FIND YOUR LION!

Saturday, 19 January 2019 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Chitral Somapala launches ‘Sinha Lokaye Sinhaya’ music video

By Ruwandi Gamage

Sri Lankan hard rock and heavy metal vocalist Chitral ‘Chity’ Somapala launched ‘Sinha Lokaye Sinhaya,’ his seventh music video, with a private screening at Colombo City Centre on Wednesday.

Carrying the message ‘Find your Lion’ to the Sri Lankan youth, the music video was a follow-up on the single released in audio to fans in August 2017.

The song is an attempt to inspire youth to seek their passions and take that leap of faith with the courage of a lion, to overcome fears and achieve their dreams.

Written by Kalum Srimal, performed and composed by Chitral Somapala, produced by Rasitha Jinasena of Skyy Productions and Saliya Weerasekara of Antswork Productions, the video was directed by internationally-acclaimed Director Asad-ul-Haq.

The story of the video revolves around two young men, an architect and a student, who long to pursue their passions of becoming a surfer and drummer. The video shows the obstacles they encounter along their journeys and how in the end they ‘Find their Lion,’ achieve their dreams and find happiness and acceptance.

“This video somewhat depicts my life story. I never imagined I would be a singer and make a career out of it. I aspired to be an athlete. So this song is my message to the youth, to never stop pursuing their passions and to let the lion inside of them roar. This song is for the youth, because they are my fans, without them I won’t be where I am today,” the singer stated.

With the likes of Sri Lankan-born Grammy-award-winning Hussain Jiffry playing bass, American-born session drummer Oscar Seaton Jr. who has played alongside award-winning musicians such as Lionel Richie with drums, former Olympic Ski jumping medallist Christian Moser with the rhythm guitar and Red Circuit Band keyboard player Markus Teske with the mixing, this song has brought together a lot of talent to give the listener an unforgettable experience.

“‘Sinha Lokaye Sinhaya’ is an inspirational song, one that I hope will bridge the inspirational music gap and revolutionise the thinking of the younger generation. This song was an experiment, to take a message to the youth in our country to inspire them to believe in themselves and their skills and to not depend on luck to seek their dreams,” Srimal explained.

The screening gave a sneak-peak video of the making of another version of the same single, to be launched in about six months, featuring collaborations with popular Sri Lankan artistes such as Umaria Sinhawansa, Samitha Mudunkotuwa, Lahiru Perera, Jaya Sri, Sangeeth Wijesuriya and Sanuka.This ‘Sinha Lokaye Sinhaya’ music video was a breath of fresh air, especially when taking into consideration the effort put into it. In a day and age where the quality of the content in Sri Lankan music videos is on a downward spiral, this video, I hope, will work not only to inspire the youth, but also to set a benchmark for other artistes on how their videos should be with regard to content quality. With great music and praiseworthy content, it is my belief that this will be one of those music videos that will live on despite the passing of time.

Pix by Upul Abayasekara