Salvaging the Sri Lankan music industry

By Rashika Fazali

From Pete Townsend’s guitar smashes to Mick Jagger’s long ‘rock-look’ hair to Alter Bridge’s sound and more often than not, weird personalities, this was what most people saw rock as – aggressive, yet strongly different but there certainly is more to that than what meets the eye.

Recently, I met up with Cc and Davis from Salvage to find out if they were ‘typical rockers,’ amongst other things. I wanted to see for myself if they were the kind of rockers we saw in the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s.

For these four guys – Cc, the lead vocalist of Salvage, Davis, the drummer, Justice, the bassist and Sanjana, the guitarist, music means the world to them. ‘Salvage,’ which means rescuing something from a wreck, is what they wanted to do when it came to the Sri Lankan music industry.

Cc, the founding member of the group and the only member from the original setup, said that Salvage is all about having fun, but at the same time staying focused on making their dreams a reality. “We want to have enough material for an album so that we can approach an international sponsor to record it,” said Cc. “Touring the world, singing our originals – it’s every musician’s dream, but it’s all depends on how hard you are going to work for it.”

Their most recent performance was at Showdown, an event organised by Sri Lanka Unites held at Park Street Mews. Prior to that, they performed at Bizarre Bazaar, Colombo Music Festival, Alternative Sunday Round 6 and at The Melomanic Sessions. Cc added that the band makes it a point to practice twice a week, even with their day jobs.

Currently they are working on producing as many singles as possible, having already produced four singles and in the upcoming months, they hope to record acoustic versions of them. Davis, the youngest of the group, stated: “Recently we’ve played a lot of acoustic gigs instead of the heavier stuff. There has certainly been a drop in the heavier gigs organised this year compared to the last.”

Has this added to the need to record acoustic versions? Maybe. Cc admitted that people love acoustic versions and these versions are more accessible to people.  It does not mean that they won’t be producing the heavier stuff.

“Metal really pushes people to their limits. In the rock genre, we’ve covered everything,” stated Cc. Their inspiration comes from Alter Bridge, Metallica, Megadeth and Porcupine Tree to name a few.

However, Cc being the lyricist in the band revealed where most of his inspiration for writing comes from: “A lot of my material comes when I am driving. I guess it’s because it’s the only time I get to be by myself and really concentrate on matters.” Speaking further on his writing, he said: “What sparks my writing is some emotion. Basically I channel that emotion to my writing.”  

Their second single, ‘The Storm,’ received plenty of feedback and it’s currently on iTunes. “It certainly got the best response because it’s an alternative track – the kind of track which a lot of people can connect to,” stated Davis. The song is about a friend who pulls another out of a problem.

That was their sound last year. This year however, it is a bit different. The current single they are working on is a “really pumped up, punchy, Audioslave-ish kind of a track,” described Cc. Another song titled ‘Wings that make me soar’ shows the acoustic, the more sentimental side of Salvage.

Speaking about their fans, Davis had something great to say: “We love the feedback we get from the people who really follow us. It shows that they are seriously into our music.” Yet dealing with fans is one thing – manageable, but dealing with letting people go is, well, certainly another – hard, as a matter of fact.

“As the band leader, I realised that the best things come once you let go. Six people have left the band, but now we’ve finally settled down with people who are on the same page,” explained Cc. He also added: “When it comes to a band, people matter more than the music. From the last six years, this year we’ve made the best music.” In the end, it all boils down to similar people with similar ideas having unique talents.

Music in Sri Lanka however is not their dream. “There is little scope for musicians in Sri Lanka. If an artist wants to get anywhere, he has to look at the international market,” stated Cc sadly. Our music is not on the either side of the spectrum, but somewhere in the middle. We fit in perfectly when it comes to the Sri Lankan music scene,” asserted Cc.