Sri Lanka has a robust music scene with artists and bands harnessing different genres as their tools of communication and entrancing the audience with their unique vocal ranges and musical styles.
Sarani Perera doing his thing^
The Soul is yet another addition to this kaleidoscope of musicians and bands. They're essentially a group of wizards with musical instruments as their wands, and they spend most of their time putting their audience in a headlock full of soul soothing spiritual awakenings, and other fun stuff. Doesn't sound like a feasible description, but who's to say it's not 100% true?
We got to experience all this first hand at their last gig at Musicmatters where the entire crowd went ballistic, and essentially fused to be part of the band. Lots of dancing, moshing, out of body experiences and emotional awakenings ensued.
The Soul
The band comprises of lead singer Dave Roberts: an ingenious master of vocal technique who uses his silky smooth baritone to enamour his audience, putting us in a trance of sorts.
Sarani and Uvindu Perera man the guitar and the bass respectively. If you observe carefully you'll notice that they stroke and strum their instruments as if caressing a living, breathing entity.
*From far left: Khazim Miskhin (Guitar), Uvindu Perera (Bass), Divanka Sewmin (Drums) and Sarani Perera (Guitar).
Divanka Sewmin handles the drums, his passion apparent as he swings and jives, belting out fast and slow tunes with great gusto. All smiles, his talent shows clearly through his singing drums.
Finally there's Khazim Miskin, also on guitar. Positive wizard ID confirmed. You'll have to see him to believe it. This guy plays the guitar like nobody's business, extracting sounds and notes well outside the range of the average virtuoso. I can't explain man. I tried, but I can't.
Get Groovy
Here's a link to their Soundcloud. My favourites are No Doctor Witch Doctor, Alive, Butterflies in Flight and on it goes.
They regularly update their socials with event notifications and whatnot so stay on the lookout! Plus their Instagram page is a combination of hilarious captions, photos and a personal connection with every one of their fans.
Listen? Listen.
So next time you're wondering what to do, put on a song by The Soul and enjoy your beheth, or head to one of their events. You'll spot me somewhere in the crowd absolutely spaced out over the magic and music. See you there!
