Tanya Ekanayaka - 16 Sri Lankan Piano Isles

Information

1. Kera-Extempore
2. Little Barnacle
3. Elubu-Extempore
4. Soliloquy
5. Manthivu-Extempore
6. Sallithivu Scaevola
7. Palaithi-Extempore
8. Cadence
9. Analai-Extempore
10. Blue Rock Dove Tell
11. Nai-Extempore
12. Coral Muse
13. Ithivu-Extempore
14. Realms
15. Riyathi-Extempore
16. Luminary Crows

Tanya Ekanayaka, piano & compositions

Date: 2025

Label: Naxos World Music

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Review

Outstanding Sri Lankan composer and pianist Dr. Tanya Ekanayaka explores uncharted musical ground with Piano Isles, a splendid and moving 16-track album inspired by the unique biodiversity of sixteen Sri Lankan islets. Each piece beautifully reflects the identity of a specific isle, combining natural sounds with structured and spontaneous composition techniques.

The album is evenly split between two distinct approaches. Eight tracks were composed between 2022 and 2024 using traditional methods. In contrast, the remaining eight are “Extempore Compositions,” improvised and recorded in full during a single April 2024 session. Each of these captures a live, unedited creative moment anchored by a unique pre-composed motif.

The lead single, “Elubu-Extempore,” draws from the calls of the Little Cormorants inhabiting Elubuthivu (also known as Bone Island). The work opens with a recorded five-note cormorant call, transcribed exactly in pitch and rhythm, which then morphs across the composition. Completed in one take on April 26, 2024, it exemplifies Ekanayaka’s innovative fusion of environmental reference and real-time creativity.

Dr. Ekanayaka, recognized internationally for her prolific output and distinctive performance style, continues to gain attention across global media.

— Tyler Bennet

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Tanya Ekanayaka (born 6 May 1977) is a Sri Lankan-British contemporary composer-pianist. Classically trained with foundations in Asian and popular music, she is also a linguist, musicologist and record producer. Born in Sri Lanka's Kandyan highlands, she debuted publicly at twelve and has since performed internationally. She holds a doctorate in Linguistics and Musicology from University of Edinburgh, where she has taught since 2007. Her deeply autobiographical compositions, shaped by multilingualism and synaesthesia, are developed intuitively at the piano and retained from memory rather than formally notated.

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