Five-time Academy Award winner John Barry died of a heart attack in New York earlier today. The composer was aged 77. While most of Barry’s awards came elsewhere, the work that made him a household name for movie-goers would invariably be his arrangement of Monty Norman‘s base tune for eleven movies of the James Bond series. To me the one he recorded for You Only Live Twice with Nancy Sinatra remains the best of the lot, the haunting strings motif of which was later incorporated beautifully by Robbie Williams in his hit single Millennium. As a tribute to the veteran composer, here is a youtube playlist of 41 of his greatest hits. RIP, John Barry.

Aye Khuda is refreshingly un-Anand Milind-ish, with its breezy pop-based arrangement. Kunal Ganjawala and his missus Gayatri do a fab job on the vocals front, and make this song an engaging listen (barring the short-yet-cringeworthy dialogue sequence that appears in the second interlude). Sadly this happens to be the only pleasant affair in the entire soundtrack, as it then disintegrates into a collection of thoroughly dated/middling tunes. Dil Ne Mere and the title song are just about listenable despite the jadedness owing to some interesting points in the arrangement and a spirited rendition by Udit Narayan and Shreya Ghoshal, and Abhijeet respectively. But the other three – Rock You Baby, Teri Shame and Ayo Manaye Jashn (sung respectively by Arun Bakshi & June Bannerjee, Shaan & Gayatri Ganjawala, and Monali & Rahul Seth) are banal beyond repair.

Anand Milind went out of fashion a few years ago. Tum Hi To Ho’s music is a mere reconfirmation of the fact. Not that the movie seems to be the type deserving a musical masterpiece anyways.

Music  Aloud Rating – 4/10

Recommended Tracks – If you must, listen to Aye Khuda.

When I saw Dabangg, I had no idea I was watching the musical of the year! Awards after awards are being announced and everyone seems to be finding Dabangg consisting of the best songs of 2010. Radio Mirchi announced their Mirchi Music Awards in a glam ceremony in Mumbai, and Dabangg walked away with 8 of the 22 categories! Filmfare, IIFA and the likes serving to the hype was understandable, but to think that a jury consisting of such people as Javed Akhtar, Shankar Mahadevan and Suresh Wadkar could have awarded the Best Song of the Year to Munni Badnaam Hui is outrageous! Munni as the Best Item Song of the Year is befitting, but if the jury is unable to find a single song from 2010 that was better than the said song they are kidding themselves imho! Which, by the way, strengthens the case for a more democratic and transparent system of awards being advocated by Tweeple Film Awards. Do support the cause if you aren’t yet! Coming back to yesterday’s awards, luckily the jury didn’t feel like giving out the entire 22 categories to Munni and Dabangg (at least some of them presumably coz they didn’t fit the category!), due to which some deserving people still got honored, most notably the Lifetime Achievement to Ravi and Charanjit Singh, one of the industry’s finest instrumentalists, for Outstanding Contribution for Film Music. Below are the winners in the different categories.

Best Song of the Year

Munni Badnaam composed by Lalit Pandit, sung by Mamta Sharma & Aishwarya, lyrics by Lalit Pandit

Best Album of the Year

Dabangg composed by Sajid-Wajid & Lalit Pandit, lyrics by Faaiz Anwaar, Lalit Pandit & Jalees Sherwani

Best Male Vocalist

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan for Tere Mast Mast Do Nain from Dabangg

Best Female Vocalist

Mamta Sharma for Munni Badnaam from Dabangg

Best Music Director

Sajid-Wajid for Tere Mast Mast Do Nain from Dabangg

Best Lyricist

Gulzar for Dil To Bachcha Hai from Ishqiya

Uninor Mirchi Listeners’ Choice  – Best Song of the Year

Sheila Ki Jawani composed by Vishal-Shekhar, sung by Sunidhi Chauhan & Vishal Dadlani, lyrics by Vishal Dadlani

Uninor Mirchi Listeners’ Choice  – Best Album of the Year

Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai composed by Pritam, lyrics by Irshad Kamil, Neelesh Mishra & Amitabh Bhattacharya

Best Programmer and Arranger

Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy for Noor E Khuda from My Name is Khan

Best Song Recording

Salman Khan Afridi & Farhad K Dadyburjor for Dil To Bachcha Hai from Ishqiya

Best Background Score

Sandeep Shirodkar for Dabangg

Lifetime Achievement Award

Ravi

Jury Award for Outstanding Contribution to Hindi Film Music

Charanjit Singh

Best Upcoming Singer of the Year – Male

Mustafa Kutoane, Kirti Sagathia for Beera from Raavan

Best Upcoming Singer of the Year – Female

Mamta Sharma for Munni Badnaam from Dabangg

Best Upcoming Lyricist

Bhadwai Village Mandali for Mehngai Dayain from Peepli [Live]

Best Upcoming Composer

Shiraz Uppal for Rabba from Aashayein

Best Item Song of the Year

Munni Badnaam from Dabangg,  composed by Lalit Pandit, sung by Mamta Sharma & Aishwarya, lyrics by Lalit Pandit

Best Raag-Inspired Song

Kaare Kaare Badra from Mirch, composed by Monty Sharma, sung by Shankar Mahadevan, lyrics by Javed Akhtar

Best Album of the Golden Era

Barsaat

Best song in Sufi Tradition

Sajdaa from My Name is Khan, composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Shankar Mahadevan & Richa Sharma, lyrics by Niranjan Iyengar

Best Indipop Song

Thumri from Kohram, composed by Kami, sung by Amanat Ali, lyrics by Traditional (Folk)

ARR may have lost out to Reznor and Ross in the Golden Globe campaign, but all is not lost yet. In what could very well lead to a repeat of his show at the Oscars two years back, the maestro bagged two nominations at the Academy Awards this year too, Best Original Score for 127 Hours and Best Original Song for If I Rise from the same movie, where he has been nominated alongside Dido and Rollo Armstrong. And the opponents that ARR has to face are pretty much the same – Zimmer, Powell, Desplat and the Social Network duo. In any case, I shall repeat what I have said twice already – that this album is more deserving of the awards than Slumdog Millionaire. So here’s wishing that Rahman brings home two more of the golden knight statuettes. Below are the nominations for the two categories.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

• “How to Train Your Dragon” John Powell
• “Inception” Hans Zimmer
• “The King’s Speech” Alexandre Desplat
• “127 Hours” A.R. Rahman
• “The Social Network” Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

• “Coming Home” from “Country Strong” Music and Lyric by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey
• “I See the Light” from “Tangled” Music by Alan Menken Lyric by Glenn Slater
• “If I Rise” from “127 Hours” Music by A.R. Rahman Lyric by Dido and Rollo Armstrong
• “We Belong Together” from “Toy Story 3″ Music and Lyric by Randy Newman

You can listen to the soundtrack here.

(01.02.2011 – Updating a few artists I got to know the contribution of only recently, and HAD to be mentioned)

The allure of Darling is majorly owing to the beauty of the Russian original Kalinka. Vishal Bhardwaj does pep the song up his way, but when you have such a wonderful base tune to build on it is hard to go wrong.  I am grateful to him for introducing me to such a wonderful Russian folk track though. Usha Uthup is a perfect choice for this song, and makes a fabulous combo with Rekha Bhardwaj. A second version of the song Doosri Darling starts off with the actual Russian lyrics, before Gulzar saab takes over. And here Vishal improvises further to fantastic results, the constant change in tempo working wonderfully. Love the way Rekha sings Darrrrling!! Clinton Cerejo and Francois Castellino join the two ladies in this version. Bekaran imparts a feel quite akin to the two songs Vishal Bhardwaj has sung in the past. But the orchestration is richer this time (that beautiful classical violin in the second interlude is played by the veteran duo Ganesh Kumaresh), and that with Gulzar’s lyrics are enough to have you hooked to this one. O’Mama has Vishal doing rock in a way he’s never done before, almost like making a statement that he can pull off rock as good as any of the new composers-in-the-block. And pull it off he does in a mind-blowing manner! And Gulzar..what this man is made of I wonder, there seems to be no genre this man cannot handle! I would have expected Vishal Dadlani or Suraj Jagan to be roped in for this one, but the composer goes for KK, and he totally aces it, supported in the right places by Clinton Cerejo. Vishal also presents a short Unplugged version sung by KK again, his voice assuming more of its usual soulful texture. And the song all of a sudden turns into a stirring love ballad.

Vishal aces the orchestration for the sufi-based Awaara, providing a pulsating Arabic template to go with Master Saleem’s devout rendition. Niladri Kumar is splendid with his sitar phrases in the first interlude. May be due to the raag similarity (Ahir Bhairav, to be hazarding a guess) and the Middle East flavour, the song reminded me of the composer’s classic from Maachis, Chappa Chappa. Tere Liye is best listened to with headphones on, eyes closed. Suresh Wadkar’s vocals and the tranquil orchestration are enough to put all of your worries in life away. It is good to see Wadkar’s voice still having the magic after all these years. Displaying a Rahman-esque penchant for the eclectic, the composer features a third classical veteran in this song, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt with his Mohan Veena (which is the sitar-esque sound you hear in the latter half of the song). Vishal presents a second rock track with Dil Dil Hai, but this time doesn’t impress as much as he did with O’Mama. There are interesting riffs all through the song, but on the whole it turns out to be a slightly cacophonous affair. Suraj Jagan does the vocals this time around.  The soundtrack ends on a sinister note, Rekha Bhardwaj crooning an elaborately orchestrated Yeshu. The orchestration (by the Bombay Film Orchestra, with Suresh Lalwani at the head) and the vocals are spot-on here too, but the functional nature of the track brings down the entertainment value of the song.

If that one track is given maafi, another superb soundtrack from Vishal Bhardwaj for 7 Khoon Maaf that once again underlines his versatility (And Gulzar’s as well, of course!). Waiting to see if the movie turns out to be equally interesting. The inclusion of so many classical veterans reminds me of A R Rahman‘s lineup for Mani Ratnam‘s Iruvar. And yes, tip of the hat to Hitesh Sonik, Clinton Cerejo and Simaab Sen for their contribution as producers, which I don’t know on a song-by-song basis hence could not point out in the respective cases.

Music Aloud Rating – 8.75/10

Recommended Tracks – Darling, O’Mama, Bekaran

An era in Indian classical music came to a close today as veteran Hindustani vocalist Pandit Bhimsen Joshi passed away in Pune earlier today. A Bharat Ratna awardee belonging the Kirana gharana of classical music, Bhimsen Joshi is perhaps best remembered by Indian populace for his opening of the iconic national integration song Mile Sur Mera Tumhara. Apart from the numerous classical compositions that he has immortalized with his inimitable rendition style, Bhimsen Joshi also did playback for a few movies including the classic duel with Manna Dey from Basant Bahaar, Ketki Gulaab Juhi. We leave you with a video of that, and a few other memorable renditions of his. RIP Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, you shall be sorely missed.

His musical repertoire over the past three decades covers the who’s who of world music scene during the period. And his personal instrument collection would translate to an assortment of just about all of world percussion. Which kind of explains why this multi-percussionist is one of the most sought-after instrumentalists in the world today, be it world music or Hollywood. And the man has always had a special something for India, of late even foraying into the Indian film music scene, working with A R Rahman. Even as he gave this interview he was in Jaipur with a folk project he has been working on. Music Aloud’s tete-a-tete with Pete Lockett..

So when did it all start for you, your bout with drumming? Was it percussion right from the start or some other department of music? And when did world music take your fancy?

I was lucky.  I discovered music late at the age of 19 and it was totally something for me.  I had no external pressures, society pressures or achievement pressures.  I had left home and mastered my own destiny. I could just enjoy drumming for drumming sake.  It started out with drum set after I saw an advert in a drum shop window for drum lessons.  I went straight in and had one.  Two weeks later I was in a punk band and the future of my life was mapped out.   I moved to London a year later with no money and started to gig in rock bands and the like.   It was a few years until I discovered Indian music.  Again quite by chance.  I stumbled across a free concert given by Zakir Hussain and Ali Akbar Khan and was immediately mesmerized.  I feel so lucky and blessed to have had those moments.

In your world music discography, I have noticed a slight majority going for Indian fusion. Even among the two books you have released one has been on Indian rhythms.  Any reasons for the penchant towards Indian percussion? Is it something to do with the complexities involved in the Indian beat structure and the challenges therein?

I am a multi percussionist and that is my instrument.  It includes instruments and traditions from all over the world, from North and South India to the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Latin America Japan and much more.  However, the holy grail of complex and developed linear rhythm is Indian.  Everyone knows that who has studied it.  It is by far the most involved linear rhythmic system in the world and that is why I have worked with so many Indian projects.  However as an individual my style is about hybrid integration of it all.

All these albums you have done, does the music get planned and then recorded, or are they recordings of impromptu jamming between you and the collaborating artists?

To a point you can jam but one really needs to compose to get the true potential from projects.  Improvisation gets more complex the more people you add and you can end up with one almighty mess.  A balance of improve and planned content is the ideal station.

Apart from your fusion work, you are extensively into movies, having worked for some of the biggest hits of Hollywood. So how different do you find arranging for movies from say, composing for a fusion album?

When you are composing then you are choosing the route.  It is up to you if you fly, go by train or by road.  Stop here, stop there or stay overnight.  In the studio with films and other peoples music there is more of a route planned because all the musical points are in place.  You need to create grooves, moods and accentuations that bring the best out of the music already there.   The session players who do not succeed are the ones who over impose themselves on the music at the cost and to the detriment of that music.   It is all about making the music sound its beat.

How did Sivaji happen? And how was the experience of playing with Rahman?

I have worked on numerous projects with Rahman.  I recently did the Commonwealth Games Theme with him along with the film 127 hours.  I did Vande Mataram with him and numerous other projects.  He is an inspiration who is totally at one with his music making.  It is great when composers get so involved in sessions as the way he does.

You are particular about the knowledge you have to aspiring percussionists, updating your website with videos, audios and text on a regular basis, and that too for free! Have you ever thought of taking this a step further? Like starting an institute may be?

I don’t have the time.  I rarely have the time even for individual lessons.  I am lucky because I am busy playing.  I love my work and am lucky to get so many opportunities.  However, I still feel a burning desire to make the little that I know available for those that want it.  I wish for a day when there are far more multi percussionists around than there are today.

When can we expect Made In Calcutta and the other album where you are collaborating with Airto Moreira? Is there anything else you are working on currently?

Those two will come out this year.  I just had a meeting with the Airto team last week in LA and they are nearing completion.  The Calcutta album is signed over to Bickram Ghosh‘s new label and has a pending spring release.  Watch this space and my website.  New projects always on the horizon.

If we were to ask you to list down your top five favorite musicians today, who would they be? Who were your idols in your formative years?

I have such a wide ranging eclectic taste that I cant really answer that question.  However, I would say that my first major drum influence was Keith Moon.  Two other names that come prominently to light are Zakir Hussain and the late great Harishankar, the legendary Kanjira player.  I would put the two of them at the top of the list.  Zakir is most certainly the best living drummer or
percussionist in the world today.  His skills are incredibly flexible and he sits so comfortably in so many different musical settings.

I have read in another interview that you don’t consider any particular instrument as your favorite, but still there must be some instrument in your collection that you consider a prize catch, a treasured possession?

Not really.  It is all my instrument, I am a multi percussionist.  It is totally hypothetical to answer it, like saying which album would you take to a desert island.  If you did end up on a desert island you would not get that choice, nor would there be electricity to play the CD!!

So many artists. so many concerts.. Any memorable incident that pops up in mind?

Again there are too many.  I have been lucky enough to have toured all over the world in many different situations.  All of these have different memories. Currently I am in Jaipur and then Lucknow with a project I have with 24 Rajasthani folk musicians.  We premiered it last year at the Jodhpur RIFF on top of Jodhpur fort at midnight with a full moon.  That was pretty special!!

You can download some of Pete’s music for free at his official website. And below are some videos of the man in action. Cheers!

The soundtrack gets off to a decent start with the rock-ish title song, primarily owing to the expressive rendition by Sunidhi Chauhan and Kunal Ganjawala and the mild Latino infusion in the softer sections. Sunidhi is in fact the star of the song, due to which the female version, where Sunidhi goes solo except for Shilpa Rao on the chorus, is a better listen. A “bonus” version of the song is a complete revamp, making it a more techno-fusion (and annoying!) affair. Abhishek Ray’s vocals don’t improve matters any bit. Wonder if he did the composition too. Javed Ali sounds fabulous crooning Kaise Kahein Alvida and here the arrangement is quite in line with what one connects with Nishat Khan, the composer creating the perfect ghazal feel with the orchestration. Javed sounds weird in Dil Dar-Ba-Dar though, for the brief cameo he does there singing the Arab-esque title refrain. The song itself is pretty weird for that matter, the composer attempting to put together a lot of different sounds and not quite achieving the desired results. The rendition by lead vocalist Shilpa Rao is impeccable as usual, but the song is left wanting on so many other departments.

Javed Ali’s voice re-assumes its non-weird form in Sararara, a song that is interesting in parts for its sprightly Punjabi components but seems to get tedious on repeated listens. Sukhwinder Singh’s version of the song however sounds much better, probably coz this genre is bread-and-butter for him.  And in the end Javed Ali returns again with Shilpa Rao to deliver Ishq Tere Jalwe, the bass loop of which reminded me of the opening guitar portions of Pritam’s tribute to Mohiner Ghoraghuli, Bheegi Bheegi. But if that and the overall Pritam-ness are overlooked, Ishq.. is a beauty, Nishat Khan creating a haunting rock-based track and the vocalists doing their job to a tee.

A soundtrack that is hardly reflective of the musical genius that Ustad Nishat Khan is, but Yeh Saali Zindagi a fairly enjoyable debut from the filmy perspective.  I prefer the classical exponent Nishat Khan to the Bollywood composer though. And I was sort of hoping for at least one track featuring the man on his sitar.

Music Aloud Rating – 7.25/10

Recommended Tracks – Kaise Kahein Alvida, Ishq Tere Jalwe, Yeh Saali Zindagi (female)

With a cool, youthful, pop-based arrangement, Harris Jayaraj creates a perfect boy band-ish sound in Ennamo Yaedho, a feat he has achieved in a flawless fashion on multiple occasions in the past. Aalaap Raju, Prashanthini, Sricharan and Emcee Jesz ensure a perfect job from the vocals side as well, and the result is a totally addictive track. After such a wonderful opener, Gala Gala comes as a rude shock, at least the way it starts. The song gets into a marginally enjoyable groove later on with some innovative elements in the arrangement, but that’s still not going to give Gala.. a prolonged listenership.  Disappointing outcome for the vocal lineup it has in Tippu, Krish, Haricharan and Sayanora Philip. Venpaniye sounds pretty much like the regular Harris Jayaraj-Bombay Jayasree products, may be slightly different in arrangement, and slower. And the slowness and the repeat elements prove to be quite a deadly combo, the song getting EXTREMELY dragging as it progresses. Bombay Jayasree and Sriram Parthasarathy do their part soulfully, but that hardly helps.

Latter half of the soundtrack starts with Aga Naga, a hodge podge of frivolous lyrics and techno-based music. You might find it more interesting to read the elaborate singer list and wonder why they could have agreed for such a song, than actually listen to the song. It is another splendid set of singers wasted – Vijay Prakash, Tippu, Ranina Reddy, Priya Subramaniam, Solar Sai, Srik, Emcee Jesz. A brief respite happens in the form of the short anthemic Netril Potril sung wonderfully by Naresh Iyer, but the composer bows out with a mediocre final track AmaliThumali. In fact the song starts off pretty decently, albeit in a very HJ-ish manner, but then the jadedness grows on you as it goes on, and the other arrangement elements that the composer introduces, like the Punjabi flavor, fail to work much in the song’s favor. Hariharan, Chinmayi and Swetha Mohan’s rendition does provide some entertainment but that’s pretty much about it.

Barring the one gem in the form of Ennamo Yaedho, a middling score from Harris Jayaraj for Ko. Which is a huge letdown when compared to the score w he produced less than 2 months back.

Music Aloud Rating – 7/10

Recommended Tracks – Ennamo Yaedho, Netril Potril, Gala Gala