Healing notes

When talking to Lasith Fernando one is immediately impressed by his sincerity. His honesty and simplicity is evident when you meet him for the first time. Melodies features singer Lasith Fernando who has worked very hard to get to where he is today. There is nothing pretentious about Fernando. He is a man who is happiest making music. And he does it because of that healing you get through music. He does it because of that transcendence it provides. When the opportunity came to him, he did not hesitate. He embraced it. “You know, I got into music completely by chance. The honest story is that I bought my first guitar when I was around 15 or16 basically to look cool. And at the time some of my friends in school were starting a band and they asked me if I could play guitar, which I couldn’t at all at that point. But I lied and said that I could, and gave myself a crash course over a couple of weeks and started playing with them. And I haven’t looked back since,” said Fernando. Fernando is on a journey that has been full of discoveries. He admits that he has still so much to learn and achieve. His humility and talent is the perfect foundation for his success. He is a well- grounded young man. Too often we hear stories where child stars have achieved success before they are ready leading to terrible loss.

“To be honest, I’m a bit reluctant to call myself a successful musician, because I still have so much that I want to achieve. Maybe a musician en route to success would be a more appropriate term. Anyway, I think the one thing that’s always worked to my advantage is the fact that I’ve never been afraid of hard work. I remember once reading something that one of my favorite footballers Carles Puyol said. He said that there were many footballers who were way more talented than him, but there wasn’t anyone else that worked harder than him. And I’ve always tried to follow that line of thought,” explained Fernando.

Listening to music in the comfort of your home can give you a level of freedom that is amazing. Your heart and mind just soar.

“What I love most about music is how it can heal people in so many ways. There are still days when I’m blown away by how I can lock myself up in my room and listen to music for hours and feel such a sense of healing. And that’s what makes me passionate about making music. The thought that maybe someone will listen to my music and feel a sense of healing,” pointed out Fernando.

Fernando has grieved over the death of his grandfather who meant so much to him. Music gave him a path to come to terms with his loss.

“One of the first songs I ever wrote was my song “Mathaka Mal” and I wrote it a few days after my grandfather passed away. My grandfather was the person who pretty much raised me since I was a year old, and losing him shook me so hard. And I really didn’t know how to handle it. So I just sat down and started putting my feelings into words, and it felt so cathartic. So I guess that process of synthesizing feelings into words and music is what inspires me,” added Fernando.

Fernando has been inspired by some of the best bands in the country.

“Off the top of my head one of the local artistes that I love and look up to greatly is a band called The Soul. They write the kind of music that make my heart go ‘ooompf’ and that inspires me a lot. Another artiste that I absolutely have to mention is the local metal band Stigmata. Back when I heard their first album Hollow Dreams it really made me go “wow”, Sri Lankans make our own music like this? So they were a huge inspiration too,” said Fernando.

Fernando emphasized that you need to be unique. Because you are a unique person. There is no point in trying to be a copy of someone else. You need to find yourself. Discover yourself and be original.

“This is something that took me a long time to realize, and a feeling that even I’m still learning to internalize, and that’s the fact that there literally is no other musician exactly like yourself. So just focus on finding that true voice of yours as a musician. And keep at it. It’s dogged idiocy that’s gotten me this far and it’s what will get you any distance in this business. At the moment I have two singles released and I plan to release my first EP around September this year,” said Fernando.

As mentioned before in the article Fernando grabs every opportunity he has. He is not afraid. He is extremely skilled and bold. And because of this success has arrived at his doorstep. He is not afraid of failure as learning from experience brings you success.

“Once I sang in front of a crowd. What happened was, the band I was playing in with my school buddies had some school event to perform at, and our singer couldn’t make it at the last minute for some reason. So I stepped up and said screw it I’ll do it. To be honest I think I sucked, but that’s the first time I felt that feeling of living the words of a song and having the crowd connect to it. I’ll never forget that,” explained Fernando.

For Fernando his audience matters. There needs to be the connection between the audience and the music. The audience and the musician need to be the same level. It is disappointing when the audience is distracted by something else. The audience needs to respect the singer and respect the energy and hard work he or she is putting into the song.

“Well I haven’t done any tours, per say, but this year I’ve had the chance to perform at a lot of venues down south in Matara, Hiriketiya and Weligama. And I got to say, the audiences from Colombo have a thing or two to learn from crowds down there. It could be the fact that I play mostly to people on vacation down there, but the crowds there just pay more attention and appreciate what the musicians play. There’s such a difference in playing to crowds who are actually listening to you as opposed to audiences who are sipping their drinks and talking away and not really paying attention to what’s going on with the musician,” shared Fernando. He points out that he is really excited about the industry in Sri Lanka saying that there are so many new artistes these days making their own music and finding their own sound. Fernando stated that it’s a pivotal point in the industry. Especially in the English music scene.

Two people are his inspiration – his father and grandfather. They are great examples of hard work, determination, dedication and commitment and he has learnt from them.

“Two people, my grandfather and my father. They are two people who I’ve seen work harder than anyone else to provide for their families. For example my grandfather once worked a job from 8-5 in the day and did a second job way past midnight just to put food on the table for my father and his siblings. And there are so many times that I’ve seen my father come home exhausted after working multiple shifts just so that he wouldn’t have to say no to whatever we needed or wanted. Those two men have inspired me the most,” said Fernando.