Randhir - Sri Lanka’s Hip-Hop heartthrob is set to release one of 2008’s most exciting singles – ‘Ojaye’. ‘Ojaye’ is an electrifying remix of the 1980’s hit song made popular by the Gypsies’. The song’s highly anticipated release took place on April 30, 2008. Randhir’s remix of ‘Ojaye’ also features a guest appearance by Sri Lankan music maestros Bathiya & Santhush. Music critics describe ‘Ojaye’ as a breath of fresh air to Sri Lanka’s current music trend and expect the song to be one the biggest hits of 2008.
Randhir is well known for his ability to generate number 1 hits. His debut single ‘Namal Mitak’ climbed to the top of many radio charts, whereas his most recent release ‘Upuli’ is a runaway success on local radio.
Randhir began his professional music career in 1999 with Bathiya & Santhush featuring on their hit song ‘Siri Sangabodhi’. During his music career Randhir has been featured on some of Sri Lanka’s most memorable number-one hits such as ‘Siri Sangabodhi’ [Bathiya & Santhush], ‘Neththara’ [Bathiya & Santhush], ‘Res Vihidhena Samanaliyak’ [Bathiya & Santhush] and ‘Alawanthiyak’ [Ashanthi].
“The idea to remix ‘Ojaye’ was one that came to us while working in the studio” explains Randhir. “Bathiya and I were trying to compose a melody for a music track I had produced. We struggled with it for hours and hours but got nowhere. I stepped out of the studio for about five minutes to answer a phone call. When I walked back in, Bathiya had this cheeky smile on his face – the kind of smile you have when you’ve just had a creative brainstorm”.
Bathiya then played him the music track and sang the words of ‘Ojaye’ over it. Miraculously, both the lyrics and melody of ‘Ojaye’ seemed to fit Randhir’s music track perfectly. Furthermore, the music track’s Hip-Hop groove gave ‘Ojaye’ a whole new upbeat energy. “I don’t know what went through Bathiya’s head during the few minutes I was away from the studio,” says Randhir, “but it was sheer brilliance”. Later on that week Randhir met with Sunil Perera from the Gypsies to obtain the rights to remix ‘Ojaye’. “Sunil aiya is one of the most supportive musicians I have met. The man is a living legend and yet so down-to-earth,” says Randhir, “He agreed to give me the rights to ‘Ojaye’ but made me promise that I would do something new and spectatuclar with it. Therefore, my first priority when remixing ‘Ojaye’ was to do justice to both the song and Sunil aiya.”
The original ‘Ojaye’ was written by the late Hemasiri Halpita and composed by The Gypsies. For remix purposes, the original lyrics to ‘Ojaye’ were edited by songwriter Kelum Srimal. The music arrangements for ‘Ojaye’ were done by Bathiya Jayakody and Dushan Jayatilaka. Further contributions to the production of ‘Ojaye’ were made by Sri Shyamalangan and acoustic guitarist Malith.
Randhir says that the music video to ‘Ojaye’ will be released in early June prior to the launch of his debut album titled ‘Namal Mitak’.
