Raavan shows promises right from the word go, starting with the bouncy Beera, the mix of Indian and African folk elements in the orchestration forming a perfect combo. And Vijay Prakash does a fab job of the rendition alongside newcomer Mustafa Kutoane and Keerthi Sagathia, with Rahman making the occasional appearance in the background. Mustafa seems to be an African singer from his voice and style. Nice debut anyways. Things take a somber, yet better, turn with the sufi-ish Behene De. The faint resemblance in tune with some older Rahman tunes like Satrangi Re is totally forgotten in the beauty of the instrumentation and the spot-on vocals by Karthik and Mohammad Irfan. It is rather unfortunate that Karthik hasn’t been able to build a place in Bollywood in spite of having sung quite a few good tracks for Rahman. Of course if he keeps getting such beauties from Rahman himself it doesn’t really matter! Thok De Killi is the only slightly uninteresting fare in the whole lot. In spite of Sukhwinder Singh‘s high energy vocals (supported by another newbie by name Am’Nico) and barring Rahman’s clever instrumental additions in places, the song is largely tedious.
The previous dip is more than compensated with the awesome Sufi-electronic fusion in Ranjha Ranjha. I have especially been caught on by the instrumentation in the initial one minute. The breezy processed humming of Anuradha Sriram is such a perfect fit for the overall mood! There is obviously no need to comment on the singing by Rekha Bharadwaj and Javed Ali. After a break Reena Bhardwaj returns to sing for ARR the beautiful Khilli Re. There is every chance given the semi classical nature of the song that Khilli Re will not cut ice with a lot of listeners, but it is in such songs that I have felt Rahman’s master class truly gets demonstrated, and to me this is the pick of the album. I loved the brief Chinese violin accompaniment towards the end (3:11 – 3:22). As it started, Raavan ends with another lively song, Kata Kata, a heavy-on-percussion track. Being right down their alley, Ila Arun and Sapna Awasthi handle the folksy track with ease with good support from Kunal Ganjawala and a host of other singers.
Rahman may have grown by leaps and bounds over the years, working with some of the biggest names all over India and outside, but his finest scores still continue to be reserved for one person, Mani Ratnam. And for good reason too, considering the way Mani Ratnam has treated each of those songs in his movies. Eagerly waiting for Raavan’s videos now!

Music Aloud Rating: 9/10
Recommended tracks: Khilli Re, Behene De, Ranjha Ranjha

The first look of one of the year’s most awaited movies is out, more importantly for music aficionados, with a snippet of Rahman’s music in the background! The song in the background for the current trailer is Beera Beera which according to some sources is sung by Vijay Prakash, though there are also other discernible voices alongside. Too early to be commenting on the song, based on a 40 second clip, but I liked what I heard! You can watch the trailer here:

The official tracklisting out as of now features six songs, though there are some talks about there being more tracks. Nevertheless, here is the list as of now:

Beera Beera Vijay Prakash

Behne De Karthik

Kata Kata Ila Arun, Sapna Awasthi, Kunal Ganjawala

Khilli Re Reena Bharadwaj

Ranjha Ranjha Rekha Bharadwaj, Javed Ali

Thok De Killi Sukhwinder Singh

The simple guitar loop which kick starts Ayaashi is commonplace, but works well for the song. The song seems patchy to start with, but falls into the groove chorus onwards. KK’s singing comes through strong as expected. Badmaash Company is genmax and neither does Benny Dayal add much to the track.  The part with the rap and the ensuing bit is interesting though (2:10 to 2:50). Chaska Chaska will also probably make it with the masses. It has all the elements required to find its way into play lists in discotheques, parties’ etc.   You will love the way Fakeera starts, especially the way the drums roll in. However, Rahat probably is not the right singer for the song. The improvisation for the last Fakeera in the mukhda probably is a welcome twist for such a song. However, Rahat’s voice doesn’t have the power which is considered a prerequisite for such a song, probably rightly. Pritam could have at least experimented with two singers (Barso Yaaro style!!). The acoustic loop in Jingle Jingle is delightful and unlike the one in Ayaashi, fresh; no doubt both work in their own way. The song is really likable but for the Punjabi style chorus. The is album has many a songs which are appealing, but probably none which will “pass the test of time”:D

Music Aloud Rating: 6/10

Although we are a little late in posting this, you haven’t missed the opportunity completely. Five time Grammy award winning bass player Victor Wooten is touring India and has already had concerts in Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata. He plays today at the Shanmukhananda hall in Mumbai.
Wooten has won the “Bass Player of the Year” award from Bass Player magazine three times in a row, and was the first person to win the award more than once. In addition to a solo career and collaborations with various artists, Wooten has been the bassist for Béla Fleck and the Flecktones since the group’s formation in 1988.
Watch the video below to see the magical fingers of Victor. So, if you are around the Mumbai area, do not miss this opportunity to see one of the best bass players alive live!

Call it an after effect of watching the movie, LSD has been dominating my playlist for the last two days. As a result I decided to pen down my tuppence worth on the soundtrack despite the delay. Going in descending order of preference, first up would be the title track, arranged brilliantly by Sneha Khanwalkar and sung even more superbly by Kailash Kher (I always love it when they make fast songs in raag Sivaranjani!). The whodunit sort of orchestration with the screams peppered all over the song do a perfect job of conveying the theme of the movie . Remix follows suit, just adding a few electronic tweaks here and there. Next up is the risque I Can’t Hold It, rendered perfectly by the MD herself. The combo of folksy arrangement and the Hinglish lyrics work very well in giving the song a totally absurd angle.
Mohabbat Bollywood Style sung by Nihira Joshi and Amay Date is a rib-tickling caricature of the trademark Yash Raj kind of music, and makes for excellent time pass especially if you were to draw a comparison with the various originals that are being mocked at. Tainu TV Per Wekhya is better watched than listened to, Kailash looking funny and cute in his pink heart-shaped goggles and all! Tu Gandi, once again sung by Kailash, is the only middling composition in the lot, and while I totally appreciate Dibakar Banerjee‘s enthusiasm in doubling up as a composer as well, it is better that he leaves the composing to more able hands like those of Sneha.
LSD’s soundtrack is surely no DevD, and is definitely a notch lower that Sneha Khanwalkar’s score for OLLO, but is impressive nevertheless for its variety and originality. And having seen the movie, I feel this score is just fine. I am told that Sneha is working with Anurag Kashyap next. Going by her compositions so far, that will be quite something!

Music Aloud Rating: 7.5/10

Recommended Tracks: LSD Title, I Can’t Hold It, Mohabbat Bollywood Style

Leaving home – a documentary on the life and music of Indian Ocean by Jaideep Verma released nationally last Friday. Writer-director Jaideep Verma has done a brilliant job of bringing the struggle of being an Indian band to the screen.

The movie has three storylines. First, it traces the evolution of Indian Ocean as a band and the struggle they had to go through to take the band where it is today. Second, it traces the life of each of the bands members and how their background has affected the sound of Indian Ocean. Third, it also tells the story behind the music and lyrics of a few of their songs. The three storylines per se are well intermingled with some superb editing. The original footage of around 200 hours has been edited down to around two hours for theatrical release.

The band setup a small stage at their “home” in Karol Bagh area of New Delhi where they performed a few of their songs for the purpose of this movie. So, if you are a fan of Indian Ocean, you just cannot miss this. If you are a fan of music, you just cannot miss this. If you like good movie making, you just cannot miss this. So do go and watch this movie at the nearest theatre.

Movie Homepage: http://www.leavinghomethefilm.com/

Tickets: http://www.bigcinemas.com/IN/default.aspx

The Greatest College Classic – Samne Ye Kaun Aaya

Hindi Lyrics:

saamane ye kaun aayaa, dil mein huyi halchal
dekh ke bas yek hi jhalak, ho gaye hum paagal
Arrey baatein, mulaakaatein, hum se bhi to hogi, 

Arrey hum se, mileengi, wo aaj naheen to kal

rahanaa hain yahaan to, dono hain jawaan to
bhalaa door kaise rahenge
maanaa wo haseen hai, par hum bhi kam naheen hain
wo magarur kaise rahenge

aankhon hee aankhon me, baato hee baaton mein
kabhee jaan pahachaan hogee
sun lo ye kahaanee, haseenaa yek anajaanee
kisee din meharabaan hogee

4:07

Shankar Mahadevan, Rapper Ravi "Rags" Khote – Saamne Yeh Kaun

Shankar Mahadevan, Rapper Ravi "Rags" Khote Saamne Yeh Kaun (c) (C) 2006 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (India) Pvt. Ltd.

4 months ag

VARIOUS ARTISTS – Saamne Yeh Kaun Aaya

4 min 16 sec – 27 Apr 2008

www.youtube.com

Samne yeh kaun aaya (Kishore Kumar)

4 min 17 sec – 3 Nov 2009

www.youtube.com

Click here to download samne yeh kaun aaya mobile  ring tone

Sona Mohapatra is an Indian pop singer who debuted with her self titled album ‘Sona’, which contained hit singles like Bolo Na, Aja Ve and Abhi Nahi Ana.She is known for her sufi classic like Tere Ishq Nachaya and a collaboration with the Aussie band INXS on their famous song Afterglow, Sona Mohapatra chose to release her new single digitally.

Sona also swept all the music awards in the non-film category in the year 2007. Sona Mohapatra has trained in classical music but has made a career fusing Pop, Folk, Bollywood, Funk and Rock styles into her music & fronts her own electronic band.

 

Sona´s Homepage

 

 

Some of Sona Mohapatra’s songs

 

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[SimplyBhangra.com] Sona Mohapatra – Diljale

 

 

 

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Sona Mohapatra – Abhi nahin aana

Sona Mohapatra Abhi nahin aana (c) (C) SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (India) Pvt. Ltd

sonymusicindiaSME

3:50

SONA Mohapatra AJA VE

A beautiful song from one of Sona Mohapatra’s albums.

1996sen

2:56

Sona Mohapatra Paas Aao @ Rock On Finals.avi

Sneak preview to the full song PAAS AAO , the DIN of RAAT/DIN..Diljale being the RAAT Full song to be released in 2010 …will be bigger …

TheSonaMohapatra

2:53

Sona Mohapatra & Kailash Kher @ MTV Rock On

youtube counter has been frozen for ever !! Technical issues at this particular number for some strange reason for all videos..

TheSonaMohapatra

4:34

Sona Mohapatra – Ishq nachaya

Sona Mohapatra Ishq nachaya (c) (C) SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (India) Pvt. Ltd.

sonymusicindiaSME

 

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• sona on times now (3:17)

 

4:14

Sona Mohapatra – Sapne

GLASAJTE ZA MENE NA FSC!! anabebic.com RULZ!!

 FSCabcom

 

 

 

 

 

Photo Gallery

 

Sona