Anil’s list of ‘things to achieve’ for 2013

By Rashika Fazali

2013 is an exciting year for Anil Balasuriya as he plans many new events that are set to capture hearts, unseen talent and in its own way, revolutionise the entertainment industry.

I met up with him in his studio which he is proud to say was yet another goal achieved from his list of ‘things to achieve’. Today he has his own production company, Channel Media that specialises in producing jingles and commercials for the corporate sector, video making, and producing songs.  

Though he has being writing and producing material for other young upcoming artists, he has refrained from singing like he used to. However last year in October, he made a comeback with the Anil Balasuriya Band after one and a half year break.

The band consists of Anil on vocals, Chandimal Fernando, known as Chandu, on guitar and Robert Jayatunga on drums. Commenting on the band, he said: “The three of us fit really well and so far its working fine.”

The band has already put out two singles along with the respective videos in the span of a month. Their first single ‘Run for their lives’ was the theme song for the self-titled charity program and their second, ‘Colombo Christmas Night’ was done for the Yes FM Home Grown Christmas album last year.

Having established that he is back in form, I asked him what his plans are for 2013. “I’ve planned a series of reality TV shows. One is a karaoke competition, Karaoke Championships Season One that will debut in February,” revealed Anil.

Recognising the need to come up with such a singing competition, he noted: “There are more of such competitions in the Sinhala market than in the English market. This will act as a platform to find young talent and we want to give them that opportunity. This won’t be just a show to win money, the winner will also win a record deal plus a cash prize.”

Speaking on his other planned ventures, he revealed that he has an idea of starting his own cable lifestyle channel and is currently in discussion with a cable company. He is also trying to move more into video making. He added, “As an artist, you need to have your presence seen.” He also told me that he wants to get into movies.

His list of things to achieve looks quite a handful already, but he still has more plans, especially with his band. “We are hoping to release our next single in February and hopefully an album in August. We will also be doing a bunch of covers,” said Anil.

In a move to promote Sri Lankan talent, Anil has created an interesting event, Alternative Sunday which takes place every first Sunday of the month. He also handles another yearly event called ‘The Divas Live’ which focuses on upcoming female talent.

Anil started back in 1997 as the vocalist of Independent Square, gaining fame with the release of the country’s first rock ‘n’ roll album, ‘Bring Back The Sun’ in 1999. Ever since then, he has being flying on the fame plane.

After splitting from the band in 2005, he later released his debut single in 2006. Four years after, he created another band, ‘Magic Vinyl’, but it never stuck around long enough due to the band members’ other commitments. He sadly stated, “Music is not something people in Sri Lanka pursue as a career. Music takes a backseat.”

16 years since he walked into the entertainment industry, Anil has grown and become a mentor to many people. Today he is onto bigger and greater things.

pic by Sameera Wijesinghe