Features
Gypsies’ ‘Oye Ojaya’ in a new setting
Piyal Perera to pursue solo career…
End of the road for Gypsies!
No Gypsies event was complete without this infectious song being performed by Sunil and Piyal, and, at times, there have even been requests for a repeat performance of ‘Oye Ojaya,’ at the very same event.
With Sunil’s demise, the song, too, was heard less, but…yes, it has now resurfaced – in a new setting.
Arjun Kumaraswamy, who is now based in the UK, is responsible for the revival of ‘Oye Ojaya.’
Arjun, a singer by profession, who migrated to London, at the tender age of four, always enjoyed listening to ‘Oye Ojaya’ and, not too long ago, he decided to contact Piyal with his idea of redoing this particular song.
Piyal gave the thumbs up and ‘Oye Ojaya,’ in a new setting, became a reality, and the launch of the video recording took place on the 11th of October.
According to Piyal, the whole new setup was handled by Arjun and his team, with the storyboard and the video being the brainchild of Hasinth Pathirana.
It was all done in Sri Lanka and the final product is certainly awesome. You could check it out on YouTube (Arjun x Piyal – Oye Ojaye).
In the meanwhile, Piyal says he is now concentrating on a solo career and, in fact, his first overseas assignment, as a solo singer, is to London for ‘Golden Rush,’ presented by the Mahanama College OBA UK, on 28th October.
Says Piyal: There is a lot of responsibilities involved in handling a band and I now believe that I need to slow down a bit and a solo career would be ideal at this stage.”
When asked about the future of the Gypsies, he said there will come a time when the Gypsies, too, will be no more.
“We certainly had a great time, working as the Gypsies, especially with Sunil around, but things have changed, since then.”
And with Piyal going solo, the Gypsies may find their fan base diminishing.
However, along with Piyal, the Gypsies did two events, in Oman, early this month– a dance and a concert.
