“Voice Print” is a group that needs no introduction to local audiences. Following their success at the World Choir Games in 2010 where they emerged as Silver and Bronze medalist the road for the boys has been paved with success. Their humble beginnings and rise to fame is a truly inspiring story which has been told many a times and the purpose of this article is certainly not to take a walk down memory lane!

So what is this article all about?

The answer: The boys recently put on a full length performance after a hiatus of five years at the Hilton, Colombo and it was a show certainly not to be missed. Let’s get a few glitches out of the way and then start on how awesome the performance was. The show started about 30 minutes later than scheduled which led to quite a bit of agitation and in true Sri Lankan style led to a stampede when the doors finally opened.

The show started off with a mash up of Super Trooper by Abba and Jump by Van Halen followed by Easy Lover by Phil Collins and Hold the Line by Toto. Having seen the boys perform before I knew that something was not right and it turned out to be a few issues with the sound that made these few songs sound not that great. This issue was soon solved by Malinda Lowe of Universal sounds and the show just kept progressing and soon those intricate harmonies which Voice Print is known to possess were flowing through the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton Colombo.

My favourite tune of the night were the amazing renditions of The Boxer made popular by the folk duo Simon and Garfunkle whose songs are usually in two part harmony. Once you add another 5 parts to something that amazing words cannot describe how beautiful the songs sound. Other songs that I personally liked was “Aatha Ran Wiman”, “I Won’t Give Up” and “Don’t You Worry Child”.

The second half started off with an impromptu version of “Nadee Ganga” as a Thank You to one of their sponsors  which were followed by hits from Toto, Justin Timberlake, Michael Jackson, Daft Punk and Olly Murs. The second half included guest performances by Mariazelle Gunetilleke and Piyal Perea whose songs Gayu Gee and Pem Lovay were covered by Voice Print and introduced to the Sri Lankan mass market as the country’s first accapella tracks and have proven to be massive hits.

As an added excitement this was the first time a digital floor was used for a show of this nature and that made the performance all the more spectacular! All in all it was very good evening of music and had the crowd on their feet by the end of the night and the boys certainly better not keep crowds waiting for another 5 years!

Comments from the audience

It was a good show, I liked the fact that they did a lot of new things. If I had to pick a favorite it would be 'Don't You Worry Child'. – Aushadie

A fabulous show, I loved the blend of Sinhala and English. – Kumar

It was a very entertaining evening. I loved it. – Priyanthi

The show was quite good. – Jayodi

It was a very exciting evening. I liked 'Don't You Worry Child' and 'The Boxer'.  – Zahara

The show was really good. – Dushyanth

I really enjoyed the show. The use of the digital floor was simply fantastic. – Ishan

By Reihan Stephen
Pics by Nisal Baduge