(You can listen to songs online here)

In true Bickram Ghosh style, the item number Tanha Raatein is replete with World Music elements, exotic percussion playing away to a predominantly Latino lounge-ish template. And being bread and butter stuff for her, Sunidhi Chauhan does a wonderful job at vocals. A “premium” item number for a change, if I may call it that! Dhundo stands out mainly for Sonu Nigam’s vocal dependability, and for some interesting orchestral elements from the composer. The base tune per se is a plain affair. The remix is middling. More Spanish follows with the June Bannerjee-sung track called Kisne Pehchaana, and is engaging despite another commonplace base tune. The acoustic Spanish loop that plays on throughout the song is addictive!
If the previous two songs were lacking on the base tunes front, Chup Tha Paani sees Bickram Ghosh make amends for that. Wonderfully composed and equally well-rendered by Ronita De, Chup Tha Paani is indeed the pick of the album. In this too the composer’s work on the percussive elements is worth noting. But what follows next is a shocker, a composition too pedestrian for Bickram Ghosh standards. Except for the fact that Rupankar sounds similar to Suraj Jagan, there is nothing much interesting about the rock song Is Mein Hai Chamak. But the composer ends on a high note with a short and sweet folk song sung by Dohar. Though I could not recognize the language of the lyrics, the North-Eastern flavour is evident in the orchestration. And even if you do not understand the song you will be hooked to Khasi Tingya due to the rustic appeal the tune carries and the simple arrangement to match.
While Bickram Ghosh has tried to make the score for Gumshuda Bollywood-friendly, it still contains the definitive Ghosh touch in its World music infusion. For that reason and the seemingly parallel line the movie seems to be made on, chances of this soundtrack getting listened to and appreciated by a lot of Bollywood followers seem less. It would be sad to see some good songs get wasted.
Music Aloud Rating: 7.5/10
Recommended Tracks: Chup Tha Paani, Tanha Raatein, Khasi Tingya

Read the rest of this entry »

Swarathma Album

Folk fusion has taken a new meaning with Swarathma, a Bangalore based band, who rocked the night of 3rd june, at Hard Rock Café, Bengaluru. With their quite unique sound, incorporating elements of contemporary rock and traditional music, Swarathma’s show that night at HRC went a long way in capturing the hearts of Bengaluru’s music following public. The highlight of the show was the release of the music video “Pyaasi” featuring Shubha Mudgal on vocals and Suhail Yusuf Khan of Advaita fame on sarangi, a social message to highlight the water scarcity problem affecting the country’s different regions.

The song “EE-bhoomi”, sung in Kannada is already famous in the music circles for its amazing ensemble of music, as well as being one where the crowd can sing along. Accompanied by a thumping bass line and a drum beat to go with, this one song was the cherry on the cake for the awesome night’s performance. However, having listened to the other songs in the album tells you one thing: This is not a one-trick pony(speaking of ponies, the kutchi ghodi is a feature u can’t miss in a swarathma performance ). Songs like ‘Jaana Kahan hai mujhe’ is a sentimental reflection on the dilemmas we have in life, while the rendition of ‘Sur Mera’ left one speechless with its slow kickup and intelligent fusion of indigenous percussion with the strings and the drums.

Originally formed in Mysore in 2002, Swarathma currently features Vasu Dixit on vocals, Sanjeev Nayak on violin, Varun Murali on lead guitar, Jishnu Dasgupta on bass, Pavan Kumar on percussion and backing vocals and Montry Manuel on drums. The band members come from various musical backgrounds, thus contributing to the rich texture in their music. Their passion for music is evident from their backgrounds, with some of the band members sacrificing high flying corporate careers to pursue their passion for music. Vasu Dixit took a 2 year sabbatical from the band to pursue a masters in film and video communication from National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, while Jishnu Dasgupta was already popular in B-school circles as the bassist for Bodhi Tree, the band from XLRI, and composer of songs like ‘GMD’, ‘XL ki kudiyan’ etc.

The versatility of Pavan Kumar adds a lot of prowess to the band’s music. Adept at conjuring magic from various percussion instruments like Kanjira, Djembe, Ghatam and Dholak, Pavan also performed as the lead vocalist in one of their songs. Montry Manuel’s flowing drumbeats are dependable and the keen devotee of Pink Floyd and Safri Duo always never fails to miss a beat. The drum solo at the end of the HRC show was testimony to that fact. Varun’s climb to fame in a short time is an inspiration to all budding guitarists. The fact that he started playing only 5 years before was quite incredible, and amazing.

Sanjeev Nayak’s virtuoso violin performance incorporates elements of Carnatic music into the band’s music. A self professed admirer of L Subramaniam and L Shankar’s violin performances, the quiet confidence with which the violinist holds the stage is a lesson for all budding musicians. Vasu Dixit hails from a family with a musical background, with his mother and elder brother Raghu Dixit already in the music circles. A passionate photographer and filmmaker, Vasu’s versatile vocal range and sensitive lyrics form the soul of swarathma. Other than their self titled album released under the Virgin Records label, Vasu Dixit has recently written music for a Kannada film.

Going into HRC made me sure of one thing: We can expect more great things from this band, if the show was a sign of things to come!! A show never to be missed if u have the good fortune to be in the same city

Personal favourite song: EE bhoomi!!

Swarathma website: http://swarathma.com

Facebook fan-page

The team of MusicAloud wishes all its readers a very merry and musical Christmas!

While you are enjoying your gifts and candies, we give you a musical gift by bringing to you some of the rare Christmas songs we hope you will enjoy.

We three Kings on the Hang Drum – I am in love with this instrument

Zero: Christmas in July – Not exactly a Christmas Song; nevertheless enjoy!

Blackmore’s Night: Emanuel

Jethro Tull: A Christmas Song – Performed by lead man Ian Anderson

Beatles: Christmas Time

Elvis Presley: Elvis Presley O Come All Ye Faithful – An Old tune performed by the genius

Johnny Cash – Performing some good old carols!

Jimi Hendrix – Finally, the master performing Christmas songs!

This year also saw the legendary Bob Dylan releasing his Christmas album. Here are some snippets from his album.

To leave you on a funny note watch this video of carols from David Letterman’s Late Show.

Question Courtesy : The flightless one

Connect:

Answer in comments.

Answer:

2 was as good as 1. Fundae please.

1. 2.

Answer in comments.

Also, send in your guest quest questions at : response at musicaloud.com

The first guitar is the Fender Lead II guitar that belonged to Eric Clapton. He gave it to a certain cafe in London to mark his stool. The Cafe hung his guitar as a memorabalia. Pete Townshend of “The Who” then gave the Cafe his own guitar (a Gibson Les Paul) and said “Mine is as good as his”. This is how the entire chain of Hard Rock Cafe’s and their rock memorabalia started..

Turned out to be more difficult than I thought. No one was able to crack this.

Vampire Weekend is one of the coolest indie bands around. Their music is inspired by African pop music, and they call their music Upper West Side Soweto. I had listened to their debut eponymous album. I liked them instantly, their music is very cheery and pleasant. My personal favorites are Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa and Oxford Comma, these two songs were simply fantastic, the instrumentation is very clever and sounds really good!  VW has released a new album, Contra and a single from the album is up for grabs at their website.

This single is called Horchata, named after a  traditional drink .  The song will endear to the Vampire Weekend fans, it’s almost in the same vein as their earlier songs, nevertheless it’s a beautiful song. Its free, go download it and give it a listen.

Bob Dylan would be releasing a holiday album titled “Christmas in the Heart” on the 13^th October. In the true spirit of Christmas, the album is about a giving heart; and not only through the songs. Bob Dylan has made this album as a charity album. That is, all of the royalties in the album that he derives in America will go to Feeding America, an organisation that provides food to the needy people. This is not an album of his original songs but a compilation of Christmas classics such as “Must Be Santa”, “Little Drummer Boy”, “Winter Wonderland” and “Here Comes Santa Claus”. There are totally 15 tracks on the album. Similarly, the international charities will go to similar international organisations. It is expected that a donation equivalent to 4 million meals will be given to Feeding America.
A preview of the album was available on the net since September 17^th. This album is in continuance with Dylan’s shift from serious, political albums to humorous, playful music. The arrangements of the song are quite similar to a traditional Christmas song; however, Dylan’s rusty voice adds a different style to it. The instruments are also pleasant and include Christmas bells, accordions, violins, synthesizers and acoustic guitars.
Holiday albums have previously been released by a number of artists such as James Brown, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jethro Tull and Beach Boys. Still, making a Christmas album was an unexpected step from an artist like Bob Dylan. However considering the popularity of Bob Dylan and the fact that it is being done for a noble cause, the album will definitely sell like hot cakes during the holiday season.

“It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air.”

The Ancient Astronauts  are back, this time with a turntable and a guitar.
Kabanjak and Dogu aka Ancient Astronauts are two hip-hoppers from Cologne, Germany. Ah! German Hip-hop. I was surprised, but then I have only my ignorance to blame, Germany had been fertile ground for  hip-hop for some time. Ancient Astronauts didn’t sound like a hip-hop group name to me and that was just the beginning because Ancient Astronauts is somewhat different from the usual hip-hop stuff you are generally treated to. According to Wikipedia, Ancient Astronauts are extra-terrestrials who visited during the pre-historic times, there are theories which suggest the deities in most of the religions are these ancient astronauts, the Doju figurines from pre-historic Japan being an example.

The Ancient Astronauts from our times have released a new album, We are to answer. The album starts with an airy, atmospheric track called “From the Sky“, as if to signal the landing of the astronauts. The next track is called “I came running“, it is basically  guitar loops and ambient noises mixed with break beats and some grace.“The Classic“ features the alternative hop-hop group Pharcyde. This is classic hip-hop meeting the present. The track is embellished with fusion in the form a flute and some turntable exploits. There is a spacey, weightless feeling to these tracks, with a constant backdrop of break beat. You get a feeling of listening to a hip-hop mutation of Radiohead, low-fi melacholy stuff. In hip-hop circles this kind of music is called down-tempo.

Just when I started categorizing AA as down tempo, “Dark Green Rod” started playing. This song features Ulf Stricker, a German drummer. This is an explosive track and seems to change the tempo of the album completely. Almost a rude awakening, but once you get into the groove you won’t notice anything other than the rhythm. The next song is an evocative number featuring Phat Old Mamas.

In Risin High, AA have roped in Raashan Ahmad. The song brings Gorillaz to my mind. There is a flute playing in between Ahmad’s rap verses and that is very cool. “Lost in Marrakesh” is the kind of song which you can use as back ground score in a movie for a scene when your hero is vainly searching for his heroine among sand dunes with a hot breeze for company. There is very strong Middle Eastern feel to the song (as the name suggests) with the Arabic beats and the sound of bells. The song can easily be  the pick of the album for it’s sheer ingenuity. The blend of varied instruments is perfect and the resulting sound is simply mind blowing. The next number is a reggae track rendered beautifully by Tippa Irie. The next track, “Everybody” sounds like an acid jazz track with lots of guitars and drums. The bass line is superb and elevates the song to a different level all together. Oblivion featuring Azeem and DJ Zeph is a turntable riot. “Surfing the Silvatide” can be called atmospheric reggae, the whole album is made around the concept of an ET visiting earth, having some fun here and finally flying back to space. The final track Crescent Moon kind of validates my theory, this is a trippy track with a sci-fi feel. The song starts with a radio announcer from the 30’s welcoming the travelers “to the sounds of man in space”. The funny thing about this “sounds of man in space” is that space is generally considered devoid of sound as its pure vacuum, all the astronauts will get to hear is their breathing and voices of their colleagues. And towards the latter half of the song with almost 90s left the track goes silent!! I told you, you can’t hear in space! Then after 30s or a creepy voice says something like AA has returned to the space. The sound and mood of the song might have been inspired by classic science fiction movies and has an eerie feeling to it, Through out the album AA have consciously tried to add these sounds to the songs.

The album art is a reference to the Pioneer plaque, which was sent to outer space on NASA’s Pioneer 10 spacecraft, as a “Hi there!” to any alien life form which may find it. Last time when the Ancient Astronauts supposedly came to Earth they were turned into gods, these days the closest thing that you can get to being worshiped is becoming a pop star. Ancient Astronauts have the stuff to make it big, whether it will become reality or not needs to be seen.

On the whole this album is worth its money. Looks like lots of experimentation has gone into this body of work. Considering the amount of fusion it has I would categorize it as World Music. If you are the type of person who likes to listen to new sounds and can appreciate some real creative work, this album might lit up your day.

The world is not going to forget George W. Bush soon and it seems like Green Day won’t make that any easier. Green Day’s latest album 21st Century Breakdown which will hit the stores this Friday the 15th,  carries on from where American Idiot left off. Known for their Bush bashing and angry poetry Green Day has taken it to a new level with this album.  Like American Idiot the new release is a rock opera and tells the story of an American couple. Musically the album matches the brilliance of  it’s predecessor and that’s not a small thing to do, with songs like Boulevard of Broken Dreams and  Wake me up when September ends, American.. was a runaway success and had won Green Day a lot of new fans. Green Day in an interview stated  that the Queen, the Clash and Bruce Springsteen have influenced this release. The album is very much a child of the times we are in and launches a punk attack against “the enemy”. Even though Bush has disappeared to his Texas Ranch, thanks to the Economic Crisis we still have lots of gloomy days ahead and this album has enough anger and energy to fight that off.  Get ready for the breakdown!

In between Green Day performed songs from the latest album for some 250 odd fans at a Oakland club. Here is a video.
21ST CENTURY BREAKDOWN (LIVE)