Chitral "Chity" Somapala to perform with Rekuiem at "Permission to Rock". Read blog for details!!
Internationally renowned rock vocalist Chitral "Chity" Somapala of Civilization One performed Rock Anthems with the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra (conducted by Gast Waltzing) on the 21st June 2009 for the Féte de la Musique in Luxembourg City.
Some of the artists who have previously performed with the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra at this and other events include The Scorpions, Patricia Kaas, Didier Lockwood, and New York Voices.
By Aftab Aziz
2008-12-2310:26
Body surfing, mosh pits and lingerie being flung on stage are not commonplace at rock concerts held in beautiful Sri Lanka.
No wonder I was surprised when all but one of the above mentioned activities made an appearance at TNL Onstage 2008.
Onstage has gained a reputation for being the platform for the young musician to take the stage, overcome his fright and be heard. The opportunity afforded by TNL, to compete against other bands, make it to the finals and then play in front of what is possibly Sri Lanka's biggest turnout at a single gig, is not one to miss.
So it is not surprising to know that most rock musicians who have made a name for themselves in Sri Lanka have gone through the Onstage mill, having played the (almost) annual gig at least once.
This year's participants can take, if not the winner's cheque, a sense of pride in knowing that they are now part of the legend that is Onstage along with the likes of Kreb's Cycle, Stigmata, Independence Square, Brass Monkey Band, Billy Fernando and Ezra, Thriloka (albeit in a different incarnation) and Déjà vu, amongst others. This is definitely not child's play.
The finals of Onstage have established itself as an event not to miss for fans of live music and this was clearly evident this year too. Although the hype was by far less than it was last year (which was, and still is my favourite Onstage final so far), when I walked in through the doors of the Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre, I was surprised to see it was packed!
At its peak, there would have been no less than 3000 people piled into the large hall, and that is quite a feat in these troubled times, which only goes to prove the strength of the Onstage brand name, aided obviously by the special guest of the night Chitral Somapala and his German rock band CivilisationOne.
So with the crowds waiting, Black, the band that backed the soloists at this year's competition, played the first chords of the night and opened the show. First up in the band segment of the competition was Love Me Dead, fronted by former Land of no Return vocalist Stefan, a band formed for the sole purpose of winning Onstage 2008.
They were heavy, they were hard, and played a killer version of the Survivor hit "Eye of the Tiger". However, Stefan was unfortunately not in his usual best form, which probably worked to their disfavour.
Cadenced, a band I had heard good things about, took the stage next. I was told they were a great easy listening cum alt-rock outfit with nice harmonies, so I was excited!
However, the excitement was short lived, as they made the fundamental mistake of trying to please the majority of the crowd, rather than sticking to what they know best, and came out with a cringe-worthy version of a song by A Perfect Circle.
With the damage done, even the medley of Queen songs, where the harmonies were nicely executed, could not save them. Had they stucked to being more original, which they are capable of as evidenced from their beautiful version of Sweet Child of Mine complete with 4 part harmonies(check out this year's Onstage CD), these boys could have gone all the way.
When The Rebels took the stage, expectation was high for entertainment, and boy did they dish it out! Exploding into a medley of Paul Simon songs, they had the whole crowd dancing as if it was Misty playing at RnB on a Wednesday night.
Shifting from "You can call me Al" to "Late in the Evening" and "Mother and child reunion", it was great to see such an energetic and entertaining performance. Their original also went down well with the crowd. Add to that the fact that Zilch and Ethereal failed to impress, The Rebels were serious contenders for the night's biggest honour.
But then came Nemesis, the only band that has played Onstage before under the same name, and the experience definitely showed. The guitar tones had been nailed, the drummer was in form, and, most importantly, the vocalist was on song – the perfect combination.
They didn't try to be who they weren't, yet dished out an awesome performance. Special mention must be made of their version of Metallica's "fade to black" and also of their acoustic version of Chitral Somapala's "nadee ganga tharanaye". The crowd was blown away.
And so were the judges! Nemesis walked away with the winner's cheque, while the Rebels took second place.
In the solo category, Indumini won first place, which took many people, including some of the judges, by surprise! In any case, I'm not sure what she's done with the motorcycle she won, which I thought would have looked better on, and was more deserved by, Dee.
Aside from the competition, Chitral Somapala and CivilasationOne played for about 45 minutes, giving Sri Lankan fans a taste of what it feels like to rock it out with an international band. It was at this point that fans jumped on stage, jumped off, crowd surfed, took off their clothes and what not!
The atmosphere was eclectic! The highlight was probably when Chitty had the whole of the SLECC singing "Nadee Ganga Tharanaye", much to the amusement of his band made up of foreigners.
Hats off to TNL for another successful Onstage. However, the standard of the bands has evidently dropped a little since last year, which might be a bit of an eye opener for the organizers, as there was definitely no Kreb's Cycle, Independence Square, Brass Monkey Band, MagicBox Mixup or Stigmata in the making this year.
The whole theme of the Onstage experience is the promotion of top quality original music, so let's hope that doesn't get lost on the wayside.
Der international erfolgreiche Sänger und Wahl-Trierer Chitral "Chity" Somapala lebt seit mehr als 20 Jahren in Deutschland. Jetzt hat sich für ihn ein lang gehegter Wunsch erfüllt: Er ist mit seiner Metal-Formation in seiner Heimat Sri Lanka aufgetreten.
"Der Volksfreund"/Trier schreibt:
Trier. (fgg) "Eine tolle Stimmung, die Leute sind super abgegangen", erzählt Chitral Somapala. Die Begeisterung über den gelungenen Ausflug mit seiner Band "Civilization One" in seine Heimat Sri Lanka ist noch ganz präsent bei dem 41-Jährigen, der mit voller schwarzer Mähne und dunkler Kleidung den Metalmusiker typisch verkörpert: "Das wollte ich schon lange machen."
Der Radiosender TNL richtet in der Hauptstadt Colombo jährlich einen Wettbewerb für Newcomer-Bands aus. Zu denen aber zählt auch Chitys neueste Band, "Civilization One", wirklich nicht. Der Ausrichter lud die aus internationalen Genre-Profis besetzte Combo zum Finale als Headliner und Gastband ein.
4000 Zuschauer feierten ausgelassen den Heimaturlauber und seine drei Mitmusiker: "Selbst die Popfans fanden uns gut." Der Rausch eines Rockkonzerts, vielleicht umso dankbarer genossen im Angesicht des seit 1972 andauernden Bürgerkriegs, der jüngst mit Selbstmord-Attentätern auch in die Hauptstadt kam. "Civilization One" bekamen zeitweise zwei Bodyguards pro Mann zugeteilt, doch das Live-Erlebnis verlief friedlich und fröhlich: "Viele konnten sogar unsere Texte mitsingen", freut sich Somapala.
Er hat mit einigen seiner Bands zwar regelmäßig Asien bereist und dort auch zahlreiche Fans, Sri Lanka lag allerdings bisher ein wenig abseits auf der Metal-Karte. Jetzt war das Interesse umso größer: Das Fernsehen übertrug das Konzert, Zeitungen und Radio-Stationen wollten Interviews. Aber auch Freunde und Familie traf Somapala, der fast jährlich vor Ort ist.
"Nur meine Eltern konnten das ja leider nicht erleben", sagt er etwas leiser.
Somapalas Eltern waren berühmte Musiker und Komponisten in Sri Lanka, die an der Entwicklung der postkolonialen Radioprogramm-Szene mitwirkten und Filmmusiken schrieben. Vor mehr als 20 Jahren führte die eigene Karriere den singenden Sohn nach Europa, wo er in einigen namhaften Bands sang, wie Court Jester und Avalon.
Nächste Station: Die Britischen Inseln
In seiner Heimat landete er mit der Ballade "Nadee Ganga Tharanaye" einen Hit, der Kult-Charakter genießt. Eine der am Wettbewerb teilnehmenden Bands coverte den Song, der seinerzeit für eine Bierwerbung geschrieben wurde.
Jetzt ist "Chity" wieder zurück aus den Tropen, und seine Band macht sich mit Tatendrang auf in Richtung Britische Inseln, wo dank des dortigen neuen Managements die nächsten Auftritte anstehen. Und während am zweiten Album gearbeitet wird, gibt's jetzt endlich auch in Sri Lanka eine Auflage des Debüts - natürlich mit "Nadee Ganga Tharanaye" als Bonustrack.
Civilization One performing "Dream On" at Onstage Final in Colombo/Sri Lanka
Chity and Pierre doing an interview on TNL radio
CIVILIZATION ONE, the band led by singer Chitral "Chity" Somapala (ex-Firewind, Faro, Avalon) and bassist Pierre-Emmanuel Pélisson (MALADAPTIVE, ex-HEAVENLY), has scheduled a concert at the SLECC (Sri Lanka Exibition and Convention Center) on the 29th of November 2008 for the TNL Onstage show in COLOMBO/SRI LANKA. It will mark the first time a Western metal band plays in Sri Lanka, and will be a homecoming for Chity Somapala, the Sri Lankan-born singer who has been living in Europe for 22 years after doing the remarkable "Lion Beer Song" which was played on Radio/TV Commercials right through out the country and even at International Cricket Events.
TNL Onstage is organized by TNL RADIO, the biggest radio station in the country, and will present Sri Lanka's finest bands along CIVILIZATION ONE. It will also be the first show with new members Michael Stein (ex-ANCIENT CEREMONY, DORNREICH) on drums and Kai Mühlenbruch (GALLOGLASS, SEVENTH AVENUE) on guitar.
CIVILIZATION ONE was launched in 2006 by singer Chitral “Chity” Somapala (David Shankle Group, Red Circuit, Ex-Avalon, Firewind and Faro) and guitarist Aldo Lanobile (Secret Sphere). In the beginning the band was made up of international musicians from various countries such as Sri Lanka , Italy, France and Brazil.
The self produced debut album “Revolution Rising” was recorded in studios in France, Italy and Germany and mixed and mastered by Markus Teske (Vanden Plas, Mob Rules, Dominici, Symphony X and Red Circuit) in the Bazement Studios in Germany. Chity and Aldo were looking for a band which combines hard and aggressive Riffs and the sensitivity of classical music with memorable(catchy)vocals and choruses as achieved(performed) by the classical Heavy Metal bands.
Because the vast distances and other obstacles between the original band members (to which drummer Luca Cartasegna (Ex-Secret Sphere) and keyboarder Jesper Stotz belonged) made it impossible to play live. By the end of 2007 the line up of Civilization One began to change!
Only two of the original members Chity and bassplayer Pierre-Emmanuel Pélisson (Maladaptive, Ex-Heavenly) whos trademark is his aggressive bass playing remaind. Late autumn the talented guitarist Christian Münzer (Majesty, Ex-Necrophagist) joined the band as the lead guitarist. Shortly followed.by Björn Daigger (Majesty, R:I:P) as the second guitarist. It took slightly longer to find a drummer. Beginning of 2008 the new and adequate band member Holger “Holly” Rodammer (Ex- Ancient Ceremony, Ex-Hellmasters) was announced as the new drummer.
During the process of the changes in the line-up the band got the attention of the presenters and the first bookings for the first festivals in 2008 were placed due to the overwhalming response of the media regarding the PogPower UK Pre-Party 2007. Now the Metal World may look forward to the dynamic stage performance of the debut album “Revolution Rising” as the Heavy Metal of this album with its neoclassical influences and symphonic aggression has already enthused many editors and music lovers.
on tour with Rage 2010! Hope to see you! March 03 - München, Germany - Backstage March 04 - Budapest, Hungary - Diesel March 05 - Zlin, Czech Republic - Masters of Rock Cafe March 06 - Prague, Czech Republic - Abaton March 07 - Hannover, Germany - Musikzentrum March 09 - Berlin, Germany - K17 March 10 - Hamburg, Germany - Markthalle March 12 - Speyer, Germany - Halle 101 March 13 - Andernach, Germany - JUZ Live Club March 14 - Colmar, France - Grillen March 15 - Nürnberg, Germany - Hirsch March 16 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7 March 17 - Milan, Italy - Magazzini Generali March 19 - Barcelona, Spain - Razz 2 March 20 - Bilbao, Spain - Rockstar Li
hey! Bald wir gerockt! Mit Primal Fear und Brainstorm auf Tour! Rock on!! Bis bald! 29.10.2009 Do CH-Pratteln Z7 30.10.2009 Fr D-Geiselwind Event Halle 31.10.2009 Sa D-Hamburg Markthalle 07.11.2009 Sa D-Olsberg-Bruchhausen Schützenhalle 08.11.2009 So D-Bochum Matrix 09.11.2009 Mo D-München Backstage 11.11.2009 Mi D-Ludwigsburg Rockfabrik
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