Chitral Somapala facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Chitral Somapala
චිත්‍රාල් සෝමපාල
Somapala performing live with Civilization One, 2008
Born	Chandana Chitral Somapala (1966-11-04) 4 November 1966 (age 58) Colombo, Sri Lanka
Nationality	Sri Lankan
Other names	Chity Somapala
Occupation	singer, musician
Parents	P. L. A. Somapala (father) Chithra née Perera (mother)
Musical career
Genres	Hard rock rhythm and blues heavy metal power metal
Instruments	Vocals, keyboards, chapman stick, bass guitar
Years active	1986–present
Labels	Allister Records Omega Records EMI Dwell Records MTM Music Massacre Records Century Media Records Metal Heaven LMP MEntertainment
Associated acts	Power Quest Civilization One Rekuiem Red Circuit Firewind Avalon Faro

Chitral Somapala (born November 4, 1966), also known as Chity Somapala, is a famous singer and music director from Sri Lanka. He is well-known for his powerful voice in hard rock and heavy metal music. Chitral has worked with many European bands like Firewind and Power Quest. In Sri Lanka, he became very popular with his Sinhala song "Nadee Ganga," released in 1998.

About Chitral Somapala

Early Life and Family

Chandana Chitral Somapala was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on November 4, 1966. His parents, Peragaswatte Liyana Acharige Somapala and Chithra née Perera, were also talented musicians. They were music directors and producers. Chitral even remade one of his parents' songs, "Dambulu Gale." He has three brothers named Prasanna, Rohan, and Nalin, and one sister named Piumi.

School Days and Sports

Chitral went to Isipathana College in Colombo, which is a national school for boys. While he was there, he enjoyed playing several sports. He played cricket, football (which is also called soccer), and hockey.

Chitral's Music Journey

Starting Out in Sri Lanka

Chitral Somapala began his music career by joining a Sri Lankan band called Shock. This band was started by Dilup Gabadamudalige, who was a pioneer in using computers to make music in Sri Lanka. In 1986, Chitral toured Europe with another band called Rendesvouz, which later changed its name to Friends.

Joining European Bands

In 1996, Chitral joined a German metal band called Court Jester. With them, he recorded an album called Forced II Believe, which was well-received in Europe. In 1998, Chitral released his hit song "Nadee Ganga." This song was originally made for a TV and radio advertisement for Lion Beer. It was based on the tune of "Many Rivers to Cross" by Jimmy Cliff and sung in Sinhala, but with a hard rock and metal style.

Singing with Avalon

Chitral became the lead singer for Avalon, a German progressive power metal band. Avalon was produced by Charlie Bauerfeind, a famous German sound engineer who worked with many power metal bands. Avalon was already well-known in the underground music scene since 1992.

Their third album, Vision Eden, received great reviews from around the world. Avalon also toured with famous bands like HammerFall, Uriah Heep, Metallica, and Motörhead. In 2000, Chitral worked on Avalon's fourth album, Eurasia. On this album, he even played the chapman stick, which is a unique electric musical instrument. Avalon's music was special because it mixed different styles of metal. The band toured Europe with Metalium after Eurasia was released, but then Avalon broke up.

Time with Firewind

Somapala singing with Rekuiem in 2009

In 2002, Chitral created "Greenland's Theme" for his old school, Isipathana College, for their International Rugby Championships in Sri Lanka. Later that year, he started a melodic rock band called Faro. They released two albums, Dawn of Forever and Angelost, in 2002.

In 2003, Chitral recorded an album called Echoes of a Nightmare with the Swedish band Moonlight Agony. Towards the end of 2003, Chitral joined the band Firewind for a tour in Japan in January 2004. The tour was a big success, and the band's guitarist, Gus G, asked Chitral to join Firewind permanently. They worked together on Firewind’s third album, Forged by Fire, which became a top 100 album in Japan and received excellent reviews worldwide. After touring with HammerFall in 2005, Chitral decided to leave Firewind.

Forming Civilization One

In 2006, Chitral Somapala started his own band called Civilization One. He formed it with guitarist Aldo Lonobile, bassist Pierre-Emmanuel Pelisson, and drummer Luca Cartasegna. Their goal was to create music with strong, aggressive guitar riffs, mixed with the beauty of classical music, and memorable singing.

The band gained attention after performing at a music festival in the UK in 2007. By the end of that year, the band's members changed, with only Chitral and Pierre-Emmanuel Pelisson remaining. New members joined, including Christian Muenzer and Boern Daigger on guitars, and Holly Rodammer as the new drummer.

In November 2008 and October 2009, Civilization One was invited to perform in Colombo, Sri Lanka, at the TNL Onstage Finals. This was a big event because it was the first time a Western-style heavy metal band performed as the main act in Sri Lanka. The band's members changed again in 2009. Their first album, Revolution Rising, was recorded in France, Italy, and Germany. The band finished recording their second album, Calling the Gods, in 2012.

Other Music Projects

Chitral Somapala also worked with the German progressive metal band Red Circuit from 2002 to 2016. He was also part of the British classic metal rock band Rekuiem from 2008 to 2012. In May 2010, Chitral joined the British power metal band Power Quest. After being with them for 17 months and releasing an album called Blood Alliance, he left the band on good terms.

Chitral also composed and sang "Dreams of Fire," the Olympic theme song for MTV Sri Lanka. He also created and sang "Believing the Dream," which was the official Cricket World Cup song for MTV. In 2017, he released his seventh music video, "Sinha Lokaye Sinhaya." In July 2019, he released a DVD and Blu-ray of his concert "Lalithakala."

Music for Movies

Chitral Somapala has also created music for films and has won international and national awards for his work. He has worked with famous filmmakers like Chandran Rutnam and Asoka Handagama. Some of his original songs for Sri Lankan movies include "Aherenna" from Let Her Cry, "Man Adareyi" from Me Wage Adarayak, and "Sihinaya Pupura Yai" from Dedunu Akase.

Chitral performed as a solo singer at the ‘Fete La Musique’ Concerts in 2009 and 2011. He sang with the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra. He won the Best Playback Vocalist award at the 2017 SIGNIS Award for his song "Aharenna." In 2018, he won the Best Playback Vocalist Award again at the Presidential Awards Ceremony.

Working with International Artists

Chitral Somapala has collaborated with many artists and performed at various events around the world:

• In 2008 and 2009, he performed at the "TNL-Onstage-Show Sri Lanka" with Civilization One.
• He performed at the Wacken Open Air Festival with the band Rokken.
• He contributed to a singing technique book called "Raise Your Voice" by Jamie Vendera from the USA.
• In 2009, he had a concert with the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra as a solo singer.
• In 2011, he composed and sang the Cricket Championship song, "Believing the Dream," in Sri Lanka.
• He performed in the USA with Red Circuit at the Premier ProgPower USA Festival.
• In 2012, he recorded his first solo album, Photographic Breath.
• He was the composer and singer of the Olympic theme song "Dreams of Fire" for MTV in Sri Lanka.

Discography

• 1996 – Court Jester – "Forced To Believe" (Allister Records)
• 1998 – Avalon – Vision Eden (Omega Records)
• 2000 – Avalon – Eurasia (Omega Records)
• 2000 – Aimless – Seven Stars and Supernova (Bellaphone/Allister Records) (Bass Player)
• 2001 – Another Piece of Metal – Tribute To Scorpions (Dwell Records)
• 2002 – Shadowkeep – A Chaos Theory – (Limb Music) – Backing Vocals
• 2002 – WOLFF – Metanoia – (LEICO Music, LC-7701) – Guest Vocals (some songs)
• 2003 – Faro – Dawn of Forever (MTM Music)
• 2003 – MTM Compilation – Volume 9 (MTM Music)
• 2004 – Final Chapter – The Wizard Queen (Underground Symphony) – Guest Vocals
• 2004 – Moonlight Agony – Echoes of a Nightmare (Massacre Records)
• 2004 – Mystic Prophecy – Never Ending (Nuclear Blast) – Backing Vocals
• 2004 – Firewind – Forged By Fire (Emi/Toshiba)
• 2005 – Firewind – Forged By Fire (Century Media Records)
• 2006 – Faro – Angelost (MTM Music)
• 2006 – Red Circuit – Trance State (Limb Music)
• 2007 – Civilization One – Revolution Rising (Metal Heaven)
• 2009 – Red Circuit – Homeland (Limb Music)
• 2009 – Chitral Somapala – The Works (Criminal Records)
• 2011 – Power Quest – Blood Alliance (Napalm Records)
• 2012 – Chitral Somapala – "Photographic Breath" (Audio Gate Productions - M Entertainment)
• 2012 – Mob Rules – Cannibal Nation (AFM Records)
• 2012 – Civilization One – Calling the Gods (Limb Music)
• 2014 – Chitral Somapala - "Sinhabumi" (M Entertainment - Audio Gate Productions)
• 2014 – Mob Rules - "Time Keepe" (AFM Records)
• 2014 – Red Circuit - "Haze of Nemesis" (Limb Music)
• 2016 – Wilpattuwe
• 2016 – Vivaldi Metal Project - "Four Seasons" (Pride & Joy Music)
• 2017 – Beyond the Labyrinth - "The Art of Resilience" (Spinal Records)
• 2018 – Costas Varras - "Neon Classical" (Symmetric Records)
• 2018 – Chitral Somapala - "Dambulugale" (Audio Gate Productions)
• 2018 – Chitral Somapala - "I am Echo"
• 2018 – Chitral Somapala - "Aherenna" (Audio Gate Productions)
• 2018 – Chitral Somapala - "Manusatha (Humanimal)" lyric by Danushka Kumarathunga (Audio Gate Productions)
• 2019 – Chitral Somapala - "Lalithakala" 

Filmography