Decibel Exclusive : Nelaka Fernando

Nelaka is no strange to the home music scene. He gained attention when he released his debut single ‘Years’ thru the Acoustic Collective sometime late last year.

Fastforward to the future, he’s back with an Ep and is currently working on an album. We caught up with him for a quick one to one.

DecibelLk: Tell us about your debut Ep ‘Times Of Transitions’?

Nelaka: This EP has been in the making for around a year now. I wrote the first song “Years” in January 2016 but only recorded it in October 2016. Since then I’ve been writing and recording the other 4 tracks that make up the EP with Joshua. It’s titled “Times of Transition” since all 5 tracks are about my personal experiences of dealing with change and real life situations.

DecibelLk: About the first single off the Ep ‘Sky Machine’?

Nelaka: My first single off the EP is “Sky Machine” and it’s about some of my closest friends I grew up with who had to leave the country to pursue their higher education. I consider it to be a tribute to all the amazing memories we share and also a call for them to come back home. I feel many people in this day and age can relate to that idea, of people who are closest to you having to part ways with you in order to find their calling.

DecibelLK: Would we be seeing you perform live more?

Nelaka: Currently my partner in crime Joshua is out of the country but when he does get back in December I’m looking forward to playing as many gigs as I can with him!

DecibelLk: How would you describe the sound and the feel of the album?

Nelaka: I think ‘Times of Transition’ has a very homely feel to it. I’m pretty sure a lot of people can relate to all the songs on it because they’re all about change, love and   loss. It has a very mellow vibe to it which I feel best describes my music style. Simply put, I feel it’s me and my story on record.

DecibelLK: What’s Next For You?

Nelaka:  I will probably take a break from recording to focus on my higher education and of course, writing more music. Nothing is set in stone as of yet but I feel the next step is a full-fledged album which I will record as soon as I have the material fit for it.

DecibelLk: We’ve never gotten to know about you the human, tell us about you.

Nelaka:  Well, I’m just a guy who loves to write and sing sad songs! I’m supported by an amazing family and a very close knit, wonderful set of friends. My songs are almost always about personal experiences. I feel that makes my music an honest reflection of who I am as a person and I love it when people can relate to that. My life revolves around music mostly. If I’m not writing, recording or performing you can probably find me listening to and exploring new music. Oh and I’m a dog person ?

DecibelLk: Who inspires you from LKA & globally?

Nelaka: I would say I’m inspired by the works of Ed Sheeran, John Mayer, Benjamin Francis Leftwich, Coldplay and Alter Bridge. Locally, I’m a huge fan of artists like Asela Perera, CC , Minesh and Cosmogyral. The amount of talent we have on this small island of ours is amazing!

Follow Nelaka on his official FB page, Click here