Paranoid Earthling - Bringing Down The Sun

Music is a bridge between people that can transcend differences and prejudice and unite people, especially in countries that are torn apart by war and experiencing conflict transformation. It is a medium that especially appeals to young people. In the case of Sri Lanka, it reaches out to a generation that has been born into and grown up with the war and conflict.

Young Asia Television (YATV), in collaboration with the Global Partnership for the Prevention for Armed Conflict (GPPAC), has produced a music video to commemorate International Peace Day on the 21st of September 2008. Until we inhabit a different world the International Day of Peace must be embraced as an opportunity to reflect on what's happening around us, how far we have come and how much further we have to go.

Bringing Down the Sun an original song written and preformed by the rock band Paranoid Earthling, highlights the impact of conflict on youth in Sri Lanka. Paranoid Earthling is made up by Mirshad, Dhanushka, Asela and Shanka, four young musicians from Kandy, with 7 years of experience and a loyal fan base among urban Sri Lankan youth.

Recognizing that few opportunities exist in Sri Lanka for musicians to explore their talent and create new songs, YATV and GCPAC embarked on this initiative to promote peace, through the power of youth and music. The music video especially targets urban youth in Sri Lanka and among the Sri Lankan diaspora in other countries.

YATV is committed to supporting peace and conflict resolution through the media, while GPPAC believes in creating a perception shift to the response to conflict from reaction to prevention. This music video is one of several produced by the organizations and will be featured on YATVs weekly peace programmes, No War Zone, Sathi and Vilippu. The music video can also be accessed on-line on the YATV and GPPAC websites and on YouTube. The soundtrack will also be featured on popular local English radio stations.

The song will hopefully inspire young people to take an active stand on peaceful conflict resolution, so that their generation will finally know what it means to live in a country where guns are silent.

Paranoid Earthling was established in early 2001 with Singer/Songwriter/Guitarist Mirshad Buckman, Bassist Asela, Drummer Shanka and his brother & Rhythm Guitarist Dhanushka. 6 months down the line Paranoid Earthling made their first appearance in an islandwide competition in Sri Lanka’s Capital City of ‘Colombo’. Since then Paranoid Earthling’s rise to the spotlight of Sri Lankan original rock music has been unsurprisingly quick. The electrifying live performances and gutty originality that stems from their multi-faceted brand of rock has gained them an avid following. Picture 90’s grunge/post grunge interspersed with 70’s retro/blues and elements of punk and funk tweaked in for good measure, Paranoid’s genre is their own – hard to define and easy to like.

Coming from a conservative country where so called leaders thrive to ban and censor realism from the masses - while profiting from war, Paranoid Earthling uses their music as a vehicle to express their views on liberation, independance and free thinking.

The band’s 1st release was their three track EP (Rock and Roll is My Anarchy) which conquered Sri Lanka’s premier rock chart TNL SL Top Ten with each song finding its way to the top of a series of local charts. The EP had their 1st Recorded Single “Pull Me Under”(2002”), “Rock ‘n Roll Is My Anarchy” (2005) & “69” (2005) which are all radio staples in Sri Lanka.

Currently the band has completed all their tracks for their Full length Debut album which will be launched later this year.

Paranoid Earthling is a core member of the pioneering, non-profit organization Rock Company whose tireless efforts has firmly established a platform for Original Sri Lankan Rock Music.