Walking The Red Carpet : Charin and Yathra 

An invitation to the Grammy’s leads us to Charin Mendis and Yathra Jayawardene, two powerful individuals, to talk about music, a very glamorous event and their road to success. 

The Grammy’s is nothing strange to Charin who’s on his fifth invite, having received his first invitation in 2012 by the Recording Academy. His third time attending, he’s off to the event with big dreams and big goals, having just re launched his band THE BATTERII and an upcoming album release with Yathra on its way. 

Despite it being her first time at the Awards, Yathra herself carries a success along with her as she gets featured alongside other A-listers such as Queen Latifah in a book called ‘The Diary of a Songwriter’ which sheds light on the sexism and injustices faced by female artists in breaking into the music industry. Yathra gets to share her story of what it was to break into the industry. 

How would you best describe yourself? 

Charin : I would say I’m a well-rounded lover of everything that interests me. Anything that requires a lot of detailing, whether it be in music, design, or technology etc. Music however has always been my primary love and whether it’s in a professional sense or for leisure I know I will always have something to do with it. I also like cats now! 

Yathra : I’m a lover of all things unique, wild and beautiful. It might be due to my family’s heavy influence in the arts and being around it since childhood but I’ve learnt to appreciate unique things and always try to do or be something different. I’m someone that can find virtually anything to be of interest, it’s actually a characteristic I hope I never lose. 

This is your fifth Grammy invite! How did it all start? 

Charin : Well, I received my first invitation in 2012 to the Annual Grammy Awards. I had left my post unchecked for a few days and when I did finally open my letters, I had received an invitation to attend the Grammys. It was mainly due to my involvement in several projects as a ghost producer/engineer/writer that eventually led to being invited by The Recording Academy (the body of that awards the Grammy’s every year). 

Since 2012 I’ve been lucky enough to be given the option to take a guest with me to the awards and in my fifth year in a row, I plan to share that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with more and more people I think are deserving of it. 

How excited are you for this year’s Grammy's? 

Charin : You would think that it would be a little less exciting for me to attend the awards as I have done this a couple of times of before, but honestly it is still as exciting and nerve wrecking as the first time. You see that in all the musicians over there as well, no matter how long or successful they've been in their career when it comes to Grammy week and getting a nomination or award it is almost always overwhelming. The gratitude and excitement they express on stage in front of the camera is truly sincere and it lasts through the entire show. Talent is in abundance there. 

Yathra : Really excited! Since it’s my first time at the Grammys I’m already pep talking myself into not getting lost in the moment and to really enjoy it and have fun! Also I’m trying to keep track of all the people that inspire me and see if they would take a selfie with me, because what better way to remember the night with right?! 

What’s your Grammy schedule for this year? 

Charin and Yathra : There are many parties, concerts and conferences happening throughout the Grammy week; these are hosted by various celebrities for different causes and collectives, We plan to attend Clive Davis' Pre-Grammy Party, The Annual Grammy Celebration, Grammy Premier Telecast and Worldwide Telecast and of course all the after parties! We definitely hope to spread the word about our new album and most importantly let the industry over there know that this album is coming out from this part of the world. Discussions on future collaborations are definitely in the books. 

Who are you looking forward to meeting the most? 

Charin and Yathra : We both have similar admirations and inspirations, so in terms of music it would be amazing to meet Prince, Sir Paul McCartney  and in the production and audio side of things we are really looking forward to meeting Robert Lange and possibly work on a future project. 

How does it feel to be members of the Songwriters Hall of Fame? 

Charin and Yathra : Established in 1969, the Songwriters Hall of Fame honours those whose work represents a spectrum of the most beloved songs from the world’s popular music songbook. Its board members included the likes of Frank Sinatra, Hal David etc. Each year the Hall of Fame inducts a slate of songwriters voted on by the membership at an Awards Gala that has been recognized by the music industry and the media as the most important of the year. 

It’s such an amazing and humbling opportunity to be welcomed in to a prestigious society run by some of the most respected musicians in the industry. It is the most prestigious musical body in the world that is dedicated to songwriting and composition and becoming a part of that entity is an important milestone in the Sri Lankan Songwriter’s journey. 

How did you two meet and start up your recording studio, 5TRAWBERIFILED5? 

Charin and Yathra : Both of us knew each other when we were schooling but got closer a few years ago. Our mutual love for the arts is what really got us working together. The projects we were doing individually were of interest to the other and we knew we could really do something special together. Together we initially started operating 5TRAWBERIFIELD5™ and SONGVRX™ which offers many services such as master classes, song writing and composition for albums / jingles / fashion shows / high-profile weddings / films / corporate profiles and launches etc. Our recent work in the advertising spectrum includes the Hatton National Bank Corporate Signature Tune, HNB Singithi Campaign, Lankatiles Signature Tune etc. We were also responsible for the new design and development of the Timex and Fergasam Group Corporate Website among many others. 

Our latest project is Sri Lanka’s first curated virtual Fashion, Art, Design and Music store + Gallery. It’s a place which will empower independent designers and artists to thrive in the virtual realm. The response has been overwhelming and the potential is promising. You can see some of our work at www.konozo.com. 

You are releasing your first album ‘POPSYCLE’. Tell us a bit about that. 

Charin : The album drops on June 6 and will hit the stores worldwide! We are pleased to let our supporters know that it will be a truly world-class album. It was produced in premium industry standards using the highest quality specifications in the industry today. The tracks were composed, recorded and produced in many parts of the world including London, Los Angeles, New York, Ibiza and Colombo. We aim to appeal to both the local and the international music scene as a whole. In order to achieved this objective we had to pay detailed attention to the quality of the productions and therefore its more than safe to say it’s the highest quality album ever produced and composed by Sri Lankan artists. It will be a benchmark for Sri Lankan productions after its release. 

The first single is out now and you can buy it on all the stores worldwide including iTunes, Beatport, Tidal and also on KONOZO. 

Congratulations on the feature Yathra! How does it feel to be a part of this book? 

Yathra : Thank you! When Charin first told me about the opportunity I thought it sounded amazing and was thrilled to be involved with such an inspiring project.  In an effort to empower creative women, the book shares the stories of a variety of female artists’ personal experiences as well as general advice on how to cope with and safeguard themselves against such abuse and injustice. I was asked to represent Asia and share my empowering thoughts. The book is backed by A-Listers such as Queen Latifah and is the brainchild of five time Grammy Award winning songwriter, producer, and programmer Devine Evans. You can watch the launch of the book on the website by visiting www.thediaryofasongwriter.com. We are hoping to make it available for purchases at KONOZO and other stores in Sri Lanka as well. 

Where do you see yourselves in 10 years? 

Charin and Yathra : Haha, maybe a Grammy nomination / win and at the Oscars! 

Interviewed by Panchali Illankoon