Ranga Dasanyake may not be your usual household superstar name but definitely the most respected and sought after musician/sound engineer among musicians, industry professionals and the media.

Ranga D or shall I say Scooby as he is known among close peeps is a very laid back, easy going and I must say a very humble human being you would come across, but once he sets himself on a project that’s when his other side reveals itself, the creative and expressive side takes form to deliver memorable, melodious, captivating and award winning musical blessings.

The local Beethoven is no stranger to music, being born to a musical family and being trained by his father the legendary usical genius Sarath Dasanayake this young prodigy underlined the statement “Like Father like Son”. The ABC’s or rather the CDE’s of music were taught by his late father an later by the Piano specialist Mr.Claude Fernando. It didn’t take much time for junior Dasanyake to realize that his life was heading on a musical journey.

All great names start short and this was no exception for Ranga D, his first stint was a family affair being a key board player in his father’s orchestra, after several movies Ranga chose a change, this was the his first introduction in to the demanding and yet rewarding world of advertising music industry. Video Image Pvt (Ltd) opened its doors for this young gentleman, where he joined as a musical composer/assistant sound engineer and did not disappoint the lads contributing immensely to ad industry.

In 1994 he joined hands with Asith Attanayake and started Take One Studio, this was the birth place of a new era of musicians including pop duo sensations to hip-hop moguls. Ranga D was responsible for a new sound that was taking the airwaves by
storm. The birth of fusion music and the introduction of a pop culture were evolving and this why Ranga D is considered the godfather of the age pop music in Sri Lanka. Ranga never wanted the limelight or centre stage attention, he was more a
backstage person and I must say a backbone to a huge number of musicians from this era.

Studios to stage! How does that transition sound? Well he had to set his footsteps in English theatre due to his growing demand of music. Ranga’s contribution to English theatre and the opportunity to work on the score for Andrew Lloyd Webbers’s musical “Lion king” by “Workshop Players” was a milestone in his journey. Theatre did not end there he hit the right notes on many remarkable stage productions which include Phantom of the opera, Romeo & Juliet, Blood Brothers and Sound Of Music.

After completing his higher studies in the US, Ranga returned to the island to start the most established audio production house brand name “Hit Factory”. Ranga’s solo venture was literally a factory making “Hits” which included SLIM & Chille award
winning campaigns to songs that made stars overnight. Ranga currently is a full time lecturer at Colombo campus and studying for his PHD in sound and acoustics.

Rahman won Oscars for India, will Ranga do his part for the island? He’s been able to prove a point so far, so let’s wait and see.