Oscar-winning composer A R Rahman launched the official Commonwealth 2010 Theme Song Swagatham yesterday at a ceremony in Gurgaon. The song has been sung by ARR himself, and at the launch ceremony too ARR sung it to the audience. Sure the song is marked by signature innovative orchestral elements from ARR, starting with the harmonic a cappella-esque start suddenly graduating into the rock song punctuated with Punjabi elements. But when taken as an anthem, Swagatham is missing something somewhere. For an event being hosted by India for the first time, the song doesn’t sound as special as it should. Plus the lyrics don’t seem that appealing either. The arrangement would of course delight any fan, yours truly included, and this song shall form a part of my playlist for days to come, but if I were to make a list of the best anthem/theme songs of ARR, this might not feature in it. And for an event as big as CWG I was sort of expecting to hear a classic from the maestro.
You can listen to the song online here or here. No credits for singers or lyricist are out yet, and I could make out just Rahman and Blaaze on vocals.

(You can listen to the songs online here)

Right from the point the rock elements set in, Hairat Hai has you caught on with its ultra-addictive arrangement. Lucky Ali has of late been doing a good job of moving away from the soft melodies that he once used to be once associated with, to a boring extent, and Hairat.. surely is one of his best songs in recent times. The title song, the Shilpa Rao-Vishal Dadlani version, strongly reminds one of Khuda Jaane in more places than one, but is thoroughly entertaining, especially with its alternating ambient melody-rock modes. Brilliant job by the vocalists, especially the ethereal-sounding Shilpa. Vishal-Shekhar have always excelled when it comes to tribute compositions to R D Burman, and here too in the second version of the title song (the one which accompanies the trailers), though largely evocative of their previous tributes like Tak Dhina Dhin from Aladin, makes for a good listen, primarily owing to the exuberant rendition by Nikhil D’Souza and Monali Thakur. Nevertheless, among the two, I pick version 1.
Things take a slight dip with Aas Paas Khuda, here the duo’s arrangement not proving enough to mitigate the deja vu-ishness. Rahat Fateh Ali handles the vocals, producing the usual results. The unplugged version is an improvement, Shruti Pathak along with Rahat provide some interesting segments with their vocal brilliance, but the base tune becomes this one’s undoing as well. The composers bounce back with Tumse Hi Tumse though, Shekhar and Caralisa Monteiro crooning to a breezy orchestration. The bounce-back continues in its upward direction with an even better Tujhe Bhula Diya, Shruti Pathak giving an excellent semi-classical start which is then carried forward by Mohit Chauhan to create another wonderfully packaged melody punctuated by occasional qawwali segments rendered by Shekhar. The remix, though decently done, is a pale shadow of the original. Vishal returns with Shilpa Rao to deliver the final track of the album, I Feel Good, which despite its SEL-esque youthfulness in arrangement, justifies its title with an overall feel good-ness.
A quintessential Vishal-Shekhar album – youthful, entertaining, and very Vishal-Shekhar-esque.. Five wonderful tunes out of the seven original tracks.. Anjaana Anjaani is an excellent follow-up to the duo’s work in I Hate Luv Storys.
Music Aloud Rating: 8.5/10
Recommended Tracks: Tujhe Bhula Diya, Hairat Hai, Anjana Anjani (Shilpa-Vishal version)

Another season of one of the best musical initiatives in the sub-continent in recent times aka Coke Studio, drew to a close last Sunday. The season saw some veterans like Abida Parveen and Arif Lohar make their debut for the show, and also some relative newbies like Sanam Marvi and Amanat Ali, while seasoned Coke Studio performers like Zeb & Haniya, Noori and Arieb Azhar continued their fantastic run at the show. Season 3’s biggest find was undoubtedly the Sufi singer Sanam Marvi, with her excellent choice of songs and brilliant execution in her rustic voice. The only quibble that remains is that the rock lineup didn’t quite display the quality that the rest of the artists did.

So while the wait is on for the next season, we present to you our list of the best performances from Season 3. Enjoy!

Episode 5 (Realisation) opens with Abida Parveen treating us to yet another of her typical renditions, this time with Soz-e-Ishq. Like her previous songs even this one is about 10 minutes long, and like her previous ones the tedium is nowhere felt. Starting from the unaccompanied ad lib segment you will be hooked to Abida’s voice. Even after the accompaniment kicks in their job is mostly nominal as the song entirely belongs to Abida. Amanat Ali follows with a patriotic song, Ae Watan Ke.. While he does a good job of the rendition part, the song lacks the energy that would generally be associated with a patriotic track, and Amanat Ali’s soft voice also sort of works against it. Good melody, but couldn’t really picture it as patriotic. Qawwali brothers Rizwan and Muazzam give another NFAK-esque powerhouse rendition in Jana Jogi Dey Naal. Though the song in itself is not very great, the exuberant singing sort of props it up.
Tina Sani’s previous performance in Episode 3 wasn’t a totally engaging affair, but in Episode 5 she manages to make it up quite a bit with Nawai Ney. But while her singing is brilliant as usual, what really gets you hooked to the song are the initial violin sequences and the soulful flute interludes towards the end, culminating in a mindblowing crescendo! And closing off a wonderful season is Sanam Marvi’s earthy sufi in Manzil-e-Sufi. Beautiful tune, and brilliantly executed. The choral sargam addition towards the end works totally for the song. Sanam Marvi really has been one of the best additions to Coke Studio this season!
Episode 5 is a step lower than its predecessors with just three standout songs, but Season 3 in its entirety has been better than the previous ones. Hope the upward graph continues in subsequent seasons too. And hope the next season comes soon! You can download the songs here.

Music Aloud Rating: 8/10

Recommended Tracks: Soz-e-Ishq, Manzil-e-Sufi, Nawai Ney

Lalit Pandit’s sole offering for Dabangg in the form of Munni Badnaam, though the staple Salman Khan folksy dance number, turns out to be a better job than Sajid Wajid generally pull off, thanks to a commendable arrangement highlighted by an acoustic guitar loop. Mamta Sharma and Aishwarya put enough life into the vocals so as to not waste the composer’s efforts. (The official Dabangg site strangely credits Lalit only among the lyricists! Shoddy job that! Talking of lyrics, “Le Zandu Balm hui Darling tere liye“? Really? ) The song seems to be composed in Madhyamavathi (Madhmad Sarang in Hindustani, wiki tells me) which is in general a very pleasant raga in any case, so that could have helped I am guessing. The remix is a far cry though, diluting the folk effect as usual.

Though faintly reminiscent of Surili Ankhiyon Wale probably due to the Rahat factor, Tere Mast Mast Do Nain has enough elements in its arrangement, especially the choral and interlude portions, to have you listening, though not sure for how many times. And as they did with Surili.., the composers come out with a duet version of this one too, Shreya Ghoshal joining Rahat for a brief cameo. Even then her rendition adds to the beauty of the song and makes it a better version than the solo. The remix is also pretty well-made, especially the innovative opening sequence. Chori Kiya also faces a similar fate as the previous one, even more severely, that of having a tune that has a lot of heard-before elements. Sonu and Shreya are impeccable as always on the rendition front but the melody has too much of the ghisa pita components to have your attention for long. The first thing that is bound to come to your mind when you listen to Udd Udd Dabangg is the title song of Omkara. With a lot of factors in the arrangement and Sukhwinder’s rendition literally crying out the similarity, the duo still do try to add some elements of their own. The song is a good work in entirety, but with this comparison coming into picture they lose out to Vishal Bharadwaj. Sajid-Wajid present an improvement over their own general dance tracks, in Humka Peeni Hai, adding some smart semiclassical elements sung by Master Saleem. But the Salman factor finally wins over the rest and it ends up just an average dance number. The remix doesnt make it any better. In the end comes the theme, replete with Spanish guitar loops. While the track is totally functional, with dialogues et al, listening to the Latin elements is fun!

Dabangg is once again the customary Salman Khan soundtrack, but Sajid-Wajid and Lalit Pandit manage to make it more enjoyable than the previous ones in that line.

Music Aloud rating: 7/10

Recommended Tracks: Tere Mast Mast, Munni Badnaam, Udd Udd Dabangg

(For listening to the soundtrack online, click here.)

The semiclassical melody that kicks off the soundtrack, Aankhon Mein Neendein bears all stamps of a KJo-SEL product, a la Sajda, Mitwa et al. Nevertheless the arrangement has enough spunk in it to make you forgive the repeat element. Plus Rahat Fateh Ali and Shreya Ghoshal do such a beautiful job on the vocals that its hard not to hum along. SEL’s tribute to Elvis’ Jailhouse Rock in the form of Dil Khol Ke, works majorly owing to the charm of the original itself, though to SEL’s credit they do manage to effectively add some of their own stuff to it. The piano in the first interlude is superb, but I have a feeling it was there in the background of the original as well. The vocalists, Anushka, Akriti and Suraj Jagan, manage to do a good job, but of course no one can match Elvis! Not SEL’s best tributes nevertheless. That would still be Pretty Woman.
The pick of the album happens with Reham O Karam, Shankar Mahadevan and Vishal Dadlani starting off what seems like a piano-backed unplugged track before classic rock elements kick in. The second interlude consisting of a guitar solo backed by an orchestral string sequence is simply brilliant! I must say the chorus singing the Reham O Karam refrain reminded me a bit of Udaan. The serene romantic melody that is Hamesha & Forever again contains everything that a SEL melody signifies in terms of arrangement. The presence of Sonu Nigam alongside Shreya further cements the feel. A good listen, though unlike Aankhon Mein here the repeat factor is bound to grow on you after a few listens. For most part, Sun Le Dua is pretty much an unplugged track, Shreya crooning soulfully to a piano-strings backing. But towards the end the flute (presumably played by Naveen Kumar) takes up the lead and finishes the song in style. The instrumental theme provides a wonderful closure to proceedings with its ambient orchestral elements dominated by the flute and violin. Wonder why the Cerejo couple, Neuman Pinto and Vivienne Pocha were credited on this one as I could not discern vocals at any point.
While the soundtrack for We Are Family is a good package from SEL, it is replete with telltale Karan Johar-esque elements which tell on a couple of songs. It would be best that he change composers for each of his movies.
Music Aloud Rating: 8/10
Recommended Tracks: Reham O Karam, Sun Le Dua, Aankhon Mein Neendein

(You can listen to the soundtrack here.)

When I saw SPB in the credits of Puthiya Manidha I expected the massy yet majestic, philosophical sort of hero song that he usually sings for Rajni, but what greeted me instead was a blast of techno sounds and synthesized voices. Fortunately the vocals are not processed for the entire song and hence we get to enjoy SPB’s vocal brilliance sans adulteration about half way into the song. I am not sure if Khatija Rahman actually sounds that way or there is an electronic assistance, but whatever it is she sounds fantastic! And there are enough Rahman-special elements in the song to make it enjoyable on the whole, but in a very sophisticated way, not the kind generally expected of SPB-Rajni combo.
The moment you hear the beautiful acoustic guitar opening for Kadhal Anukkal you know that nothing can go wrong in this one. And true to expectations a mesmerizing melody follows, Vijay Prakash and Shreya Ghoshal totally rocking the vocals. Them and ARR’s breezy arrangement which includes some surprise elements like the Celtic first interlude – Kadhal Anukkal is instant addiction! Irumbile Oru Idaiyam is a sharp contrast however, an average tune with an overdose of electronic instruments. Kash and Krissy accompany Rahman on the vocals for this one. The under 3 minute Chitti Dance Showcase rendered by Pradeep Vijay, Pravin Mani and Yogi B is a pot pourri of sorts, featuring everything from electronic to konnakol to orchestral elements. And hence it is interesting in parts. But when taken in its entirety it doesn’t make much sense. May be watching it in the movie will give a better idea. Arima Arima is all about orchestral extravagance, Rahman employing an entire range of instruments to effect that imposing feel. I can already picture a Vaaji Vaaji type of setting for this one. And with Hariharan, Sadhna Sargam and the chorus doing a fab job at the vocals as well, Arima Arima is a winner!
Kilimanjaro is entertaining for its tribal fusion elements in arrangement and the vocal efforts of Javed Ali and Chinmayi rather than for the tune per se. It is interesting to note the various instruments, specially the percussion, that make appearance at different points of the song. The soundtrack closes on a relatively lowkey note, with another electronic-soaked track, Boom Boom Robo Da, sung by Yogi B, Swetha Mohan, Kirti Sagathia and Tanvi Shah. Though the base tune is middling, it too does have its interesting points, especially the Middle Eastern elements in places.
While the soundtrack of Endhiran has enough fodder to delight a connoisseur, it remains to be seen how much its sophistication will appeal to the masses, who are after all Rajni’s primary target.

Music Aloud Rating: 8.5/10

Recommended Tracks: Kadhal Anukkal, Arima Arima, Puthiya Manidha

Pritam tries to give his own flavour to the Lata Mangeshkar classic Aa Jaane Jaa in his remix, but fails quite comprehensively,undone by an overdose of electronic elements. Even the efforts of Akriti Kakar and Javed Jaffrey are not enough to prop it up. I would trade this for the Instant Karma version any day. Band Baaja is engaging, but in a very Billo Rani-esque way and that repeat factor wears you down after a bit. Adding to matters is Richa Sharma once again at the helm of affairs. Its better than its remix though. And also better than Dil To Saala which follows next, a very bland composition. Wasteful usage of Sunidhi’s voice once again. At this rate her bad songs will far outnumber her good ones by the end of her career, which would be very unfortunate for a singer of her caliber.
Attrah Baras is marginally better than the previous two songs, but only marginally, thanks mainly to Suzanne D’Mello’s sprightly vocals. The arrangement here too is a below par affair. Working Girls which brings up the rear, has an orchestration which is interesting in parts, and a decent vocal effort by Shweta Pandit, Ritu Pathak and Priyadarshini. But whatever interesting points it has gets drowned in the super-useless lyrics!
A pretty forgetful soundtrack from Pritam. But for a movie titled Hello Darling, I don’t think a much better effort was called for in any case.
Music Aloud Rating: 5/10
Recommended Tracks: Not really.

Pritam starts off the soundtrack with a brilliantly orchestrated melody called Mera Jeena, sung by Neeraj Sridhar. A song that meanders through some breezy orchestration dominated by piano and flute for about a minute and a half before switching gears to rock, Mera Jeena provides the perfect start for the album. The remix is not that impressive though, with an overdose of dance pop elements. Pritam is always good doing songs with Latino elements, one of my faves being Falak Dekhoon. Following on similar lines, Dilkash Dildaar Duniya also starts off on a haunting note buoyed by Shaan’s soulful vocals. That is until misfortune strikes the song in the form of Tulsi Kumar’s singing! Nevertheless the song makes for a good listen if you decide to ignore the above-mentioned component. The remix is passable.

After Pritam it is the turn of Pakistani singer-composer Shiraz Uppal, who does a re-rendition of a song from his album Ankahi, Rabba. A very feel good sort of song with its peppy youthful orchestration and the man’s singing all fitting to a tee. After that the baton is passed on to Salim-Sulaiman who do four more songs for the album. But things take a relative dip in their first song Ab Mujhko Jeena, in spite of seeing Zubeen Garg return after a long gap. The base tune is in fact decent, but its the banal arrangement that becomes the song’s undoing. Same goes for the remix. Shukriya Zindagi sung by Shafqat Amanat Ali has a very strong deja-vu feel about it, but is engaging nevertheless, thanks to Shafqat’s vocal brilliance and Salim-Sulaiman’s innovation in the arrangement which stands out in places. There is also a short sad version of the song which is for most part Shafqat’s solo act. The feel kind of reminded me of Yeh Hausla. The remix is in bad taste however, robbing the song of all its beauty.

The real clincher from the duo comes in the form of Pal Mein. With mildly ambient orchestration reminiscent of some of the compositions from their previous outings with Nagesh Kukunoor, the composers get it totally right with the vocalists for the two versions – Shreya Ghoshal and Shankar Mahadevan. And though both do their parts brilliantly, the mood of the song is more fit for the female voice and hence Shreya’s version rates higher. And finally there is Mohit Chauhan crooning yet another melody, Chala Aaya Pyar, a very hummable tune but again replete with heard-before elements. Not upto Salim Sulaiman’s standards, especially in comparison to what came before this song, but good nevertheless.

With each of the three composers contributing his bit, the 13-song soundtrack of Aashayein has enough good music to make it worthwhile.

Music Aloud Rating: 8/10

Recommended Tracks: Pal Mein, Rabba, Mera Jeena

Coke Studio is one of the best things that happened to me last year. This whole concept of bringing musicians from different bands together and making them collaborate and reinterpret their music was simply superb. Coke Studio also introduced me to lots of Pakistani musicians like Noori, Javed Bashir, Arief Lohar to name a few. But the ones that impressed me the most was the duo Zeb and Haniya.

Zebunnisa Bangash and Haniya Aslam are cousins from Islamabad. Zeb is the singer and she is a classically trained one. Haniya is the guitarist and songwriter. What makes Zeb and Haniya stand is not just the fact that they are a two-women band from Pakistan but the sheer quality of their music. They are in fact making a statement simply by existing and performing at this level. Even Coke Studio for that matter while beaming thse beautiful songs out of Pakistan is doing something what hours of diplomacy fails to do.

Coming back to Zeb and Haniya, their first album Chup was produced by Mekaal Hasan and figured the who’s who of Pakistani Rock scene as session musicians. The song Aah is beautifully rendered by Zeb, the fusion of her Hindustani classical-based vocals and the blues arrangement of the orchestra is surreal. Kabhi na Kabhi starts off like a jazz number in Urdu but progresses into a rock interlude only to slip back into its initial Jazz groove. The singer is ably complimented by the trumpeter in this track. Daam is a track in the traditions of smooth jazz, the usage of flute as the instrument of choice has paid off and the instrument gels well into the mood of the song. If I am right, Haniya joins Zeb in singing in this track.
The song which I have repeatedly listened, the one which I have kept on singing for days is Chal Diyay. This is one killer of a song. It has that ability to haunt and make you listen to it again and again. I first heard the Coke Studio version wherein Javed Bashir jams with Zeb and Haniya. Coke Studio version is more rooted in Hindustani tradition, while the Chup version is much more westernized with fusion realized only the form of Zeb’s singing and she has delievered it with aplomb. The song scores for its simplicity and it is this quality which makes it listenable in a loop.

Paimona Bitte is a song attributed to Omar Khayyam the Persian poet, it is written in Dari. Dari is also known as Afghani Persian and is one of the two official languages in Afghanistan. The Coke Studio version has a rubab intro which takes the song back to its place of origin. The Chup album version has a flute intro and is an easy listening track. Again Zeb’s voice does wonders here. I have a feeling that Jazz songs sounds the best when sung by women singers. Jazz fusion is not new in the sub-continent, Bollywood composers right from O.P. Nayyar to A. R. Rahman have composed tunes inspired by Jazz. Shankar Jaikishan even came out with a Jazz-Raga fusion album, as early as 1968. Susheela Raman’s carnatic-jazz fusion works will probably make a good comparative study. But what makes the Zeb and Haniya unique is the choice of elements of fusion. At one end you have smooth jazz, swing and funk and the other the Sufi folk traditions. Out of the whole gamut of Jazz, these styles are the most captivating to a beginner, jazz standards by masters can leave a new listener completely baffled by their time signatures and other intricacies. And Sufi folk music, need I say anything more? Folk music is music of the people, it is the music which is etched into our DNA eventhough we are totally unaware of it. These tunes have been reverberating in the atmosphere for centuries, that is probably why you develop an instant liking to it, the moment you listen. As if you are remembering something from your past life. What Zeb and Haniya has done is to mix milk and honey and what we have is “Chup”. Go give it a listen on their fb page and be enamoured.

On recent developments, Zeb and Haniya have recorded some new songs for the latest Coke Studio Season. You can read our reviews of Coke Studio Season 3 here – Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4.