Bhathiya
A classically trained singer and piano player, Bathiya's is the driving force behind much of the duo's production and arrangement.
Santhush
A classically trained vocalist and keyboard player, Santhush is the emotional pulse behind the music of BNS.
Biography
Bathiya and Santhush (BNS) are Sri Lanka's most accomplished musical duo in the field of ethnic fusion music. In the last 5 years the duo have secured over 350 live performances, a music publishing contract with Universal Music, a recording contract with SONY BMG Music Entertainment / M entertainment and released 3 platinum albums. Since their inception in 1998, the duo have achieved fourteen entries in the Sri Lankan music charts along with 7 number-one singles. Their single Siri Sangabodhi Maligawedi off the album Life was the the first ever multilingual [English and Singhalese] hit to be played on English Radio after 3 decades. The latest album Neththara released in 2005 sold up to 75,000 copies in just 5 months. The album has been ranked as one of the highest selling Sony Music releases in Sri Lanka.
BNS have also enjoyed enormous success overseas. In 2001 they were runners up at both the Voice of Asia Music Festival in Kazakhstan and the Shanghai Music Festival in China. To this day,the duo have toured over 20 countries, their most memorable overseas show being to a crowd of over 27,000 in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. They have also opened concerts for legendary acts such as UB40 and famous contemporary artists The Vengaboys and DJ Bobo. The video for the duo's hit song Neththara off the Neththara album is now regularly broacast on India's MTv and Channel V. As a musical duo, BNS are a meeting of two entirely different creative journeys. The magic behind the trademark BNS sound lies in the blending of the two musicians' contrasting personalities and creative visions.
