'Mage Urumaya' - a mesmerizing melodious evening for all music loving people who ‘wouldn't want to miss it' gathered notwithstanding a rainy Saturday (the third of October at 6.30 pm) being the first day of a long weekend after a long time. Those who were present, saw the emergence of a charming muse, by the name of Thisal Wansaja Padukka Vidana, a child born to Sri Lankan parents domiciled in Australia who released his maiden collection of songs along with his very first concert.

Being a frequent visitor to his motherland Sri Lanka, Thisal has launched his album - all Sinhalese songs ably and thoroughly guided by a range of professional musicians in the caliber of Victor Ratnayake, Rohana Weerasinghe,Thissasiri Perera, Sangeeth Wickramasinghe,Mahinda Bandara,Rohana Dharmakeerthi and Suresh Maliyadde.

All fourteen songs on the CD are originals which were penned by Saman Chandranaath Weerasinghe, Geethanaath Kudaligama, Rasika Sooriyarachchi, Maithree Panagoda, Sisira Dissanayake,Lakshman Kodithuwakku, Kumari Wijeratne, Hector Wijesiri and Sunethra Wanigasuriya.

Majority of the songs are dedicated to ' our Motherland the isle of paradise', rich in its culture, scenic beauty, history, heritage, and he has been privileged to have professional singers like Nelu Adhikari, Dhammika Bandara and Victor Ratnayake singing in his duets.

The quality of his inherent musical talents received such plaudits during recent times, Thisal and his family felt it was high time they produced a CD featuring his musical talents. No stone was left unturned when it came to producing “Mage Urumaya” says Upul Padukkavidana, Thisal's father. 

The finished product is indeed a masterpiece and a must for every music lover's collection in their music shelf if they are keen music lovers of Sri Lankan music.  Never before has such a young local talent has been featured in one CD in the Sri Lankan community.  Each one of the singers, players and musicians listed in this album who backed Thisal's songs are professional artists who have received plenty of individual acclaim for their achievements over the years.  It is a tribute to Thisal that he could engage such wonderful performers to help bring his songs to life.  The CD was recorded and mixed by Suresh Maliyedda and Sangeeth Wickramasinghe. 

“Mage Urumaya” will be the first time a teenager of Sri Lankan origin has released a CD in Australia ! No, he is not merely that, a definite silver lining in the dark cloud of modern Sri Lankan music particularly may I say in the present deteriorating context. There is no debate over the fact that Music has a healing element embedded with it and in this epoch, Thisal's album “Mage Urumaya” (meaning my heritage) will be an eye opener for certain people who welcome and embrace remix and rap music as the future of Sri Lankan music.

He chirpily states in a sweet voice that he started his music career at a very tender age onwards, and we see him rising steadily making various accomplishments in the field of music. Hence, Thisal's journey has not been one in which he was catapulted into stardom overnight like some of our recent “Stars”. Thisal expects “ Kangaroo Amma and Mage Urumaya” to be two of the most popular songs on his CD. 

The end product of such enthusiasm is obviously visible when one listens to the songs in his debut album Mage Urumaya. The album is studded with rare jewels glimmering and shining in the form of literary and lyrical creativity. There is no doubt that it is high, semi-classical, cultured art. It has songs which includes the styles of Indian Classical, stage drama style and even Western. The themes of the songs are deeply rooted in Sri Lankan culture and its mainstream identity dealing with psychological issues like the love of and for the father and mother, nostalgia, the vanishing beauty of the country and the nation etc.

Click here to view an album of photos by Hiran Kulathilake