Charismatic Kei and her ukulele

It’s so easy to find Kei Watanabe at a gig for two reasons. She is half Japanese and half Sri Lankan and she plays a very unique instrument, the ukulele. The first time I saw her was at Alternative Sunday, where she played her little instrument and sang a folk song. It was entirely a new experience to watch someone perform a genre that is not fully embraced in Sri Lanka. In an email interview, this 21-year-old bubbly youngster gave insights on her choice of music and her future plans. Following are the excerpts of the interview:

By Rashika Fazali

Q: It comes as a surprise that you are a folk singer. What made you want to sing this genre?

A: This question comes as a surprise to me too as I don’t consider myself a folk singer – just someone who is lucky enough to get to perform songs I like from time to time with my ukulele. But I guess it’s my mother’s influence. She listens to a lot of country and folk music and it feels like home. But to be honest, I don’t even really understand genres as such, I try not to categorise. I sing whatever I like as long as it’s not too inappropriate for the occasion and maybe some of them end up being in the folk category.

Q: Who are your inspirations?

A: Musically, I am inspired by Regina Spektor, The Beatles, She & Him and Joanna Newsom.

Q: Tell us about gigs you’ve performed at?

A: I perform regularly at Melomanic Sessions and Alternative Sundays. I’m usually accompanied by the ukulele which I’ve been playing for a year-and-a-half or so.  I also got to play with Bathiya ‘n’ Santhush at the beginning of this year, which was pretty unexpected.

Q: What are you currently doing?

A: I just completed my degree in psychology and hope to be working soon.

Q: You are also a model. How did you join this field?

A: A friend had a friend who was experimenting with photography and introduced us. We did a little shoot and it sort of grew from there but I keep it limited.

Q: Do you have any plans for an album?

A: Not yet. I feel there’s a lot I want to explore and learn before I’m ready to lay serious plans for one. Asela Perera and I were talking about doing a little cover album of our favourite songs, so we’ll see how that goes.

Q: Where do you want to go from here?

A: I’m interested in alternate forms of therapy and healings arts so I wish to study these subjects further while getting to play lots of music and exploring life.