Charin Mendes
Sri Lankan Singer-Songwriter and Producer Charin Mendes has released four new songs with the iconic Brian McKnight Jr. Mendes is a chart-topping recording artist with iTunes top 10 and top 100 credits in multiple territories worldwide. His album ’20 TWENTY’ comes as his newest chapter in taking Lankan artistry global. Charin Mendes is the first Sri Lankan to have been invited to the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, which he has attended more than thrice. He has been an active writer, producer and singer in the Hollywood music scene for many years.
After months of crafting his unique new sound, Mendes set his eyes on marking a career milestone with his upcoming album ’20 TWENTY’, a true first on many fronts for a Sri Lankan artist and a timeless record for the ages. The songs were written, recorded and produced while working in different parts of the world including Los Angeles, London, Manchester, New York and Singapore. “The album is pretty vast. There are many featured artists including some of whose names I’ve revealed and some I’ve not. I will keep the rest a secret until the album officially comes out.”
Inspired by his travels and writing for a wider global audience, Charin decided to feature his long time creative partner Brian McKnight Jr. (of the legendary McKnight family) for four of his newest songs on the upcoming album ‘20 TWENTY’. “My brother Brian McKnight Jr. and I worked really well as a team on our first song ‘Never Give Up’, so it was inevitable that we followed up by doing three more hits. Brian is truly a world-class artist and we work on the same wavelength. Just like me, he is a singer, songwriter and producer, so we talk the same language and it translates into music. The vibes are great when we work together thus the music is unstoppable and it just creates itself. We have a lot more music coming up and I’m excited to share them soon!” Brian McKnight Jr. is the son of superstar Brian McKnight who brought us global hits such as ‘Back at One’, ‘One Last Cry’ and ‘Still’.
Speaking more about the songs on the album ‘20 TWENTY’, the pensive ‘Satellites’, featuring Brian McKnight Jr. is an EDM inspired futuristic masterwork. “I wrote ‘Satellites’ on a starry night while stargazing and contemplating the future of humankind in space. I’ve had my head in the stars from a very young age. Brian’s voice was the ideal ingredient to give ‘Satellites’ its own life.” It’s been doing well overseas and even made its Sri Lankan premiere in September 2020 on YES FM, spending 10 weeks on the Home Grown Charts and reaching No. 04. Sri Lankan fans can keep requesting it on YES FM. Adding to this, another hit Mendes features Brian McKnight Jr. in is the heartfelt ‘I Wanna Love You Again’ which brings out that classic 90’s love song feeling.
Throughout the album, Charin’s versatility takes on an eclectic mix of genres from Pop, Rock, Funk, EDM and DnB. “I love a lot of genres and grew up with music around me. My father Chrishan Mendis is a versatile pianist, accordionist, former church organist and singer in his own right. Though he eventually followed a successful corporate career and kept music as a hobby, his music was always heard in our living room when I was growing up. My grandmother Iris Mendis (ATCL) is a classical piano teacher who has been training Sri Lankan pianists for over 70 years and at 91 years of age, still teaches young aspiring talent. Even my grandad Camillus was talented. He loved playing his harmonica and singing an evergreen tune whenever inspiration struck. With this backdrop empowering me, I have always loved music, singing, writing and recording many genres, so this album is all about that.”
On his EDM Pop song ‘About us’, Charin sings effortlessly in a stunning falsetto, serenading over the lush synths and hard bass lines he has created. Another EDM hit, ‘Aalakam’ is Charin’s first Sinhalese release in which he sings his heart out in an intricate lyrical poem that he wrote amidst the Covid-19 lockdown. This shows yet another intriguing side of this multifaceted artist who keeps revealing his true depth, one song at a time. Charin has also brought some chart-friendly Funk into the album with his songs ‘Heart of The Problem’ and the very Princesque ‘Purple People’, where one hears Charin on drums, bass, guitar, keyboard and a host of other instruments.
Diving into the world of Alternative Rock, Mendes gives us ‘Nothing’, featuring California based girl band project NFRTAY, which was formed by him. This single saw its Sri Lankan radio premiere in November 2020 on YES FM. “The song ‘Nothing’ has a special place in my heart and it was lovely to sing it as a duet. It’s had an amazing response from the female fans due to its artistic rawness and beautiful melody.”
All Drum and Bass fans should go check out ‘Deimos Natini’ which has been growing in hype in the underground scene. The track brings many eastern and western elements inside a groovy yet complicated time signature.
Laying the foundation for all these pursuits, Charin is a Jazz (Honors) graduate of the prestigious Leeds Conservatoire (UK), where he crafted his musical artistry. Also being a qualified audio engineer and music producer, he graduated with top honors from the Academy of Contemporary Music (London), where other famous alumni such as Newton Faulkner, Amelle Berrabah (Sugababes), Ted Dwane (Mumford and Sons) and Grammy award winner Ed Sheeran built their academic foundations as well. A digital marketer by profession, following in his father’s footsteps, Mendes got his BBA in Management (USA).
Ten new songs have already been released from Charin’s album ’20 TWENTY’. The album in its entirety will be released early next year. Watch out for updates and follow his journey on instagram.com/CharinMendes and YouTube.com/CharinMendes. Charin’s music is available on Apple Music, Spotify, Sony Entertainment Network and all major music stores worldwide.
Satellites by Charin Mendes (feat Brian McKnight Jr.)
Charin Mendes (Album – 20 TWENTY)
