The Sherifs: the new notes of music

By Cheranka Mendis

The Sherifs are the new wave of Euromerican influenced Asian singers, songwriters and producers. Made up of Azlan Sheriff and Dirk James, they are the only Sri Lankan born producers/artists to have produced an album scheduled for release under major labels Sony Music International and Universal Music UK in January 2012.

They have been involved behind the scenes, in the local music industry for over a decade, producing singles that propelled the careers of Sri Lankan artistes such as Natasha Rathnayake and Dawn Jay who have received global airplay and recognition. The duo, share the same love for synthersisers and a passion to move people emotionally and physically with their insane abilities on the keys.  

The duo spoke to Weekend FT on their involvement in the industry, future plans and their new tie up.

Q: How did you get involved in the music industry; was it a passion from childhood?

Both: Yes, it was very much a passion from childhood. It is something we have always wanted to do. Anyone that gets to the point of taking music professionally like we have had to have a passion for it from a young age. Especially when you are coming from a not-so-passionately, arts-driven national culture, meaning there are so many obstacles for new artists to come up, such as the lack of industry infrastructure and general community support toward those trying to create a difference and convey a message through musical articulation; passion has to be there to move forward and avoid obstacles.

Q: How did the two of you get involved in the project The Sherifs?

Dirk: Azlan was working on a remix/revamp project of Alston Koch’s 80’s hits which at the time was just an experimental project. But then the demos were accepted by major labels overseas (Australia and UK). Once the project had taken a much larger scope, he got me involved after having heard my music and thought that we had good musical synergy.

Q: You say you were behind certain singles for artists such as Natasha Rathnayake and Dawn Jay – how did that come by?

Azlan: I have written and produced all the material Natasha Rathnayake has currently released, except for her initial Jazz work. Those tracks were well received by global radio programmers Radio Express, which earned us a lot of airplay in many countries. This in turn is what sparked many of the international projects The Sherifs are working on today. Dawn Jay is another artist I have produced and in fact, two of his most successful video singles – ‘Liar’ and ‘Time’ released under independent Singaporean record label 1or8 faction.

Q:  You are said to be writing and producing intricate music scores for several films, which include Hollywood and Bollywood stars currently in production?

Both: We are currently writing and producing the scores for two big budget Sri Lankan movies that are in pre and post production. Due to confidentiality issues we are unable to give names of the movies, however there are Hollywood stars who have worked with the likes of Leonardo Di Caprio and Jake Gyllenhaall involved.

Q: A bit on the collaboration with Alston Koch - how did that happen?

Azlan: Alston had heard my productions over international radio and online, and contacted Natasha, in order to get my details, in order to start an experimental project which today has become a life changing one for all of us involved. We have co written all of the songs on the album, as well as produced every track except some of the Euro mixes that have been done by some top UK DJs and producers.

Dirk: Once I heard about the magnitude of the project in terms of the top music executives in Australia and UK involved and the genre of the album, it was quite surreal and I am quite excited at the prospect of what is to come.

Q: The Sherifs are behind the single ‘Pack it Up’ with 18 year old Canadian-Sri Lankan singer Natalya. How did you two get involved in this?

Both: We are always scouting talent both locally and overseas. We met Natalya who was singing at a jazz event in Sri Lanka roughly ten days before she was due to migrate to Canada. Blown away by her stage presence and voice at such a young age, we got her in the studio the next day, wrote a song in about an hour, produced the track and shot the video featuring ourselves prior to her departure. The single and video will be released this month to Radio, TV and online. It was an extremely rushed project but we are very happy with the way it turned out. Special thanks to Chanaka Perera and Studio 101 who made the video a possibility in the short space of time.

Q: A deal with Sony Music International and Universal Music UK, that’s pretty big. How do you’ll feel about this?

Both: Yeah it’s huge. We believe we are the first since Alston himself to have our names in the archives of Sony International from Sri Lanka. At the same time it’s a double edged sword because this means you are playing with the ‘big boys.’  This made us realise that there is a lot of work to do on our own to prove our worth, and that is where good management comes in. And all of this costs a lot of money, so we don’t expect to be driving in a Lambo anytime soon!

Q: So what’s the next step?

Azlan: Our own material is currently in post production and they will be released in January 2012. As part of our profile building for international expansion through major record labels, we currently work as producers and writers. We also like to collaborate, and have music coming up with a South African female artist “Rae” and a few other overseas acts.

Q: You’ll are song writers too. What inspires you to pen down your lyrics?

Both: It is a very abstract process, where sometimes it’s just a simple chord progression that can set the melody or the tone for the message that we want to deliver. At other times it can be a person or an event that triggers the musical direction and creative process.

Q: What kind of music do you listen to usually?

Both: We are very open to all genres unlike most people. All the way from classical to dub step, we draw influences from every genre. Our work is marked by certain elements that we love about those genres; yet at the same time our creations are a sound which is unique to our own personas.

Q: Making music is almost like a dream to most of school going kids – was this always a part of your dreams?

Both: For sure. However unlike most school going kids, we actually had to sacrifice a lot of time that we could’ve spent doing fun kids stuff in order to acquire the minimum skills required to compete at a higher level. Which is why it is sometimes frustrating when you see almost anyone with a computer and synthesiser calling themselves a producer which in a sense also dilutes the integrity of this career

Q:  What have you got to say to aspiring musicians/artists?

Both: you got to keep believing, keep trying and keep working hard because anything is possible as long as you are willing to make the right sacrifices and choices as well as overcome infinite obstacles thrown at you by this really competitive industry.

Q: What are your thoughts on the local music industry?

Dirk: There definitely is a wealth of talent in the local music industry. But one of the main issues it faces is that the avenues of showcasing this talent are limited. This in turn, de-motivates upcoming young musicians at the initial stages of their careers. Touching on another negative would be that age old stigma in our culture where parents have tendencies to frown upon their kids if and when they express the idea of getting into the industry. Having said that, I guess if we could address these factors, our local music industry could definitely grow from strength to strength and reach great heights as it has all the talent and potential to do so.

Azlan: There is an explosion of new material, but as much as increasing numbers is good, we certainly find stagnating talent pools and poor artist development in comparison to other Asian countries and certainly the West. However until copyright and intellectual property laws get tighter in Sri Lanka, working with major international acts will be a distant dream for most due to country of origin issues.