Of Deities and Demons

In a rapturous celebration of ancient Sri Lankan culture, Baliphonics and the AAO bring age-old rituals to life through traditional dance, chanting and music.

In a spectacle of dance, music and light, this unique group draws upon an astrological healing practice known as Bali Ritual, in which deities are invoked and demons exorcised.

On a recent trip to Sri Lanka, Peter Knight (Artistic Director, Australian Art Orchestra) formed a friendship with leader of Baliphonics, Sumudi Suraweera. This friendship formed the start of an exciting collaboration combining the yak bera (demon drum), clarinets and other traditional instrumentations with the signature experimental jazz stylings of Australian Art Orchestra.

Peter Knight: "One of the most extraordinary experiences of music and performance I’ve ever had was attending an all-night harvest ritual near Ambalangoda in southern Sri Lanka last year. The drumming was unbelievable and it went on for hours at a time along with song, dance, fire, and the serving of food. Each sense was engaged and kind of overwhelmed as elation and fatigue became something resembling intoxication. During that same trip I was introduced to Sum and his group Baliphonics, which works with these traditional elements along with new-jazz approaches, and which features two of the most famous Low Country ritual musicians in Sri Lanka, Susantha and Prasanna Rupathilaka. Together they distill some of the energy of this ritual music while at the same time creating something new. Sum and I immediately saw the potential in a collaboration with the AAO.”

“At that moment, it was as if we, as audience, had entered into the ecstatic heart of this music. Fuelled by nature, rhythmic energy and ritual, we had journeyed through a welter of states, emerging exhausted and cleansed.” - Australian Jazz

“Conjuring the gods in a musical frenzy” - The Sydney Morning Herald

Creative Team:

Sumudi Suraweera – composition, drums
Susantha Rupathilaka – dance and voice
Prasanna Rupathilaka – dance, yak bera and voice
Reuben Derrick – clarinets
Peter Knight – trumpet and electronics
Reuben Lewis – trumpet and electronics
Carl Dewhurst – guitar
Mary Rapp – cello