A lot of it is also about soundtracking specific journeys in my life, especially the callings I feel, like helping reduce suffering in areas such as tropical disease, cancer, and climate. As well as all the other moments in between.

A lot of inspiration also comes from dreams, abstract imagery, and observing nature and life closely.

Another form of inspiration is through improvisation, and iteratively building on deep improvisation sessions. A lot of the music is made in meditative flow states. I improvise on piano, guitar, or synth, then take sections and build on them.

As for how I started; 

For a long time I’ve been working on music throughout school and during my degree.

I started composing at a young age around 10, mainly inspired by the Hans Zimmer soundtracks I listened to while making stop-motion films with Lego. I taught myself piano to try and recreate the sounds and compositions I heard in my head.

In school I had some lessons, then became mostly self-taught. Around age 14 I taught myself guitar, more piano styles, bass, and synthesisers and synth patch design. I also explored music tech, although I am still learning.

I was in a rock band briefly, then returned to solo work and also took some of the rock influence too.

After a serious tropical illness at age 14, I couldn’t do sports for a while. During that time, music became more important. It was a way to keep my mind focused and transform pain into something constructive. It became a real passion because I saw how I could express things that words cannot always convey. Emotional depth, scale, and entire imagined worlds.

In the early days, music was also like therapy. It helped me process confusion, pain, and feeling lost, and transform that into something meaningful. For example, feeling lost in life could become a story about being lost at sea or on another world.

It also kept me out of trouble. I would rather go home and make music than follow negative paths, and it gave me peace and direction.

It also influenced how I think about invention. Synthesiser schematics, interfaces, and guitar pedals influenced how I think about designing systems in biotechnology and nanotechnology.

At school, if I was dealing with bullying, I would go to the music room and compose. That space became important for me.

Around age 16-17 I developed my style much more. Getting a Korg synthesiser and pairing it with my Strymon Blue Sky reverb pedal changed everything. My sound became more vast, ambient, atmospheric, and focused on journeying.

These tools helped me get into flow states where I would make music for hours. That led into my first uploads at age 17, around early 2020.

When I make music, I think in images. Nature, different worlds, abstract imagery, and stories. Sometimes I imagine visuals directly, sometimes the surroundings influence the music, and sometimes there is just silence and awareness of sound in a deep flow state.

Ambient-style music has been shown to have neurological benefits, but beyond that, I think there is something deeper. Music is made of waves, and in some sense so is reality. That is part of what I try to express.

What messages and themes do you explore in your music

My music explores themes like journeying, hope, nostalgia, memory, peace, dreams, and finding your way. Especially the feeling of being far from home and returning after long journeys.

A lot of my music is about soundtracking moments in life, both real and imagined. There is often a sense of looking forward, searching, or reflecting.

For example, Far Places has the feeling of looking into the open blue sky and thinking about the path ahead and how you can help in the world. A sense of calling, with present ethereal vastness of the sky.

Into Sunsets captures nostalgia, returning home, travelling at sunset after major transformative moments, and the journey home after long transformative journeys of deep personal meaning.

New Domains and Night Velocity have a night-flight, space-journey atmosphere, moving through dream-like environments.

Some tracks are grounded in real places, like Tropical Ocean Horizon, while others are more abstract and dreamlike. A lot of the tracks sit in between. And many tracks just emerged from improvisation.

I have made 1000s of tracks, released a few, and many more are on the way.

Do you have any favourite genres and styles that you enjoy

I enjoy a wide range of genres and draw inspiration from distantly-related styles.

For example, I take polyrhythms and kick drum patterns from alternative metal (e.g. TOOL and Gojira) and apply them to large ambient soundscapes. or take non-western instruments and ideas from around the world and apply them to my music. Other cross-linkings occur.

I especially enjoy ambient soundtracks, post-rock, ambient lofi, lofi rap, electronic ambient, synthwave, jazz fusion, soundtracks and music from around the world such as African folk, Indian classical music, and Sri Lankan traditional music and so much more. I love such a wide range of music.

Some artists who have inspired me in the early days include Hans Zimmer, TOOL, Radiohead, Ryuichi Sakamoto. But overall, I could not even begin to list the amount of musical influences I've had from so many different genres. I listen to so many.

Do you prefer live performances or exposure on streaming platforms

It is a good question. Both have their own merit.

Live performance is powerful because you are present with the audience and present the sound more close to how it was intended: my music has a wide dynamic range and timbral depth, so hearing it on proper speakers can be immersive. It’s also cool for the audience to see in real time the technicality of the playing, e.g. with my guitar or piano. I have a few live performances on my channel if interested.

Regarding streaming, one key positive is that it allows the music to reach a global audience. Listeners of my music are from over 110 countries, which I am very grateful for. It would not have been possible for an 18 year old part time musician to reach such a big audience before streaming.

It also suits how the music is experienced. Long journeys, headphones, and quiet moments are ideal settings for this kind of music.

Yes streaming services have many flaws, but I think for me I see it as a net positive.

What is your opinion on streaming platforms

Mixed feelings.

On the positive side, streaming allows independent artists to reach people all over the world without needing a label. That has been very important for me. Also it makes credits more clear now (after certain updates)

At the same time, I think artists should be supported more fairly, and something is lost compared to physical formats. The silence after an album is important to process what you have heard. As are the artwork booklets etc.

Overall, I am grateful because it allows my music to reach people who genuinely connect with it.

Lastly what are your plans for the future

I want to continue releasing music that soundtracks life and journeys, especially as I gain more life experience.

I am working on a triple album that has been nearly 11 years in the making. I am looking forward to sharing it.

I would also like to continue doing charity concerts, particularly for causes like tropical disease, cancer, environmental issues, and inequality. I will keep working on my inventions and books.

I just want to keep helping in big and small ways, and inspire hope