Pasan Liyanage is an in-demand music producer, known for his talent of bridging the technical and creative aspects of a song on its journey from a raw track to a polished record.
Perhaps what is most intriguing about Liyanage is that he avoids sticking to one style of music, as he believes that it limits his creativity. Since his career is mostly based on making commercials, he told us that it is basically a requirement that he is well versed in all aspects of music, not just focused on one. He told us: “I’m not trapped in a genre. I will do whatever style I please, depending on the song.” He also added that he finds experimenting with different styles and genres quite fun.
As with most musicians, Liyanage’s interest in the music industry was sparked at a very young age. “I always enjoyed listening to music; I even studied western music in school, because I wanted to understand how music was created.” Later, he worked at the Hit Factory Audio Institute, where he delved deeper into the mysteries of creating and producing music.
After he gained sufficient experience and knowledge in the field, he opened his own audio production company, by the name RedFox, which gave him the opportunity to experiment and orchestrate new music genres and reach heights in the music industry, backed by a devoted team of professionals.
RedFox has now established itself as a premier audio production company and has been in the industry for a very long time. Speaking on this venture, Liyanage proudly commented: “We’ve done quite a good job so far, in my opinion. People are now recommending us to everyone they know, which is a good sign that you are doing honest work.”
RedFox focuses mostly on TV and radio commercial audio productions, and, according to Liyanage, has produced half of Sri Lanka’s TV commercials, which is quite the impressive feat. He noted: “Other than that, we are into music production as well.” He added that they are loved for being on time with their work, and they ensure that they are always up to date on the current music trends and equipment to provide their clients with the best service money can buy. On the same topic, he spoke about how much social media has developed. “TikTok is now a marketing hit. Many brands have made a name for themselves purely by making TikToks and even some of our clients have started engaging in TikTok marketing, despite being against it before.”
Listing out a few of his renowned productions, he added: “I have worked with many famous artists over the years; the likes of Tehani, Bachi Susan, and many more. Some of the hits included Sihine by Sanuka ft. Tehani, Maath Mage Hitha Hadannam ft. Tharuka Gunarathne, and Ashawari ft. Kalpana Nanayamadhu.” He also produced President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s election campaign theme song Wada Karana Ape Viruwa, which was quite the hit on iTunes.
During the pandemic, RedFox had to move all operations to work from home. “Even voice artists had to voice at home, but it wasn’t too bad. We worked as usual; everything was fine and went quite smoothly.”
With RedFox, Liyanage hopes to do more music out of the country and work with artists abroad as well. “I love the Indian and Tamil market, and I have an avid interest in the Hollywood market as well.” He revealed that RedFox has taken steps in moving forward with this goal, adding that they are currently working with a few big labels at the moment.
This year, he was able to release Mariazelle Goonetilleke’s Kandy Lamissi in a new way, with a twist. Currently, he is working on some big named artists’ albums to be released next year, including Yohani, Gayan, and many more. He urged his followers to stay tuned to his work to find out more.
