Yohani’s latest single “Merry Christmas Baby” premiered on Monday (21) and the track marks her first attempt at an English language track and is the first with a composition credit to her as well.
The music, mixing, and mastering of the track were done by LAK at Pettah Effect Studios – Pettah Effect is Yohani’s record label – and the lyrics to the song were written by Dilanjan Seneviratne.
We spoke to both the lyricist and Yohani herself about the Christmas-themed release, which is special on a number of counts as it is not just about her first composer credit on an English language track; it is also one of her first holiday releases. And with 2020 being so difficult for everyone the world over, this is sure to bring some holiday cheer to Yohani’s fans.
The Christmas-themed love ballad was penned by Dilanjan, who shared with us that he wrote this song back in November 2019, but never got around to releasing it. He said that when Christmas 2020 rolled around, they felt that they should do something for Christmas this year.
Dilanjan said that usually when it comes to Yohani’s music, they work on the melody first, but this one was different in that it had the lyrics which he had written. He shared that having used that as a starting point, Yohani came up with the melody herself and she produced it as well.
Yohani shared this sentiment, saying that “Merry Christmas Baby” was actually a song that they would jam to back then with the Pettah Effect crew, adding that she had originally planned to release it last year. However, one thing led to another and they were unable to.
She also said that this year, she began to learn to produce, and with “Merry Christmas Baby”, she thought of giving it a go and tried out her take on the song. Yohani shared that since it was originally done together with everyone at Pettah effect, the roots are from those sessions they had together.
We were told that whilst dealing with the pandemic, like most musicians, Yohani too had experienced a burst of inspiration. With nothing but time on her hands, Yohani had locked herself inside the studio for prolonged periods, and it has resulted in the fast tracking of what’s to come, according to Dilanjan.
Dilanjan said that Yohani never does anything according to a plan; none of this has been strategic. “If she likes it she does it,” he said, adding that that has always been how she operates. Regardless, however, the pandemic-induced productivity has led to the completion of many songs, which they hope to release one by one.
He said that so far, they have a total of 12 English tracks and eight Sinhala tracks ready to go. However, he shared that they haven’t figured out if they want to release an album, primarily because releasing an album requires a lot of funding. He added that in addition to a Valentine’s Day-focused release, there is something big that people can look forward to in February 2021.
The music video
About the “Merry Christmas Baby” music video, Dilanjan pointed out that they chose to go with a minimalist video this time around, mostly because they really didn’t have the budget for anything too extravagant.
The video depicts the Christmas season in a melancholic setting, and Dilanjan shared that the idea was to create a vibe that was typically representative of something out of a foreign city. They made a conscious decision to keep things minimal, going so far as to removing some of the cabinets on set to create the empty, forlorn ambiance.
He also spoke of the handheld camera that was utilised to film the majority of the video – a notable feature for anyone watching. He said that the shaky cam allowed them to portray the vulnerability of the protagonist, and the unstable camera movements were meant to convey the general emotion of that moment. He also spoke of the colour grading, the red and blue tones they went with, which give it a much more cinematic feel.
Rawwath Dasin (රැව්වත් දෑසින්) Yohani ft. Chanuka Mora
We had to ask about Rawwath Dasin, which was easily one of Yohani’s biggest releases since the beginning of her career. Unsurprisingly, it has become a huge success since its release in early December with over half a million views to date.
Almost entirely different to the Christmas song, Rawwath Dasin was an all-out cinematic production, and Dilanjan cheekily shared that that is where all their money went – to create what has been enjoyed by thousands of people globally.
He shared that the song was a very personal story for Yohani; “it is basically her real-life story”, and he said that when he wrote the directory treatment for the video, he was adamant in not portraying it in the typical way that Sri Lanka has shown the war in the past.
He said that it was the story of a decorated war hero, but he wished not to bring that person in as a character but rather explore the juxtaposition of a daughter following in her father’s footsteps, but in a different setting, almost like a vigilante.
He said that they focused on her costume changes and the way she presented herself, almost like she is leading a double life – one part that is a fighter and then the girly more stylish side which could be her true self. He said that you observe that while the war hero was fighting his war, there was a war being fought at home by his family, and he wanted to merge those two worlds in a hard-hitting way.
We asked Yohani about Rawwath Dasin and about how they chose to tell a very personal story. She said she found that a lot of people related to the song and that while there was that initial trepidation of how the subject matter would be received, for the most part things have been positive.
She also spoke of the response she received so far for the new release, sharing that it has all been pretty positive. She added that she is also just experimenting with the sound and she hopes to keep doing that as she moves forward.
What is next?
With regards to what’s next when it comes to music video releases and how much bigger and more chaotic they wished to get, Dilanjan shared that they have always done the best they could with what they had and added that they have always invested all they had when it came to what they release to the public.
Yohani said that come 2021, there is much to look forward to, adding that there are a few collaborations that are yet to come out – with Medhini, Venura, and of course the upcoming track with ADK, and she also has a number of originals scheduled to come out next year.
She said that she cannot say how Sri Lanka will receive the English language originals but so far, with her first one, which had only been out a few hours before we reached out to her, things have been going well, and she said that she will continue to release new originals in English as long as she enjoys doing it.
