A R Rahman’s New Theme Tune for Radio DesiBeat

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.