DeeZone has been one of the leading and exciting bands in the music scene in Colombo for almost eight years now, boasting a lineup of talented and popular musicians. Melodies met up with DeeZone band leader Damian Wikkramatillake and the guys to discover what the band has to offer in terms of entertainment.
Band Leader and Founder of DeeZone, Damian Wikkramatillake, calls music his life, and so far has had an incredible career. He has been a part of some great bands that have been a part of the music culture in Sri Lanka. It has been one great ride to fame and he is not ready to give up!
Every single member of DeeZone has immense respect for him because of the fact that he has associated with great Sri Lankan musicians in his career and has loads of experience in music entertainment.
“Music has been my passion from an early age, I ended up playing for a number of very cool bands. I have many years’ experience performing with many different bands in Europe. Purple Rain was my main band.
Then I did a stint with Wildfire and Misty. Having been a part of these super bands it came to a point where I had to start my own band before I gave up,” said Damian.
A brilliantly talented musician he has associated with the crème of the music industry in Sri Lanka.
“Music is my life and I am an ear trained self- taught musician and it’s awesome to perform and create and share music with fellow musicians. Being able to entertain and make people happy is a bonus. It was an unplanned situation that made me pursue a career in music. My childhood dream was to become a pilot. The goal right now is to have a great band and record an album at some point.
We do cover versions of many different artistes and different styles like Pop, Soft Rock, Rock n Roll, Jazz, Funk and music which ranges from the 60’s to 2018, and also the Sinhala classics and the traditional Bailas too said Damian.
Georgy Julian De Silva (Keyboards), has come to where he is because of his hard work and dedication. He was spotted by Damian and they started DeeZone in 2010. Since then he has been a regular feature in the band. Julian is an extremely competent music sound engineer and producer. He has produced a number of 1# hit singles in Sinhala and English.
“I do what I do because of my love for music. Even at school I studied and performed music with my friends and formed some bands. I had a liking for many musical instruments from a young age. Damian guided me through the years. We are successful I think because of the quality of our sound and Damian’s repertoire. He is a well- rounded and experienced musician and he has taught us and is guiding us. We are extremely adaptable,” said De Silva.
Natural talent
De Silva pointed out that their strength is their camaraderie. This combined with their natural talent has opened up a lot of opportunities for them.
“We treat each other as equals and that respect is there and our unity is the key to our success. We cover Ed Sheeran, Cold Play, Justin Timberlake and Pitbull. With our repertoire the audience always has something to enjoy, and that is every single member of our audience. I believe we have the versatility because we even cover the oldies like Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra, 70’s, Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, and there’s so much more!
And I think to succeed in the music scene, you need to practice hard and listen to the right music,” said De Silva.
Guitarist Andrew Obeyesekere is no stranger to the music scene in Colombo having been a prominent and founding member of the rock/heavy metal group Stigmata. He simply says music is something you are born to do. In his words a turtle that hatches instinctively turns to the sea. It is something like that with music.
“I joined the band last year and the band is about seven years old. The band has performed at many prominent gigs and has had many overseas tours. We do dances and weddings other than playing at night clubs in Colombo. I already did a U.S. tour with DeeZone last year. When I left Stigmata after 17 years, Damian asked me whether I would like to be part of DeeZone. So I simply took up the challenge although this is totally a new thing for me. I am learning new stuff and new styles every day! So I am just enjoying it! We are focused on modern pop, rock and jazz songs. I was excited to do something outside my comfort zone which was why I joined DeeZone,” said Obeyesekere.
Obeyesekere said their strength is teamwork which is the key ingredient to success.
“With Damian it is a totally new ball game that I am learning with this band. As a unit we are very focused. The line- up is new but we are a good team. We are one of the bands growing in demand in the music scene today” pointed out Obeyesekere.
Obeyesekere said one mistake he made over the years was restricting himself to one genre of music. Now he has a more open mind with all that he has learnt during the past year.
Shivanka Abeyrathne (Bass) credits their success to the chemistry between all the band members.
“It has been seven months since I joined the band. I have played in other bands. I have been in the field now for almost five years. I used to work in a company which subsequently closed down, but even then I was doing music. I applied for other jobs but never really found one, and it was then that I decided to commit myself to music full time. There is a great team spirit within DeeZone and that is one reason we are so successful. We practice a lot till we get a perfect version of the song. We are all determined to do our best and try to put out a really classy performance. Damian is an inspiration as he is very experienced. He has really great ideas.
Unique insight
My expectations are to continue with this band and progress. We have a wide repertoire that covers a variety of songs,” said Abeyrathne.
He also commented that one thing he values about being in this band is the freedom he gets out of it. He enjoys this to the maximum.
Drummer Dharshana Jayamanne, said his experience in the Navy gave him a unique insight into the fundamentals of music.
“I have been in the Sri Lankan Navy Band where I learnt the basics about music. I listened to a lot of music so that too has helped me. My passion for music can be traced to my school days. We like to also give our own take or interpretation of the music.
My advice to anyone who wants to enter the music industry is to learn about music. Take your time to get familiar with music. Take time to really connect with music. I have a good thing going on with the band so I want to continue with the band,” said Jayamanne.
All band members agreed that there has to be a closer relationship in the musical fraternity in the country, and that there has to be unity amongst musicians not only within their bands but amongst each of the bands as well.
DeeZone performs on Wednesdays at Long Bar Water’s Edge, Fridays at Curve and Saturdays at Magarita Blue (Hotel Galadari).
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