Harmony is a primary element in any form of music. It becomes even more important when the focus is on voices only. The style of singing ‘a- cappella’ goes back to the medieval Christian era. The reason behind the evolution of these beautiful renditions had to do with the choir and the massive pipe organ. The pipe organs placed in ancient cathedrals were deeply rooted and could not be moved. There were times when the choir had to sing in a chapel (located within the same cathedral), and thus the organ was not nearby for accompaniment. It was then that the concept of ‘voice only’ came into Christian music. The word ‘a- cappella’ means “sung in the style of the chapel”.
Sri Lanka has been given a brief glimpse into this style of singing, originating from the era of the great master Lyle Godridge. This musical genius is no more. Since the death of this amazing human, there was a massive void, which was filled by many aspiring all male choirs. In the past few years a group of young men have worked hard to elevate this style of singing whilst adding their own musical influence. This is the success story of Voiceprint.
I made my way to Wattala, where the ‘boys’ were rehearsing at their studio. As I entered they were singing with earnest the hit song “Why do fools fall in love?.” Their amazing harmony transported me back in time. After a round of handshakes and a few jokes the men settle down for an intense discussion on music. Naresh Sathasivam one of the co-founders explains “We all have our foundation from our school choir (most of the boys are past students of St. Benedict’s College). It was here that we learnt to sing. After we left school we sang in various choirs. We wanted to start our own singing outfit in 2005 and we began with about 30 guys, all from our school. We had a major concert at the Lionel Wendt, and we were backed by the Chamber Orchestra. We initially performed at various charitable events. We came up with the name Voiceprint- because our primary focus was on voice based harmony. When you sing and record a song you “imprint” your voice on a wave and that’s why we added “print” to our name”.
Since then Voiceprint had to “streamline” the number of boys as they were to take part in the World Choir Games in 2010. Naresh adds” The exposure in China was amazing. We were competing with other top choirs in the pop category-these guys had access to very high tech sound systems”. Today Voiceprint performs as a full band- an innovative way to elevate their choral harmony. The group has ten men-six vocalists and four musicians. The members of Voiceprint are Naresh Sathasivam, Dilan Irugalbandara (Musical Director), Pathum Fernando, Shane John, Eshan Anthony, Michael Quyn, Ryan de Mel, Nicole Liyanage, Ashan Hettiarachchi, Kenneth de Silva and senior bass player Alston Joachim. The interesting musical “twist” to the band is the unique talent of Dilan Irugalbandara who is an expert at beat-boxing. Dilan explains” I initially started beat boxing by watching Youtube videos, but soon learnt and established my own style”. This element of beat-boxing really enhances the group’s renditions giving it an appeal- somewhat similar to the global icons Pentatonix.
Pathum Fernando has played with many of Sri Lanka’s top bands and has a wealth of experience as a guitarist. Pathum joins the conversation “As musicians we have to supplement this unique outfit of 6 vocalists. In a conventional band there is one lead singer, and the musicians back him. Here there are six voices with various pitching ranges and power- so we try to bring out the best and cultivate a different taste”. Voiceprint is already gaining recognition, and some fans describe them as the “Boyz to Men” of Asia. The band delivers a wide genre of music. In 2013 they did a radio add (jingle) featuring the evolution of SL music from the 1940s to present. Here the band showed their prowess by amalgamating 33 songs (short lines) sung in three and a half minutes.
This year in March the group toured Australia, to perform to raving fans in Melbourne and Sydney. Naresh adds “This was a lovely experience and has opened the doors for us to tour other countries in the future”. Voiceprint had released the first Sinhala a-cappella song back in 2013.
The group wants to give back to society and share their singing experience with the youth of this nation- which made them build and operate the Voiceprint Academy where students can awaken their dormant voices and also learn various instruments. Today we witness a culture where musical videos often levitate on “selling” a song by displaying semi- nude women as a form of optical illusion and seeking facebook likes as an endorsement to an artiste’s perceived talent. However Voiceprint remains different and has set the benchmark to show the power and harmony of the human voice- which is the true essence of singing.
photo credit Bryan Perera
