Music in South Asia

Sri Lanka

Indian and Western music fight for the airwaves here, but music that is uniquely from this island nation reveals some of its history.

Sri Lanka, a predominantly Buddhist nation, was a Portuguese colony in the 16th century, and some of the colonizers employed African slaves. Because of this, central to Sri Lankan music is a popular dance music called baila that has influences of calypso and Mediterranean styles.

Though agricultural folk songs and film music also play a part in the music scene, classic artists like Desmond de Silva and the Moonstones solidified baila’s presence in the forefront of Sri Lankan pop culture. Simple baila uses only guitar, voice and handclap percussion, but nowadays, electric guitars, drums and synthesizers are commonplace.

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music in other South Asia countries.