I’ve been quite interested in the music this band has been making. Not because the lyrics are deep. Not because the music is anything exceptional. Simply because there is something very original about them which will probably help them sustain their popularity for a long time.
Though I’m constantly aware of the new additions to the Sinhala pop music scene, I’m not a big fan of Sinhala pop music of today. I much prefer Sinhala singers from about a decade ago with a few exceptions of new artists. I’m not into the whole Bathiya n Santhush style of Sinhala pop and all their clones, most of whom including Bathiya n Santhush cannot carry a tune properly when they are performing live. So as cliched as it sounds, Daddy was a breath of fresh air.
Their lyrics are nothing much but nothing much in the same way the lead singer Gayan Perera’s father Sunil Perera’s band Gypsies’ lyrics. And I mean that in the best possible way because the lyrics are in everyday language and witty and downright hilarious at times. Case in point is their new single ‘SMS’ which is about how texting has replaced the age old tradition of love letters. The song includes references that are very Sri Lankan. For an example, there is still a certain amount of stigma attached to teenage dating in this country and the lyrics state how texting is more convenient because you can erase the messages before your mother catches you. So there is a touch of realism mixed with humor in Daddy’s music.
If you listen to a Gypsies song like Lunu Dehi and then listen to a Daddy song like Borukari, you can see how the lyrics reflect the language, slang and popular culture of the time and is actually so much better than the pseudo intellectual s*** some lyricists sprout out.
Musically, Daddy definitely has a different style that appeals to the current hybrid taste of the youth. It’s good sing along music and like I said before, again there are parallels with the Gypsies though they are definitely not copying them. Same concept, different generations. And though they use guitar riffs (open to argument so you’re welcome to call them guitar ‘riffs’), they don’t pretend to be hard rockers and that works in their advantage. So their style of music definitely infuses a new sound to Sinhala pop music.
Daddy doesn’t pretend to be deep and I think that’s why their music works. I have no idea how the band members are in real life but the image they exude is one of a bunch of guys who are having a good time doing something they love. Their music is fun and that hardly ever happens in Sinhala pop music.
Thanks to a good production team, Daddy has released some superb music videos. In fact it’s their first music video for the song Massina that elevated them to the popularity they enjoy now.
What is really special about these guys is that they have a policy of no lip synching. That, in my opinion, is the best decision they made because it is ridiculous how a majority of Sinhala pop artists just play a backup cd and prance around a stage lip synching. And because of all the pretending, even when they do have to sing something live, they sound so off tune that you wish they’d just continue lip synching. I’ve watched Daddy perform live on tv and though there’s room for improvement, they are pretty good.
Therefore I predict that Daddy is the next big thing in the Sri Lankan mainstream music industry and look forward to more of their original work.
Sachini Perera 
huh??? are u saying that Bathiya and Santhush aren’t good artists?? what do u mean they cant carry tunes when they perform alive? THEY R THE BEST BAND EVERRR
ah aaa! bathiya santhush is definitely not the beast band “ever” sweety!… n yeah they cant do live well (they are not the only ones!)… Daddy band on the other hand, does extremely well live… of course “there’s room for improvement” like sachini said, but they r better than the rest right now!…HATE LIP SYNCING :@
ok…..maybe not the best band “ever” but still they r really good……their songs r the best. BnS done like 400 live concerts…..they r not dat bad….they rocked neththara final.
who does lip syncing??
well dont u think itz a little bit offending calling BnS a duo who cant sing??? well you might not know but both bathiya and santhush both were singers in the national choir and they bothwere few of the best singers in the choir. After their arrival to the music scene in 1998 i`ve neva seen any band to beat them in live performance untill recently when the daddy band came!! when they perform they can get anyone 2 get up from their seats and enjoy da music…. well if you really wanna know who suxx @ live performing you really need 2 check out IRAJ.. damn he suxx!!! and whats more to him da lip syncin accusation is true and for BnS as to my knowledge and experience its false i gez cuz i`ve worked with BnS in some concerts couple of times and i can assure you that they are not lip syncing.. and btw what i`d like to suggest is it`s pointless comparing BnS with Daddy for their styles are different and their ways of performing are different soooo if your comparing them i guess it`ll be something like comparing metallica with snoop dogg!! 😛
I didn’t compare B n S with Daddy at any point. I used them as an example of current Sinhala pop music. I believe Iraj’s music falls mostly under rap and hip hop and that’s not what I’m discussing. So if you read the article again you will see that there is no comparison except on musicianship of each band.
I haven’t said that B n S lip syncs all the time. But it is a known fact that they do. I have seen them perform live about five times and I can tell between their live performances and lip syncing. And I don’t think they will deny it either because it is not something unique to just Sri Lanka.
And I’m aware of the fact that both Bathiya and Santhush are trained singers. I think they are both baritones or a baritone and a tenor (open to correction there). But in my opinion, their singing in live performances is overshadowed by their showmanship and they sound off tune most of the time. And this wouldn’t have been the case had they adopted a strict no lip sync policy from the beginning.
However that’s my opinion and those of you who differ are entitled to yours.
I’m agreeing with sachini in most of her perceptions about daddy.They are a real breath refresher for the sinhala pop industry. Specially at a tym where all most 95% of the young and upcoming sinhala pop artists excessively use synthesized music .(This has kinda become a curse) and daddy hit scene with pure live instrumental sounds.These guys are really talented with out a doubt a they shouldn’t be hesitate of performing in front of any audience in the world.
It seems it hurts lotsa ppl if something is said against BnS.I was big fan of BnS in their early days.Their music was almost touching the level of international pop.And they were always talking about taking their music to the international market.But wat were they doing lately? They started to sound so cheap and now their music is identical to cheap hindi songs.The only thing they grabed from the international pop industry is” lip synching” Is that wat they were meaning by going international?
( I still remember how Gayan struggled to lip sync at a live TV program where BnS and others did perfect lip synching and cheated the viewers.Eventually producers had to broadcasted the massina visual when gayan just stopped pretending after totally failed in lip synching.) )
Let’s turn back to daddy again.When it comes to their music style ,definitely it’s a rock influenced style.It’s no wonder coz these guys were a brilliant rock/punk pop band in the english music scene of the country when they were performing as “JADA”.Nevertheless now it’s hard to categorized them in to a particular genre.But still their music mostly sound like alternative rock and punk pop.With the quality of their music i wish they”d go internatioanl someday!!
I was visiting some of the Sri Lankan Artiste’s web pages and FB pages when I accidently clicked a link to this blog. I have been in the music industry for over 15 years, I’m not a very popular figure but I am friends with most of the musicians and have associated them very closely throughout the years.
Before I begin I must state that I love both BNS and Daddy cause they are musicians true to their hearts unlike most of the people who do this for fame. Sachini I presume you are in your mid or early twenties. Hence you only know BNS form the recent past.
If any of you guys had gone to any of the BNS concerts in the early 2000 to late 2002 here or overseas you would have realized what a breath taking performance they gave. When it comes to their singing they are pitch perfect on stage. These were their unplugged concert days with the full band. Bathiya even use to play the grand piano and sing a few songs. This use to be 4 years into their existence. I have even watched some of their classical concerts with Maryanne singers of most which were pre BNS days.
I was quite disappointed when they disbanded their live band in early 2003 and got into this backing track business. Hence I questioned Bathiya personally one day when I met him at JU (Jazz Unlimited). He gave a sincere smile and explained. He said
“machan, one of our main objectives of doing what we do was to bridge the gap between the Rural folk and the Urban Folk, both Santhush & I come from a period when the “Sinhala” cheeya or “Umba” Ingreesi da ahhane” was at a peak. Our general people in the masses are exposed to a hell of a lot of stuff from abroad through TV / Radio which they aspired to reach out to, but for some unfortunate reason due to our education system they don’t speak any other language other than Sinhala or Tamil. On the other hand all Sinhala kids living abroad at that time were getting detached from their mother land since they didn’t have anything from back home which related to them in a “present time context” other than the same old cultural story their parents used to give them. So that’s the gap we wanted to fill without music. One thing that we must realize is in reaching out to do something you have to change with the changing times, a musical presentation using bands on the big stage were at a peak but now with the present economic cycle in Sri Lanka and when considering the economics of going on overseas tours, its proving to be a bit unrealistic. Hence we opted to change our “Live thing” a bit away from the band scene. But I’m sure in a few years there will be a new act who will work out the equation of economics and get into it, what I mean is there will be a band where the performing musicians will be the singers themselves, after all as artistes if you want to do what you love most “music” for a long time and sustain it you need to think of these aspects as well”
This opened up my eyes about these guys, and to my surprise Daddy came along few years later and they were brilliant.
Further that day I questioned about why sometimes they do an act instead of Sing their hearts out which they can. To that he gave a simple answer, “machan there are a few people who understand the techniques of music and they are who you call musicians & critics. For them we have unplugged sessions and live sessions in small places like the “Jaic”. A majority of the people listens to music and take it into their lives in a very personal way. Some happy; some sad; according to the mental state they have at the time they listen to the record, and most of them come to a concert to relive that moment. Hence the act and the atmosphere are very important. If you do too many improvisations on the original you your self have sung they get very upset. I have experienced this in our early days of music.”
Then I asked of the biggest accusation of miming he smiled and said “95% of the tracks we don’t mime, but when a certain act gets vigorous there are certain continuing lines we have to add as backup in case we go short of breath but even then that’s only those continuing lines which are at the curtail breath taking points”
What I’m trying to say here is that you cannot ever compare artistes. BNS contributed a whole chapter to the music history of our country and they are still doing it. Daddy has also started the next chapter. BNS themselves said at the derana awards when they introduced daddy “apita passé apu ekama venasa”
But I must tell you to go see a BNS unplugged concert if you ever get a chance. You will definitely change your mind.
Subash, thank you for your lengthy comment. Are you quoting Bathiya or paraphrasing because if it is the latter, then it’s risky to make it seem like a quote. Like I said before, I didn’t compare B n S to Daddy, I used them as an example of the current trend (and trendsetter) in Sinhala pop music.
I stand by my opinion but you’re entitled to yours.
Hey Sachini,
I was lead to this Blog from FB.I read your review on Daddy.I thought it was quite interesting and invites some serious dialogue on the current trend in the countries music industry.I have been following Daddy band quite closely in terms of their music.I felt they are doing some thing unique in the country.Indeed he hails from a back ground that produce unique music.The massina track was a real hit and as you clearly pointed out the lyrics,the melodies,tunes and the vedio of this track was amazing.It turned a new page in the countries music industry i felt.The song was really cool as the slang used the way the lyrics were line up all came very good.The concept of a brother in law coming against two couples was some thing totally out of the Box,which speaks volumes on the creativity of the band.Borukari was another hit.I loved the lyrics which were really simple and could be understood by anybody who knows the language.Daddy is one of the bands who could play live really well.This has been abled since its a bunch of blokes who can sing and as well as play instruments to the fullest.So this worked to their advantage.They are here to stay.I would like to also express my views on your stand on B’nS.B’nS is a band which created history way back in 1998 with their new style.B’n’S could be seen as the pioneers of the modern trend.But honestly i cannot agree with the cloning thing.Do you think that there is a single band which could be comparable with B’n’S.I feel its not easy to clone a band like B’n’S.(Further please not that i am not comparing Daddy and B’n’S coz they are competing in two different leagues)Those two blokes Bathiya and santhush are capable singers.Unfortunately they don’t have a band as Daddy.I mean in the sense of playing instruments.I have seen them singing songs at talk shows and i felt they can sing unplugged but they have chosen not to do so may be because they are not confident of any bands ability to play live.Don’t you think so Sachini ? Fortunately Daddy can do this very well.I saw them play at the Derana music fest and it was awesome.B’n’S is doing really good although its 10 years since they entered ShowBiz.If they were ordinary they would have succumbed.But they are here to stay.I feel Daddy is also here to stay since they are unique and as you said Original.
Btw good work on this Blog Sachini.Keep it coming we could have some real constructive dialogue on various affairs in our country and other wise.
Cheers
Gypsis? music?
They have everything but music…if what they do is called music, I would live my entire life without music. I know they have a huge following and they have some talent (hardly used) too. I think those fnas follow them are after something they can move their feet and bellies, not music really. This is not to insult them but this is my frank opinion.
BnS got some talent but they have done nothing but taking us 50 yrs back to the period where we borrow shamelessly from Indian popular culture. Those Punjabi style rapping and beats you could hear in their music are nothing but indications of surrender.
There is nothing wrong with borrowing as long as you can pay back in your own currency but what’s happening year is some pure imitating.
My opinion is it’s Clarence and Rukantha were the first to successfully integrate pop music into local music. I wish they had a little bit of discipline installed into their lyrics ( specially in Rukantha’s case) . But in overall, they produced some quality music even next generation Sri Lankans would admire. There are lot to learn from them for these new kids.
Agree with u sachini akki
first of all,a well written article and you’ve captured the essesnce of Daddy well.Would just like to add that, since u’ve only seen them on tv, its not fair to make a judgement on the quality of the music as i’ve seen them perform live a number of times and they sound very professional..To be fair,Sri Lankan TV channels have never been able to get the sound balancing right for live concerts so i highly reccomend you see them live:) all the best Sachini
Before commenting on DADDY I think I should express myself on BnS.
First of all I should say I never liked BnS. Cannot think of any specific reason though. In fact, their music was not unique as they had copied some English tunes at the beginning. “Wasanthaye” song from their debut album is a perfect example.
However, they surely CHANGED the way things going on Sri lankan music Industry. And, I have started to like them mainly due to their touching music compositions and perfect singing.
In my belief, I think even though the meanings were deep, Sinhalese Music lacked the variety and usage of musical instruments. Also, In musical context we were always stick to Intro-> Chorus->Interlude (most of the time same as the introduction) ->Verse->Chorus->Interlude (again the same as previous)->Verse->Chorus “Structure”. And, if you think of live music the instruments were more or less comprised 3 guitars, drums and keyboard. BnS surely changed the “structure” of music and also made use of many instruments possible. It is true that most of them are computer music (I am not sure but I think so) but still the compositions were “FULL” with beautiful sounds. If you take “Pathu Pem Pethum” song for example it is really true film music; I cant think of anything better in the recent past of Sinhalese film songs. So, my point is, if you tell them to perform live they have to stick to limited musical instruments and thereby cannot offer you the full fledged talent they have got. In that sense, I think it is better that they use their tracks, of course, produced by themselves not by any other.
I have been to BnS concerts and they do not lip sync. They make use of tracks which do not have vocals in them and they sing alive.
Coming back to DADDY, I also appreciate what they are doing right now. It is a different blend and they are unique. By all means they are a LIVE band. And, I do not need to carry on telling the good things about them because the others have done it already. I just want to make the point that we should not put down BnS just because they are, in a way, not that good at live performing.
But, let me ask you something. Which one is better.Movies, where you do not act live, or stage dramas? Isn’t that true we have to admit we equally like them both. It can be either a movie or a stage drama, the content is the most important thing.
Consequently, I should say, both BnS and DADDY have produced something unique and will continue to do so in future. Both the bands are talented in their on ways.
hmmm… I don’t care about bands…. I am a chinese born in Sri Lanka and I love sinhala music. you may have even seen my “Linda langa” video.. LOL….
Agreed with sachini as Daddy has some originality and is unique… I love their songs… Olden is Golden they say…. I love songs by Clarance, Jothipala, Nihal nelson, Steve and the rest. Also bands like Siha shakthi…. etc…
All of the music I love…. except new ones… they break the sri lankan originality and copy stuff… SAD… really sad….
I even once saw B & S remix Ojayae on some program…. i think sirasa dancing stars… OMFG… they had mixed it and done some f***ed up things and sang it…. EEEEEEEEYA….
B & S only knows hows to ruin things… I know for a fact they cannot come to the standard of gypsies/Daddy any day any time….
DADDY FTW…
Dear Sachini,
how are you?
I am irshad from Saudi Arabia.
do you have Bns’ Vasanthaye the concert song which was telecasted in Sirasa tv those days.
if so, please add that or just send me the link to the mail address given above.
thanks & best regards.
Irshad
Well, I can’t say much as I’m not that much familiar with Sinhala music, being an Indian. I have a lot of friends from Sri Lanka, and they told me to listen to a lot of Sinhala songs, I thought of giving it a try and listened to almost a dozen of albums and the last one was Daddy’s. I thought It might not be that interesting but when I started listening to Jeewithe Windinne, MAN! All I can say is that I was out of this world. The music they make is so much different from the rest. Sorry, I tried liking BnS but it wasn’t worth a try. Now I want to visit Sri Lanka only to watch Daddy performing live. Though I’m from the country where Bollywood exists, I’m not so much into Hindi music, I love English songs. But I can connect to daddy’s songs (obviously, without even knowing the meaning of a single word). I think the whole Sri Lanka should be supporting them, It’s sad to see less no. of views on their videos in You Tube. You guys have such great talent living a midst you, don’t let it go wasted. Let the world know about them, they definitely should be rocking on the global platform.