කීර්ති පැස්කුවල්
35 songs performed
Keerthi Pasquel (also spelled Keerthi Pasqual or Keerthi Paskuwel), කීර්ති පැස්කුවල්, born Pasquel Wasam Ananda Keerthirathna on 29 January 1956 in Hanthana, Kandy, is a Sri Lankan singer, composer, and guitarist. Often called the balladeer of Sinhala pop, he is known for warm romantic ballads such as Neela Ahase Sande Wala and for a recording career that stretches across four decades and thousands of sessions.
Keerthi Pasquel grew up in the hills around Kandy and studied at Dharmaraja College, where he took his first formal music lessons. As a young musician he worked as a backing singer and guitarist, including a long stint with Nanda Malini‘s stage production, an apprenticeship that shaped his sense of phrasing and arrangement. His first recorded song, in the early 1980s, was the Kandy-rooted “Hanthane Nil Kanduweti Athare”, composed by his brother Padmasiri Pasquel.
Pasquel’s breakthrough came in 1984 with “Neela Ahase Sande Wala”, a ballad that established his soft, conversational vocal style and remains one of his most requested songs. Across the following decades he became one of the most prolific figures in Sinhala popular music, playing vocals along with bass, lead, and rhythm guitar on a very large number of recordings, and singing playback for films and teledramas. The song “Kandula Ithin Samaweyan” marked a notable return to the front of the stage later in his career.
From 2008 he served as a long-running judge on the television talent show Derana Dream Star, sitting through many consecutive seasons and mentoring a generation of younger singers. He also founded a music school to teach voice and instrumental training.
Keerthi Pasquel’s catalogue ranges from tender love songs to lullaby-like ballads. He has recorded duets and collaborations with several leading vocalists, and worked with composers and lyricists across the Sinhala industry over his long career. The Pasquel spelling is the one used on his official releases, though listeners also search under the Keerthi Pasqual and Keerthi Paskuwel forms.
With a career built on steady, melodic songwriting rather than spectacle, Keerthi Pasquel (Keerthi Pasqual) holds a durable place in Sri Lankan music as both a performer and a mentor. His ballads remain staples for the Sinhala diaspora, and his long visibility as a televised judge introduced his work to audiences far younger than his original listeners. Lyrics-lk hosts a selection of his songs in Sinhala script with transliteration and English translation.
Every Sinhala lyric, composition, and song credit by Keerthi Pasquel.