Sithijaya

 Producer: Torana music box

This is a CD with light music in which I have tried to incorporate calming and relaxing sounds that can soothe stress.

I have also attempted to do so sorely through sound – so that even when voices are used, there are no words employed – be it the Sri Lankan folk voice, the North Indian voice, the South Indian voice or the Western choir – all of which find expression here.

Visva

 Producer: Torana music box

This CD has my creative work which is based on Sri Lankan folk music or Sri Lankan traditional dance melodies like the Kuweni Asna. All these compositions were performed live at the Asia Society, New York, in 2005. I had researched to create different techniques for the sitar for this performance and introduced Kandyan drum (geta bera) to the West as a possible accompaniment to the sitar. Normally the sitar is accompanied by the tabla but I have shown that the sitar can accompanied by the gatebera.

I have also introduced a new fusion music style with all the Eastern and Western percussion. The music on this CD has been played in prestigious concert halls around the world like Carnegie Hall, New York; Walt Disney Concert Hall, California; Kennedy Center, Washington DC; BOZAR, Brussels; European Parliament, Beligium; Vienna Musikverein, Austria etc.

Eastern Blues

 Producer – Torana Music Box

In this CD, I have researched and created new playing styles and techniques on the sitar. My aim was to give a Sri Lankan identity on the sitar.

The techniques:

  • I have introduced Western harmony, staccato techniques and hammer guitar techniques on the sitar. Normally, the Indian sitar plays ragas and these ragas are melody patterns. Chords are things that the sitar won’t play. Strumming the sitar like a guitar and some times creating percussion effects on the sitar are techniques that I use.
  • I have attempted to play blues and jazz techniques on the sitar. For that I have created new oscillating and fast vibrating (Andolan) techniques on the sitar.

Santhutti (2014)

 Produced by – Prajaya Studio / Composer – Pradeep Ratnayake / Year – 2014

The main research behind in this C .D. was to show the people that most of the Sri lankan songs were influenced by North Indian ragas. The methodology was taking people from the known to the unknown. For example, when you listen to the first item on the disk, the raga is Maand. This raga is made from a folk tune. In this Raga, the special characteristic musical phrase is S,G,GM,P,D,NP,D,P. When you listen to the song “Mal Pibidee Gena Enne” composed by Sunil Shanta, the whole song is based on this raga Maand. In this CD that is why I have selected this raga, because people will know the raga and the song both. That is what I mean by the method, known to the unknown. In this way, people can improve their level of appreciation and they will also be encouraged to listen to ragadhari music. The main idea behind this CD was to popularize North Indian ragas in Sri Lanka.

Some of these are original work I composed when I was in Columbia University, New York as a Fulbright scholar. The tabla is played by a very popular Indian tablist in New York, Nitin Mitta.

Pradeepanjalee (XVII)

A tribute to Ravi Shankar” at Lionel wendt theater & Released the CD Santutti (Joy).

(Sponsored by Niloufer Pieris, the DFCC Bank and Prajaya Studio)