Electronic music has come a long way over the years, and is steadily gaining popularity with the new generation.
In conversation with Viraj Pero on his entrance into the local electronic music scene in Sri Lanka, he told us that he was always interested in watching famous music festivals like the Ultra Music Festival and Tomorrowland. “Watching these, my interest in electronic music piqued and I thought to myself, one day I want to be like these musicians at a big festival.” His dreams turned to reality soon after he began experimenting with producing, mixing, and mastering music.
In 2015, he realised his dream, upon meeting and coming together with his friend Kanishka – another talented producer in the field who shared his vision – in 2012, which they worked on over the years. Together, with their expertise and experience, they formed Electro Doctors – a DJ duo that specialises in a certain genre of electronic music. They produce and play genres like percussive house, Groove, progressive house, tech house, electro house, and big room house.
Pero told us that at the time, Kanishka was known for being Sri Lanka’s first iPad musician, so he brought a lot of unique knowledge to the table. The two of them have played at over 50 gigs in the country; some well-known gigs are the Taprobana Music Festival and the YES Home Grown Awards. Impressively, they also played alongside big names like Romeo Blanco, Sem Thomasson, DJs From Mars, DJ Christy Million, and DJ Amely. They’ve also produced hits such as Gajaga and Pumpkin (Wattakka) that represent purely Sri Lankan vibes.
Of course, coming to a point where one can perform at renowned festivals like Tomorrowland is no easy task, especially for two aspiring musicians in a small country like ours. Pero explained that one of the biggest challenges that they are constantly trying to overcome is to do with labels. “We need to get signed to a well-known label that produces high-quality music as well. This isn’t easy, but we both have a goal to release music with a big-name label and we work towards it everyday,” he told us, adding that once this is achieved, then they can dream about playing at global festivals after garnering the attention they need from all over the world.
We asked Pero what he thinks of the current scope of electronic music in Sri Lanka, to which he said that it is still in the developing phase. “Electronic music is rapidly gaining popularity in the country, but there is still much improvement to be made.” Looking at electronic music in 2012, back when he started, and comparing it to modern day, Pero noted that there has been much development in terms of quality and recognition. “There are many new DJs and producers as well now, but in Sri Lanka, they stick to simply playing at clubs,” he informed us, adding that there is so much more potential for the raw talent here, and a few years down the line, electronic music will have fully developed and be recognised globally.
At the moment, they are in the process of producing some music as well and hope to tour the world one day. The two have very ambitious dreams, but as the saying goes – aim for the moon and you will land amongst the stars – which in Electro Doctors case, is who they want to be with. They have more music planned for this year, as well as some surprises for their fans. After some convincing, he revealed to us: “We’ve produced an album that’ll be coming out this September. The making is in process – we are deciding what to do and what changes need to be made on certain tracks.” He promised that it’ll be a game changer.
They have a few solo performances lined up for this year. They’ll be playing as supporting artists and opening acts for a few gigs happening soon and are excited to share their journey with their fans.
