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Thursday, 19 October 2023 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
After years of anticipation Paranoid Earthling, the rebel rock band of 22 years releases their full-length album ‘Illusion Empire’ on all direct streaming platforms (DSPs) in November and will then commence their album tour from Colombo on Saturday 02 December at Floor by O in Colombo 07.
“The Colombo show day of the Illusion Empire Album tour is scheduled to take place on Saturday 02 December and we are joined by ‘Ashen Sandaru’ and ‘Man Till God’ as the opening acts. This is going to be a milestone gig for Paranoid Earthling as we complete 22 years of active contribution towards the rock and metal scene in Sri Lanka,” the founder and frontman of Paranoid Earthling Mirshad Buckman elaborated.
When asked as to what challenges the band faces as Sri Lanka is coming out of an economic crisis Buckman explained that; “The past three years was challenging for all and us as musicians that continue doing original music felt the impact more as we were unable to organise our own gigs due to financial constraints and movement restrictions. This has, however, provided a great opportunity as we steer out of the situation.”
Buckman also noted that given that the world is in turmoil and Sri Lanka having faced the brunt of it at an early stage, the band is hopeful that its lyrical themes are universally applicable. “We faced civil war, displacement, mass migration, racial incitements and are now working on reconciliation efforts. I think music can play a big role in bringing communities together. So we plan to do just that.”
The Illusion Empire album
The album includes seven original songs, which Paranoid Earthling has performed at numerous gigs over the years that have become anthems for their fans during trying times. In August 2022, the band released ‘Reign’ as a single, which is one track off the album; followed by an aptly illustrated lyric video that was shared widely through the band’s social media networks and were re-posted by the fans.
Apart from ‘Reign’ the album includes ‘In Black and White’, ‘Half Cast’, ‘Proceed’, ‘Feel my Ritual’, ‘Gods Gone Postal’ and ‘F.T.P’. Touching upon the themes of post-war experiences, dictatorship, oppression, freedom of speech, media freedom, and right to life; Paranoid Earthling manages to illustrate the angst of the world citizen in this 35-minute auditory experience.
Striving to bring trendsetting experiences through their music Paranoid Earthling will reveal their album in six fragments, providing their fans to immerse in their debut album in the lead up to their upcoming album tour. The full-album will be available on all DSPs by 26 November 2023.
The song ‘Half Cast’ by Paranoid Earthling will be the second fragment of Illusion Empire that will be available on all DSPs on Friday 20 October. While the first fragment released on Friday 13 October included ‘In Black and White’ and ‘Reign’.
Keeping up with the global trends the band will initially release their music digitally on the web 2.0 and web 3.0 platforms via DSPs and the blockchain. With more and more listeners opting to enjoy their music on the go, the band will release all their music on streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, SoundCloud, Bandcamp, and Tidal. In the meantime, for those who are getting into the blockchain the album will be available in the form of audio and video tokens on OpenSea and sound.xyz platforms.
Who is Paranoid Earthling?
Paranoid Earthling is a rebel rock act from Sri Lanka playing original music since 2001. Since their humble beginnings, the band has played numerous shows, locally and internationally at open-air events and prominent clubs.
The band represented Sri Lanka at the South Asian Bands Festival in New Delhi, India in 2009; the historic Sound Central Festival in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2012; and at the Nations for Peace Festival in Gurgaon, India in 2016. During their multiple visits to India Paranoid Earthling performed in the cities of New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Gurgaon.
Their debut EP “Rock n’ Roll is my Anarchy” released in 2005 has sold more than 2000 copies, while all of their tracks released so far effortlessly topped the local charts.
Their Video ‘Bringing Down the Sun’ released for the International World Peace Day {funded by Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC)} amidst the raging Civil War in 2008 was premiered on local TV and was nominated for the State Media Awards.
