- Stigmata gears up for their upcoming gig this weekend
Stigmata’s ‘Arise’ concert on 25 June
Rs. 2, 000 per ticket: Gig + Rooftop afterparty + more
Venue: Gloriance Ballroom, Bellanwila
Reservations may be made via 0777300607, and at the gate
In good news for all metalheads, Stigmata is all set to perform at their upcoming gig “Arise”, which is to happen this Saturday (25) at the Gloriance Ballroom, Bellanwila. In honour of their 22nd anniversary, Stigmata is making a comeback bigger and better with the introduction of a new member, renowned drummer Harshan Gallage. After their non-voluntary hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, they have had one gig, which had such great reception that this gig was decided on by popular demand.
We reached out to Suresh de Silva, frontman of Stigmata to find out what we can expect this Saturday, and what the band has been up to so far.
What were your thoughts behind organising this gig?
In honour of our 22-year anniversary, we decided to host a series of gigs in and out of Colombo. We want to play at many different venues and engage with a few new venues as well. This show is also special because we will be having two cameo acts – Sanjeev Niles,0 who played with us at our last gig will be playing by popular demand, as well as Trishira, an incredibly talented metal band.
What did you learn from the last gig that will be changed/kept for this one?
We will be playing at the same venue we did for our last gig, Gloriance Ballroom, and the arrangement will be the same. People loved that there was ample parking space and a rooftop for them to socialise. For the value of the ticket, guests will also receive free drinks, which was a big hit last time too.
The organising team, event co-ordinators, sponsors – save for a few new ones we are honoured to have on board – will be the same as the last time, but we are allowing more guests in this time.
I love the fact that we have worked and been able to create an ecosystem that is interdependent and interconnected – it’s a very spiritual thing, the bond between an artist and the audience. From the feedback we have received from the last gig as well as the messages we are getting from fans anticipating this gig, we know we are going to have a bigger crowd than last time. Last time’s show won the confidence of the audience and everyone enjoyed it, so this time will be bigger and better. The audience can expect a freshly evolved sound and something that we have never done in the past before.
What is the theme for this show?
We have always organised concerts under different themes to make it more interesting. A new theme means it’s fresh artwork, we get to change our set lists and play around with the songs to match that particular theme.
While last year’s theme revolved around getting out of the pandemic and looking forward to a new normal, with this year’s economic crisis and multiple shortages we named the theme to be “Arise”.
It’s a play on words to say it’s important and integral that Sri Lanka arises from the slump we are in right now, and us Sri Lankans too have to rise up from the mire. If we are to be born again and evolve, we need to rise from the proverbial ashes, so we want to emphasise that the situation will get better and give them a sense of escapism for a few hours.
Devoid of race, cultural beliefs, customs, nationality, status and wealth, heritage, religion, or sexual preferences, I believe music is universal because it brings people of all walks of life together. For me personally, heavy metal has been my home and my go to place – not just as a frontman and a performer; at the end of the day, I’m still a fan of music.
How did you find organising a gig during an economic crisis?
People see the performers, the audience, and the venue, but what people fail to see and understand is that it is a very independent and interconnected ecosystem. There is so much that happens behind the scenes to make such an event successful – there are PR teams, sound and lighting teams, catering teams, security teams, backdrop teams, sponsors, and several other crews who all have their own teams under them who all depend on the money made from this event as a livelihood.
They are all dependent on the event industry to make money, so it’s essential that these concerts and events still go on. People tend to forget that the event industry, hospitality industry and tourism industry all have people working under them that depend solely on the success of the industry to make a living.
This is why we still went ahead with this gig.
Stigmata will be playing with a new drummer – how has that been?
To fill the gap that our last drummer left is a legend in the Sri Lankan drumming and percussion sphere. Harshan Gallage is a renowned drummer – one of the best in this region. We reached out to him, he jammed with us and we were very happy and made it official a few weeks ago.
Harshan has played with big names like Indrachapa Liyanage, Kasun Kalhara, Paranoid Earthling, Alien Accent, and more veteran bands here. He’s talented in every genre from jazz and fusion to rock and metal to eastern music and Sri Lankan traditional music. We’ve known him for a long time and vice versa, so him joining the band felt like the planets were aligning.
He’s only had a couple of weeks to learn our music and he will be playing some of our fan-favourite songs. We have composed a brand new song with him – that was made for our upcoming fifth album – which we will play this Saturday. It’s an extremely special cover that’s really difficult to play that Harshan pushed us to do, and we will be playing it at the gig.
Not to take anything from the previous drummer – Hafzel Preena, who had to leave due to migration – but we feel excited and reinvigorated for this new chapter. Harshan is not a replacement, but a cog in the wheel.
What’s next for Stigmata?
This is the second concert in the series of concerts we will be conducting in the future. We have tied up with some surprisingly new venues and will be playing at our old venues as well. Tap House by RnR has shown interest, we are in talks with Darley Road at Excel World. If it all works out, we are looking to play a few shows islandwide, and we are confident overseas tours will start next year.
If all goes to plan, our new album will drop this year as well – we are currently working on the songs and hoping that the new album will see the light of day this year.
