Sri Lankans doing it as DISTY in Qatar

Two Sri Lankans, who have been much in the limelight, in Qatar, over the past few months, are Dileepa Liyanage and Rubeena Shabnam.

In fact, they came into the spotlight, in a big way, when they were featured at a fan zone venue, during the FIFA World Cup tournament, performing along with artistes from other nationalities.

With accolades coming their way, after their impressive performance, at the fan zone venue, at Barwa Al Baraha, in Qatar, Dileepa and Rubeena have decided to team up and form their own band – DISTY.

Five talented musicians make up DISTY and their debut performance was at the Junction Restro Bar, in Doha, described as a cozy restaurant bar…to relax, with great food, drink and music.

Rubeena Shabnam: Vocalist, rapper, radio personality

It was the very first time that this venue featured Sri Lankan musicians and, I’m told, they rocked the night, singing their originals and a few mashups.

“It was an absolute experience and we enjoyed the setup,” says Rubeena, adding that as musicians they feel proud of their achievement.

According to Rubeena, ‘Ape Handiya’ is the show name they will be using wherever they perform.

DISTY is made up of…

Dileepa Liyanage –

Visharad in Indian music, a producer, and a singer. He has been in the music industry for many years, producing different genres of music, and enjoys exploring with different musical instruments.

Rubeena Shabnam –

Vocalist, rapper, radio personality. Started singing five years ago, and is able to sing in English, Sinhala, Tamil, and Hindi. Her debut song is ‘Ma Dase.’

Ansaf Ameer –

Vocalist, lyricist, rapper, actor, and short movie scriptwriter. He writes lyrics in English, Sinhala and Tamil and has also been writing for some of the popular artistes in Sri Lanka.

Emijay –

Dileepa Liyanage: Visharad in Indian music

Rapper and lyricist, who creates his own rap lyrics. He started his music career, two years ago, and ‘Unuhume’ is his first rap song.

Harris –

Singer, actor, lyricist, rapper, composer, guitarist and a dancer. Comes from a musical background and has been in the music industry since he was very young.

Says Rubeena:

“We are all unique, in our own way, and we want to bring out the best of Sri Lankan music, within our community, and also other communities, here in Qatar.

“We are looking forward to showcasing our music and to do some originals, as well, and our aim is to entertain our audience, of all ages, from classic to modern music, along with our very own baila.

“As a group, we can sing in various languages, and write lyrics in Sinhala, Tamil and English, and our goal is to be seen and heard in various platforms, here in Qatar.”