- Anusha

In a move seemingly inspired by international albums, Simbu and Yuvan Shankar Raja released the first single from their upcoming project Vaanam the other day. Titled Evandi Unna Petha, the song is a typical techno song by YSR. Except for the portions sung by YSR, the lyrics and also the rendering by Simbu sound more like dialogues. Though the song is sure to stay on the party floors for some months,  for a single track release, Evandi.. does not quite make its FIRST BEST impression. You can listen to the track here.
Lets see what the rest of the album has in store for us!!

MTV launched the theme song of Roadies 8 the other day. Titled Yahaan, the song has been written by Raghu Ram and composed by Arijit Dutta, the person who sang the previous Roadies Theme Jeet Lenge Yaar, and member of upcoming band Airport. The song also has a video featuring Raghu, Rajiv and Rannvijay. The song has a wonderful arrangement, conveying the theme of the show perfectly, that of the journey, the adventure, the youthfulness. But the vocal part, handled by Arijit himself, doesn’t sem to quite live upto the orchestration. It’s not like he doesn’t have the skill, but I found something lacking in the rendition, placing it a step below the heady arrangement.  A good theme nevertheless, wonderfully picturized in some very idyllic locations. However, I get a feeling the display of daredevilry could have been toned down a bit. Roadies already has a proven track record and the trio really didn’t have to try hard to make a point imho. Nevertheless, the theme has enough ingredients to provide a good start to the Roadies campaign this year.

You can download the Roadies theme here, and watch the video here.

Previews for the rock musical version of Spiderman, titled Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark, got launched at Foxwoods Theatre on Broadway on November 28. The musical has music and lyrics by Bono and The Edge, and has been directed by Julie Taymor. Reportedly born out of Bono’s idea to give Andrew Lloyd Webber some competition on the theatre front, the musical launches after a delay of over a year. The official opening night is scheduled for January 11, 2011. A feature on the show was aired on CBS 60 Minutes yesterday, and the reviews have been mixed post that.  As we know Bono is not at all alien to theatrics and the songs are said to have scripted one of his best works. But the catch here is that it won’t be Bono who will belting out these lyrics in front of the Broadway audiences. So that remains to be seen, Broadway may have to rope in a U2 tribute and ask them sing the songs.  Nevertheless this project is an interesting development in the Bono’s and Edge’s career and it remains to be seen whether they will be able to recreate their magic on the Broadway stage. You can watch the CBS video here.

America’s first 24×7 Bollywood Radio Station Radio DesiBeat (RDB) last week announced its theme tune composed by A R Rahman who also happens to be brand ambassador for the radio channel. I had initially got an unofficial link to the tune, and frankly speaking I thought this was some sort of fake tune. Except for the last seconds where the sitar (presumably by Asad Khan) goes into a fervid mode, the tune lacks the class that Rahman’s jingles usually carry. The subtle layers that keep getting exposed on multiple listens of his tunes didn’t happen for me with this one. One direct comparison I can think of making is with the theme he had created in multiple versions for another radio network that was Worldspace. The tune still gives me goosebumps, especially in its piano-dominated original. I don’t quite see that happening with this tune, but of course the requirements here might have been different.  You can buy the tune officially from iTunes here. And you can download the radio app on the official site of Radio DesiBeat.

- Ajay Parasuraman

I had written about the raga Reethigowla last time. This post will be about the raga Darbari/Durvari/Durbari Kanada, which should compensate for the earlier post on a Carnatic raga.

The description of the raga would be better off with a little bit of story-telling: A loooong time ago (read: late 15th century), there was this poet called Makrand Pandey who was a priest in Varanasi. One daaaay, his son, Ramtanu, went wandering in the forests. As fate would have it, the legendary musician from Vrindavan, Swami Haridas, also happened to go wandering. Swami Haridas was so impressed with Ramtanu’s imitations of a tiger and an elephant that he took him under his wing. Thus,  Tansen was ‘born’! From Haridas, Tansen acquired not only his love for dhrupad but also his interest in compositions in the local language. This was the time when the Bhakti tradition was fomenting a shift from Sanskrit to the local idiom (Brajbhas and Hindi), and Tansen’s compositions also highlight this trend. At some point during his apprenticeship, Tansen’s father died, and he returned home, where it is said he used to sing at a local Shiva temple. Eventually, he joined the court of King Ramachandra Baghela of Rewa, where he remained from 1555-1562. It appears that the Mughal emperor Akbar heard of his prowess and sent his emissary Jalaluddin Qurchi to Ramachandra, who had little choice but to acquiesce, and Tansen went to Akbar’s court in 1562.

Legend has it that Akbar asked Tansen to come up with something different for his performance(s); Tansen created the raga ‘Durbari Kanada’, from the Persion word ‘Durbar’ for ‘Court’.

Story’s over

On a personal note, I love this raga. A ragamalika rendered by Madurai T.N Seshagopalan had one of its ragas as Durbari Kanada, and it will remain etched in memory for decades to come.

Durbari Kanada is usually sung after sun-down, although nobody follows it that strictly. This raga is part of the Asavari Thaat — uses all seven notes, five in the ascent and seven in the descent. Gandhar, Dhaivat and Nishad are komal (flat) and the other notes are shuddha (full).

The ascension of aroha is in the lower and middle octaves. In the aroha, the note Ga (gandhar) komal is used in a weak manner and a slow vibrato (andolan) on this note. The association of the notes Ni and Pa sounds pleasing to the ears. Its Vadi swar is Re and Samvadi is Pa.

Aroha: S R g m P d n S’

Avroha: S’ d n P m P g m R S

For reference, the set of notes in the Asavari thaat is S R g M P d n, and for Darbari, the role of the komal gandhar is crucial. In other words, the jeeva swara is the Gandhara here. Most common usage is ‘G M. R’

Parts of Hallowed be thy name, by the cult heavy metal band Iron Maiden, are speculated to have shades of Durbari Kanada! It’s hard to make out, you know, with their accent and all. I leave you to make your conclusion after listening to the song.

The following are some of the popular songs composed in the raga Durbari Kanada:
Shivadam Shivanaamam from the Malayalam movie Mazhavillu

Malare Mounama (Tamil)
Movie: Karnan Language: Tamil Singers: S.P.Balasubramaniam, S.Janaki Music Director: Vidyasagar Year: 1995

Jogi Aaya
Movie: Black n White Language: Hindi Singers: Sukhwinder Singh, Sadhana Sargam Music Director: Sukhwinder Singh Year: 2008

Azhage Nin (Malayalam)

Movie: Amaram Language: Malayalam Singers: K.J.Yesudas, K.S.Chitra Music Director: Raveendran Year: 1991

Kaatre (Tamil)

Movie: Rhythm Language: Tamil Singers: P.Unnikrishnan, Kavitha Krishnamurthy Music Director: A.R.Rahman Year: 2000

Tere Dar Pe Aaya Hun, Kuchh Karke Jaunga (Hindi)

Movie: Laila Majnu Hindi Singer – Mohd. Rafi Music Director(s) – Madan Mohan Year – 1976

Siva Sankari (Telugu)

Movie: Jagadeka Veeruni Katha Language: Telugu Singer: Ghantasala Music Director: Pendyala Nageshwara Rao Year: 1961

A Ghazal by Ghulam Ali

Can Carnatic be far behind? 

You can click on the song title to listen to audio sample of the track.

Singularity

John McLaughlin’s sole offering for his mentee happens in this blistering opening track, which sees some splendid Carnatic-jazz fusion – the jazz part handled by the guitar maestro and Harmeet Kaur on keyboards, while the carnatic part is Punya Srinivas’s show on the veena, Ranjit Barot pitching in with some vocal scatting. A major part of the song belongs to the duel between Harmeet and Punya, Punya exhibiting an amazing mastery over the instrument, effortlessly traversing ragas (wondering if it is Nalinakanthi/Kadanakuthuhalam at 2:04) in her solo. McLaughlin proves with his closing section that he has not lost his touch one bit. Not to be understated in any manner is Matthew Garrison’s contribution on the bass guitar.

T = 0

Starting with a sedate rendition of the Malayalam lullaby Omana Thingal Kidaavo on flute by Palakkad Sreeram with a fitting backing by Amit Heri on the acoustic guitar, the song then moves on to a slightly sinister mode, highlighted by a display of awesomeness from Mandolin Rajesh, Dominique DiPiazza, Tim Garland and Marc Guillermont in that order. Oh, and the inimitable Pete Lockett’s percussion.

Revolutions (In Memory to Charlie Mariano)

For a song dedicated to the jazz legend, Revolutions has less jazz than the previous tracks, restricted to the initial background and the end portion. But that does not prevent the song from being an absolute stunner, starting with a blissful nadaswaram solo by Thiru Murthy leading onto some amazing classical vocals by Vignesh Ishwar (starting in a raga that sounds quite like Kedaram, except that some swaras are missing). And from then on the stage is taken over by Taufiq Qureshi, Ranjit Barot and Sridhar Parthasarathy in a three-way percussive jugalbandhi fusing folk, classical and western percussion in a mind-blowing manner. And things are closed off in style with a spectacular chorus.

Supernova (In Memory of ‘Abbaji’ Ustad Alla Rakha)

In recent times there have been three tribute songs to Ustad Alla Rakha, one by Sivamani in his Mahaleela, one by Mclaughlin in Floating Point and now this. And I have liked this the best, as I feel the melancholy most dominant in this one, Ranjit Barot choosing a perfectly heart-tugging raga (Charukeshi I believe) for Mandolin Srinivas to work his magic on with ample support from Zakir Hussain. The downbeat mode does get diluted in between during Tim Garland’s jazz sax portions, but Srinivas returns towards the end along with Chandana Bala on the vocals to provide a brilliant closure to the song.

Dark Matter

This song sees the entry of two more artists, Blue Frog man Dhruv Ghanekar on the guitar and Mohini Dey on the bass. A word about the bassist, Mohini Dey has already been making waves in the fusion world by performing with the likes of Zakir Hussain. And this, at an age of 12! Here is a video that will give you an idea of what the young lady is capable of (do watch the part after 7:00). Dark Matter, however, is less about them and more about Harmeet Manseta and Gwilyn Symcock on the piano, Tim Garland on the sax and Palakkad Sreeram with a neat classical rendition in a mix of ragas (I felt there was a touch of Jog somewhere).

Origin

This is the only ordinary-sounding track of the lot with its dominant pop elements, and for that reason, my least favorite. But that said, this song too has to be listened out for its show of individual brilliance, like Kirti Sagathia’s vocals, Wayne Krantz’s addictive guitar riffs and Scott Kinsey’s work on the keyboards. Not the ideal track to close such a wonderful album, though given the other five tracks this is but a quibble.

Bada Boom is a truly spectacular debut album from Ranjit Barot, a long-overdue promotion from arranger to composer carried out in style. And a fitting tribute to his mentors John McLaughlin and Zakir Hussain.

You can buy the album here

It was in 2003 that the band Aasma came into existence, formed by the winners of the second edition of Channel V Popstars, the opening edition spawning the all-girl band Viva. Life has changed a lot since then for Vasuda Sharma, culminating in a very eventful 2010 when she became the first Indian artiste to perform at the POPKOMM Music Festival held as part of the Berlin Music Week. And also marked her debut as music composer with Makrand Deshpande‘s Shahrukh Bola Khoobsurat Hai Tu. Though the movie as such did not attain much success, the music has been fairly well-received. We present to you Music Aloud’s interview of Vasuda, where she talks of her past, present and future. Read on!

Let’s start with the in thing, Shahrukh Bola… How did you land up your debut movie score?

Well, I have been an ardent fan of  Makrand Deshpande as a theatrician. Regular viewer of all his plays at Prithvi. So one day I just went upto him, complimented him and told him about myself. I introduced myself as a singer. And that was the end of it. A year later I got a call from his assistant and I met him again for some acting assignment. But eventually even he figured out that it’s composing and singing that brings out the best in me. I was given just one song to start with as it was a gamble.. But his belief in me made me bag the whole score..:) I am grateful to him to give me that opportunity.

Rewinding to the start, let us hear about your musical beginnings.

My relationship with music begins when I was three. My bua (aunt) is a trained singer in Mathura. When I was really young, I used to spend a lot of time there during summer vacations and she used to teach me all the possible folk songs, Bhajans and Rasiyas and Krishna songs. I have grown up singing those songs. I remember at least a hundred of those by heart. I was never exposed to English and Bollywood film songs. But later I picked it up and started doing a variety of stuff in music, experimenting with different styles and genres. I used to regularly go for inter school and college competitions and won lots of prizes.

It all truly started for you with Aasma. Take us a bit through your Aasma days.

I never ever thought of taking up singing and composing as a career. I was in my 1st year college doing Sociology Hons in Hindu, New Delhi… All focussed to prepare myself for civil services and be an IAS officer. Everyone around, my parents and relatives and friends including myself thought I ll go for higher studies as I was really good in academics. During my summer holidays, Channel V had this Coke V Popstars 2 talent hunt in which my friends just forced me to go and give it a try. Well, honestly i didnt disclose it to my parents initially as I thought I d just do it for fun. But…. destiny had something else in store… One thing led to the other and I was in final 8. I finished my graduation while being in Popstars in 2005, it was fun juggling between shows and exams. Aasma for me has been a wonderful experience, a great beginning, a wonderful journey. The amount I have grown in these seven years being together as an artist, a musician and a performer…is insane… It’s been an incredible exposure, performing and working with great artists, getting to learn so much from them. And I have truly enjoyed every bit of it.:)

So was composing always your first love, or did you just chance upon it while singing?

I have always been writing my own songs, composing and collecting material but making music for a Bollywood flick was never in my agenda. I never pitched to get a film score. I discovered it a few years back honestly. I would write songs but keep them to myself. I think you become a little confident about something new if it’s received well the 1st time you show it to somebody. Makrand was kind enough to hear me out and really encouraged me to go forward with the same. Although I simply love singing, the best would be to sing my own songs, because that brings out the best in me.

You never pursued playback singing?

I must say I have had a very laid back attitude or to be precise I have not been actively involved in giving out my demo cds, trying to meet music directors and stuff. I know one needs to do that hard work to get that 1st break and once you’re on and appreciated, then you do really well in the industry. But surpisingly that hasn’t been the case with me. Also probably the kind of music that has been popular in the last few years didn’t really make me go all out and try to lend my voice to. But with artists like the evergreen Rahman sir and Amit Trivedi it will be an honour.

How was the experience of being the first Indian artiste to perform at the Berlin Music Festival?

Honestly speaking, when I applied I didn’t know the magnitude of it. Also the kind of bands that had participated, have been performing for years in the music circuit. When I was one of the 6 finalists, I was taken aback a bit coz I never took it seriously. Snd winning it and going to Berlin and performing, representing our country was a dream come true. I performed twice there and had so much to learn from other artists. Had a great response at the Popkomm Fest where bands from all over the world come and perform. Made a lot of friends, met a lot of business people.. Lot of developments in the pipeline..

Any chance of an Aasma reunion, all of you being individually busy these days, Neeti with AR Rahman et al?

As opposed to what all think, it’s been 7 years Aasma has been together… and is still going strong.. We all do corporate and college gigs together as a band, travel all over India and abroad. It’s true that we all are doing our solo bit as well, while Jimmy is busy doing playback and individual gigs, Sangeet composing music for Bollywood movies along with his brother, Siddharth, Neeti busy With Rahman Sir, but we still manage our stuff and find time for the band because we are all aware of the fact that Aasma got us where we are today. Also we all are very dear to each other and great friends apart from being band members. I think thats what keeps us going.We are also jamming and coming up with a new Aasma single along with a video shortly. So watch out for the come back!

How has the response for Shahrukh Bola.. been?

Till now I have been getting all positive reviews not just from family, friends and acquaintances but people from the industry and the audience. I have been getting a lot of mails of people congratulating me for my debut. I am overwhelmed by the response, can’t thank God and them enough. I am not too sure about the album sales as everything is easily available online these days. The response has been thankfully positive

Was the acappella song Hasna Hasana a deliberate nod to Bobby McFerrin? The lyrics and the arrangement seemed to be along the same lines.

I have been performing live as a one woman band where I do vocal arrangements myself, make the whole music in a loop and then sing the main song over it. I have always been in love with the concept of acappella, where there are only voices and no instruments at all not even a hand percussion. This wasn’t made as a part of the movie, but i made Makrand listen to it just for his knowledge, explaining him what accapella is… And he instantly liked it… He told me to write something related to the situation in the movie and that’s how the song was made. As for the similarity well it’s a co incidence and I am flattered that it reminds one of that song..

Could you tell us a bit about your upcoming projects?

Currently I am working on the score for Mr Govind Nihalani’s animation film. Its title is still not decided but it’s about a little camel in the hot deserts of Rajasthan. It’s a lot of fun composing for it.. Another one… a musical.. Will start working on it by next year… So yeah.. lots to look forward to.

You can listen to the soundtrack here.

Apna Har Din

Singer(s): Shaan, Anushka Manchanda
Music Director: Pritam
Lyricist: Kumaar
Length: 4:27

(Shaan)
Yeh zindagi, raftaar se chal padi
Jaate hue raahon mein, humse abhi keh ke gayi

(Anushka)
Hamara yeh waqt hamara jo ik baar gaya toh aaye na dobara
Samajh lo zara yeh, hawaon ka ishaara, mere yaaro

(Both)
Apna har din aise jiyo, jaise ki aakhri ho
Jiyo toh iss pal aise jiyo, jaise ki aakhri ho
Apna har din aise jiyo, jaise ki aakhri ho
Jiyo toh iss pal aise jiyo, jaise ki aakhri ho

Whenever we know, we are having a blast, you know it o o
Living every day, like it’s your last, you know it o o
Living for today, letting go of the past, you know it o o
Give it up, give it up, everybody say o o

(Shaan)
Hum sab jo saath mein rahe
Khushiyan sab haath mein rahe
Hum se bas faasle rahe yun, arrey tu ru tu ru
Chaahe kahin kisi bhi modh par
Bhigde gi bhi koi baat agar
Milke ik dujhe se kahe yun

(Anushka)
Yeh baatein, hai chhoti moti baatein
Yeh aaye jaaye jaise ki din aur raatein
Na aankhon se lagana kabhi yeh barsaatein mere yaaro

(Both)
Apna har din aise jiyo, jaise ki aakhri ho
Jiyo toh iss pal aise jiyo, jaise ki aakhri ho
Apna har din aise jiyo, jaise ki aakhri ho
Jiyo toh iss pal aise jiyo, jaise ki aakhri ho

Living for today, letting go of the past, you know it o o
Give it up, give it up, everybody say o o

(Shaan)
Duniya matlab ki yaar hai
Iski aadat bekaar hai
Iss se kum rakhna vaasta tu, turu ru tu ru tu
Apno se rakhna dosti
Inn se doori har kami
Inn mein hi dhoondh raasta tu

(Anushka)
Na jaana, yeh tune na jaana
Yeh manzil teri, inhe tujhe hai paana
Hai maine kaha hai jo, uss se mile zamana mere yaaro

(Both)
Apna har din aise jiyo, jaise ki aakhri ho
Jiyo toh iss pal aise jiyo, jaise ki aakhri ho
Apna har din aise jiyo, jaise ki aakhri ho
Jiyo toh iss pal aise jiyo, jaise ki aakhri ho

(Shaan)
Yeh zindagi, raftaar se chal padi
Jaate hue raahon mein, humse abhi keh ke gayi

(Anushka)
Hamara yeh waqt hamara jo ik baar gaya toh aaye na dobara
Samajh lo zara yeh, hawaon ka ishaara, mere yaaro

(Both)
Apna har din aise jiyo, jaise ki aakhri ho
Jiyo toh iss pal aise jiyo, jaise ki aakhri ho
Apna har din aise jiyo, jaise ki aakhri ho
Jiyo toh iss pal aise jiyo, jaise ki aakhri ho

Ale

Singer(s): Neeraj Shridhar, Antara Mitra
Music Director: Pritam
Lyricist: Kumaar
Length: 4:41

(Neeraj)
Duniya ki baatein waatein chhod ke
Gummo ki baahon ko marod ke
Khushi khadi hai jis mod pe
We got to go that way, we got to go that way

(Neeraj)
Koi galat ya kahe sahi
Hume kisi ki parwah nahi
Jaaye jahan bhi leke zindagi
We got to go that way, we got to go that way

(Chorus) Ale, (Neeraj) abh jo bhi ho
(Chorus) Ale, (Neeraj) ho jaane do
(Chorus) Ale, (Neeraj)hum befikar chalte rahe, chalte rahe
(Chorus) Ale, (Neeraj)dil se kaho
(Chorus) Ale, (Neeraj)kehte raho
(Chorus) Ale, (Neeraj)hum befikar chalte rahe, chalte rahe

(Neeraj)
Hume nahi kisi se vaasta
Apna alag hi hai raasta
Saare zamane ko hai yeh pataa
They know that we don’t care, they know that we don’t care

(Neeraj)
Apna toh chhota sa hai yeh jahaan
Marzi se apni hum jiye yahan
Sunte kisi ki hai kahan
You know that we don’t care, you know that we don’t care

(Chorus) Ale, (Neeraj) abh jo bhi ho
(Chorus) Ale, (Neeraj) ho jaane do
(Chorus) Ale, (Neeraj) hum befikar chalte rahe, chalte rahe
(Chorus) Ale, (Neeraj) dil se kaho
(Chorus) Ale, (Neeraj) kehte raho
(Chorus) Ale, (Neeraj) hum befikar chalte rahe, chalte rahe

(Antara)
Rukey na kabhi yeh safar
Yuhin chalta rahe
Hawayein kahe sun zara toh
Bheegay na kabhi yeh nazar
Har lamha ab khwaab mein
Duaayein aisi bun zara tu

(Neeraj)
Duniya ki baatein waatein chhod ke
Gummo ki baahon ko marod ke
Khushi khadi hai jis mod pe
We got to go that way, we got to go that way

(Neeraj)
Koi galat ya kahe sahi
Hume kisi ki parwah nahi
Jaaye jahan bhi leke zindagi
We got to go that way, we got to go that way

(Chorus) Ale, (Neeraj) abh jo bhi ho
(Chorus) Ale, (Neeraj) ho jaane do
(Chorus) Ale, (Neeraj) hum befikar chalte rahe, chalte rahe
(Chorus) Ale, (Neeraj) dil se kaho
(Chorus) Ale, (Neeraj) kehte raho
(Chorus) Ale, (Neeraj) hum befikar chalte rahe, chalte rahe

Desi Kali

Singer(s): Neeraj Shridhar, Sunidhi Chauhan
Music Director: Pritam
Lyricist: Kumaar
Length: 4:06

(Chorus)
Aaye haye aaye haye, baby you feel that
Aaye haye aaye haye, no no no I’m not your baby

(Sunidhi)
Baawra sa baawra sa phirta hai
Dosti ke raaste mein girta hai
Dil bina din raat mein bhi aankhon se
Pyaar ki baatein bhala kyun karta hai

(Sunidhi)
Mujhse yeh kehde na, tera mera kya hai lena
Phir bhi meri galiyon se phir kyun guzarta hai

(Neeraj)
Desi kali, you’re a desi kali, thats why dil tujhpe marrta hai – 2 times

(Neeraj)
Dil mera chupke se, nikla hai seenay se
Aur tere seenay mein gaya hai
Meri toh neendhon ko jo yahan ?levugi
Woh teri chaahat ki hawa hai
Dil mera chupke se, nikla hai seenay se
Aur tere seenay mein gaya hai
Meri toh neendhon ko jo yahan levugi
Woh teri chaahat ki hawa hai

(Sunidhi)
Haan tere jaise kayi dekhe hain
Kai leke dil phenke hain
Chori chori teri yaadon mein aahein kyun bharta hai

(Neeraj)
Desi kali, you’re a desi kali, thats why dil tujhpe marrta hai – 2 times

Baby you feel that way. — 2 times

Aaye haye aaye haye, baby you feel that
Aaye haye aaye haye, no no no I’m not your baby

(Neeraj)
Ik teri khaatir main, duniya ko chhodunga
Teri hi baahon mein rahunga
Tere bin jeenay se achacha hai
Marr jaaun main toh yeh kehta rahunga
Ik teri khaatir main, duniya ko chhodunga
Teri hi baahon mein rahunga
Tere bin jeenay se achchha hai
Marr jaaun main toh yeh kehta rahunga

(Sunidhi)
Mujhe yehi sab kehte hain
Tere liye koi rehta hain
Nasha mera saara duniya pe chadta utarta hai

(Neeraj)
Desi kali, you’re a desi kali, thats why dil tujhpe marrta hai – 2 times

(Chorus)
Aaye haye aaye haye, baby you feel that way
Aaye haye aaye haye, no no no I’m not your baby

You’re my country girl .

No, I’m not your baby.

Disco Dancer

Singer(s): Bappi Lahiri
Music Director: Pritam
Lyricist: Kumaar
Length: 4:56

Dancer disco

I am a disco dancer – 3 times
Zindagi mera gaana
Main kisi ka dewaana
Toh jhoomo toh naacho
Aao mere saath naacho gaao
I am a disco dancer – 2 times

Yeh log kehte hain
Main tab bhi gaata tha
Jab bol pata nahi tha
Yeh paaon mere toh tab bhi thirakte the
Jab chalna aata nahi tha
Nagmo ki masti hai
Meri jawani mein
Hai dance mere lahoo ki rawani mein

Yahan meri haar, yahan meri jeet
Yahi mere geet
Toh jhoomo toh naacho
Aao mere saath naacho gao
I am a disco dancer – 2 times

Do din ki hasti mein
Sadiyon ki masti mein
Bindass bhaagi jawaani
Dil pyaase milte hain
Aise jawani mein
Jaise mile aag paani
Iss umar mein kyun na manmani kar jaaye
Masti ki raaho mein hadh se guzar jaaye

Jahan mile pyaar
Wohi mere yaar
ho jaaye nisaar
Toh jhoomo to naacho
Aao mere saath naacho gaao
I am a disco dancer – 2 times

Zindagi mera gaana
Main kisi ka dewaana
Toh jhoomo toh naacho
Aao mere saath naacho gaao
I am a disco dancer – 2 times

Disco dancer.

Yaad Aa Raha Hain

Singer(s): Sudesh Bhosle
Music Director: Pritam
Lyricist: Kumaar
Length: 4:27

Yaad aa raha hai, tera pyaar

Yaad aa raha hai, tera pyaar
Kahan hum kahan tum
Hue tum kahan gum
Aa bhi ja aa bhi ja ek baar
Yaad aa raha hai, tera pyaar
Kahan hum kahan tum
Hue tum kahan gum
Aa bhi ja aa bhi ja ek baar
Yaad aa raha hai, tera pyaar

Aye dil, main wahi tu wahi
Wahi hain yeh duniya ke mele
Bicchde woh din, jaane kahan

Roothey, sab yahan jaane kahan
Reh gaye hum toh akele
Awaaz de kisko yahan
Yaad aa raha hai, tera pyaar

Vaada, vaada raha saathi mere tere liye gaata chala jaaun
Tum mera dil, tum meri jaan

Jeena, jeena mere jeena yehi tere liye zindagi lutaun
Tu jo nahi, kya hai yahan

Yaad aa raha hai, tera pyaar
Kahan hum kahan tum
Hue tum kahan gum
Aa bhi ja aa bhi ja ek baar
Yaad aa raha hai, tera pyaar

Dhagudu Dhattham is an ideal example of what a Devi Sri Prasad-Kamal Hassan combo would sound like. While the arrangement of the song is typically Devi barring the second interlude, the vocal part is customized for Kamal. And a fab job he does too, creating an engaging track. Equally engaging is the rock and roll track Who’s The Hero, once again majorly thanks to its scintillating vocals, this time by Andrea Jeremiah. Neela Vaanam starts off quite well, with pleasing violin bits, but loses its way as it progresses. Nevertheless it merits a listen for Kamal’s singing, supported by Priya Hemesh.

The opening beats of Oyyala reminded me of Gopala Gopala from Kaadhalan. There ends the only interesting part of the song as it then dwindles down to a middling trademark Devi Sri Prasad affair, not even saved by the exuberant singing by Mukesh, Suchitra and Karthik Kumar. Hopefully it will make a good watch with Kamal and Trisha. Kamal and Trisha come together behind the microphone for the interestingly arranged Kamal Kavidhai. While Kamal has proved his way with recitals in the past, Trisha matches up with the man quite well, and Dev sets the whole exchange to a perfect orchestral background. The theme is short and catchy, tinged with a Spanish flavor.  The title song sung by the composer himself is another song that comes with all his regular fittings, and in a pretty wearisome manner. Nevertheless the song is bound to make waves for its kuthu elements.

Manmadan Ambu may not be counted among the best Kamal soundtracks, but it definitely is the best Devi Sri Prasad has produced in recent times.

Music Aloud Rating – 7/10

Recommended Tracks – Who’s The Hero, Kamal Kavidhai, Dhagudu Dhattham

A Collectors edition CD of Raavanan was released last week, featuring five previously unreleased tracks, all of them from the background of the movie. You can buy the soundtrack here.

The highlight of the new set is undoubtedly the climax background piece Naan Varuvene soulfully rendered by ARR, Senegalese Kora player Jali Fily Cissokho pitching in with some native singing. The song sounded wonderful in the background of the movie, but in its entirety as a song it simply blows you away, scoring even above most of the songs from the original soundtrack. The acoustic arrangement features a heady mix of kora, accordion, flute etc laid over a haunting bass line. The second track called Lament Of Leaves is quite situational in nature, featuring some folk singing, apparently African, by Bruno Conn and an orchestration dominated by a harp-like instrument which again I guess is the kora. Restless Mystic is a short oud solo played by Seenu, and with its minimal orchestration doesn’t hold much on the entertainment front apart from the inherent haunting quality that the oud possesses. An ad lib sort of recital version of Kaattu Sirukki , Yaaro Evalo comes up next. And coming in the earthy vocals of Chinna Ponnu and Sangeetha the track has quite a clairvoyant air about it. But this song probably won’t find a lot of listeners going for it due to the peculiar sort of arrangement. And in the end is Kalingathu Bharani, a rousing chant which is again of a functional nature, standing out for its opulent orchestral arrangement.

A collector’s edition this truly is, especially for the magical Naan Varuvene. This one should really have featured in the actual soundtrack. In any case, better late than never.

Music Aloud Rating: 8/10