Yashan’s game is far from over

Q: What’s happening on your end, Yashan?

A: Well I’m working on my third studio album these days. I will be releasing a brand English new song this weekend titled ‘Game Over’. I am also in the process of producing a song for Shanudrie, one of the youngest actresses in Sri Lanka. I did a remake of a song by Clarence Wijewardena as well and that will be out soon with M Entertainment.

Q: What’s happening on your end, Yashan?

A: Well I’m working on my third studio album these days. I will be releasing a brand English new song this weekend titled ‘Game Over’. I am also in the process of producing a song for Shanudrie, one of the youngest actresses in Sri Lanka. I did a remake of a song by Clarence Wijewardena as well and that will be out soon with M Entertainment.  

Q: Could you tell us about ‘Game Over’?  

A: It’s an English hip house/dance pop song which I did for my hip hop/rap fans. I wrote the entire song and it features Salome De Silva a.k.a. Esdee as a female vocalist. Music direction was done by Udara Fernando at Faith & Hope Studios. It took almost two months for us to produce the audio of the song alone. We worked really hard on this one. My main focus with this song is to get international recognition for my music and for my country Sri Lanka.

I have already proved it by getting my songs featured on the world’s number one radio stations such as BBC Radio 1 and BBC World Service and this time I’m hoping to take it even further.

Q: What’s hip house/dance pop?

A: Hip house, also known as house rap, is a musical genre that mixes elements of house music and hip-hop. It’s very popular in nightclubs and has garnered substantial chart success in recent times.

Dance-pop is dance-oriented pop music which is generally up-tempo music intended for clubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Dance-pop music is generally characterised by strong beats with easy, uncomplicated song structures.

Q: What was your last release?

A: ‘Kadulu Poth’ was the most recent one and it’s an R&B love song. We’ll be shooting the music video for that song this month which is going to be totally different; something you would not expect from me.

Q: What happened to your presenting career?

A: Good question. Well I was doing a radio show for four years and a TV show for a year. But I wanted to take a small break last December, change the same flow a bit and fully focus on my music. I will be back with a TV show very soon, better and stronger.

Q: Apart from music, what do like to do in your free time?

A: I love playing cricket with my friends. I like running and walking in the evening. I love to try out new food and spend time on the beach.

Q: What are your views on the music industry in Sri Lanka right now?

A: It’s growing. I see a great improvement. Not just artistes, even the audience is improving. I mean I feel that people’s music knowledge is higher now. They don’t just listen to songs; they care about the style of the song and the artiste, lyrics and the meaning and stuff like that, which is a good thing, I believe. That leads the artistes to be more creative and it makes the industry healthy.

Artistes like BnS, Iraj, Ranidu, Chinthy, Centigradz and Dushyanth are playing a big role in the current modernised Sri Lankan music industry.

Newcomers are good but I don’t see many super breakthroughs. They need to plan their career and execute it right. All they need to understand is that you can’t be an artiste by just doing songs. There’s a recipe to follow to become a complete artiste. You need to have character and build up an image. You need to utilise your skills in a smart way.

Q: Would you like to help upcoming artistes?

A: I have been doing that throughout my career. I have my own production label called ‘Hot Music Records’ and up to now I have successfully produced seven artistes – Thimo, Young One, Miss Chey, Rayah, Miss Nyce, Player and Sujan. Shanudrie will be the latest in about two weeks.

Q: How can they contact you?

A: They can write to me via [email protected]

Q: Is there a team/crew behind YASHAN?

A: The Leader of my team is God. I wouldn’t be here without his blessings. My parents, friends and the media, they are all in my crew.

My Music Director is Udara Fernando. My official photographers are Kanishka and Priyangaa from Studio Feather. There’s also Steve Ephraums (my Content Manager), Pradeep Maharaja and Chamara Samarawickrama (my Web Admin).

Q: What’s your message for your fans?

A: Fans are the sunshine of my life. Thank you for being a fan. Keep supporting and I appreciate all the love. Visit www.yashanonline.com and www.facebook.com/darealyashan for all my latest news, pictures and music. God bless!