The Hindu : New Delhi News : Blurring boundaries with music

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Friday, Apr 07, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

Blurring boundaries with music

Mandira Nayar

Unique all-girls choir from Sri Lanka out to sing its way into the hearts of millions

SOUL SOUNDS: Choir from Sri Lanka all set to perform in New Delhi . -- Photo: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

NEW DELHI: It is all about the love of music for "Soul Sounds'', a unique all-girls choir group from Sri Lanka, which will perform at a three-day Bhakti Utsav opening here on Friday. With their haunting voices, these 16 bright young girls are out to sing their way into the hearts of millions.

"We all belonged to Holy Family Convent and were part of the school choir. I came back to join as a music director after I finished studying music in London on a scholarship. After the choir won second place at a prestigious international competition in Wales, we formed the group. There are actually 30 members, but some are still in school and have restrictions. So we have got 16 members to Delhi,'' says music director Sooundarie David.

Probably the only all-girls group from the country that has lent its voice to a single - "Grief Never Grows Old... ." -- that made it to No. 4 in the Billboards Charts, they have done what most people have always dreamt about: singing with some big names of rock including Bee Gees, Cliff Richards, Bill Wyman of Rolling Stones and Boy George. "I always have crazy ideas. We wanted to do something for the tsunami victims. So I contacted the producer; he sent the track through e-mail and we recorded it in one day. The project, One World, was released throughout Europe on January 24. But the mixing was done there," she says. The album, which has been very successful, has managed to raise lots of money for those who lost everything in the tragedy.

Dressed in pale beige satin gowns with bright red sashes, this group can sing hymns and hip-hop with equal ease. Whether it is fun songs or serious numbers, it is clear that music is their second language. Bonded on music, whispered secrets, shared food and the familiarity of having studied together, it is a family with strong musical ties. While they have performed with other male choirs, in the end it is about "girl power". "It is not as if we don't want to sing with men. We have known each other for so long, we understand each other well and it is really about bonding," she explains.

Juggling different careers, the singers in the choir are not only musicians. Sooundarie is a lawyer. There is also a journalist, a newsreader and a host of other singers holding regular jobs like bankers and teachers.

Blurring boundaries with their music, for them it is literally about "Soul Sounds".

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