Rukshan Perera, is a Sri Lankan-born singer-songwriter, record producer, international recording, television star, and a multi-instrumentalist.

Biography

He was born in Colombo, to a musical family. Rukshan got his first piano lesson at age five from his mother, a well known music teacher/church organist for fifty years in

Moratuwa Moratuwa ( si, මොරටුව, ta, மொறட்டுவை) is a large suburb of Colombo, on the southwestern coast of Sri Lanka, near Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. It is situated on the Galle–Colombo (Galle road) main highway, south o ...

. Rukshan became a self-taught guitarist and formed his first family band at the age of ten and performed over

Radio Ceylon Radio Ceylon ( si, ලංකා ගුවන් විදුලි සේවය ''Lanka Guwan Viduli Sevaya'', ta, இலங்கை வானொலி, ''ilankai vanoli'') is a radio station based in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) and the first ...

. He was educated at the

Royal College, Colombo Royal College, Colombo is a selective entry boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by Rev Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academy by Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton in Janua ...

. As a young teenage musician, Rukshan Perera joined a group as a keyboardist whilst still a school boy at Royal College, fronted by Sri Lanka's 'King of Pop'

Clarence Wijewardena Vithana Kuruppu Arachchilage Clarence Arthur Somasinghe Wijewardena Justice of the peace#Sri Lanka, JP ( si, ක්ලැරන්ස් විජේවර්ධන, ta, கிளாரன்ஸ் விஜேவர்தன; 3 August 1943 � ...

and his partner

Annesley Malewana Annesley Malewana () ( Sinhala: ඇනස්ලි මාලේවන) is a Sri Lankan musician. Often considered "The Prince of Sinhala Pop", Malewana is well known for being a master of contemporary Baila worked with popular musical bands The M ...

. The group known as the 'Super Golden Chimes' went on to reach the heights of success in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. The 'Super Golden Chimes' received constant airplay over the airwaves of Radio Ceylon and subsequently the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation making them household names on the island and across South Asia. He has also played with The Esquire Set, Serendib and the 'Golden Chimes' group. Rukshan plays the guitar, harmonica, piano and several other instruments. The Sunday Times newspaper in Sri Lanka noted that 'Rukshan Perera is an accomplished, highly experienced and insanely talented musician.' Rukshan Perera is a well known Jazz artist who has also mastered 'Sinhala acapellas'. The Sunday Island newspaper in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

observed that his (music) repertoire ranged from pop,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

to fusion and

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

, renditions and being a multi-instrumentalist, he enthralled the audience with his virtuosity, playing guitar, piano, flute and harmonica.' He lived in the United States for almost three decades. Rukshan took a break from music, threw himself into an academic career, acquired a bachelor's degree in Information Systems, added a Masters in Business Administration, and joined the consumer product company Philip Morris as an IT Manager. At a concert in New York sponsored by Philip Morris he played along with well-known jazz names. He was the only novice and he survived creditably and then performed on an off including a gig with the Sri Lankan bassist Hussain Jiffry. Having lived in the United States since 1980, Rukshan Perera decided to return to the land of his birth. Rukshan Perera has recorded two CD albums and performed 'live' concerts in Sri Lanka and around the world including the United States of America. He has also introduced 'harmony whistle' and 'harmony scatting,' not seen anywhere else. Whistling the melody and the harmony together is a rare talent that Rukshan possesses for which his name has even been proposed for the

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

by his fans.

Discography

Singles

* "Coming Home To You" * "Feel Like A Butterfly" * "I'll Keep Fighting" * "Just For You" * "Let's Make History" * "Nature's Calling" * "One Land For All" * "Reality" * "Something Is Happening" * "Sri Lankan Blues" * "What Time Is It?"

Albums

* ''Coming Home To You'' * ''Rukshan Perera – Live in Concert''

References

External links

The Official Website of Rukshan Perera

Coming Home To You – Rukshan Perera Music

Rukshan Perera Returns

A Show of original Compositions and No Frills

Top Sri Lankan Musician Rukshan Perera to play at Vernon Corea's Memorial Service
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perera, Rukshan 1956 births Living people Sri Lankan singer-songwriters 20th-century Sri Lankan male singers Sinhalese singers