Karuvaayan’s oppari and Andony Dasan’s characteristic vocal style make for a fairly interesting combination with the brass-based arrangement (Selva Band) – the constantly changing rhythm is a little unsettling, but it does have moments of brilliance in its subsets. Composer Santhosh Narayanan goes minimal in Dhesayum Ezhandheney, and pulls it off beautifully – giving a resounding synth background to Meenakshi Iyer’s earnest delivery of the song. Don’t know if it is Rita’s earthy vocals (smartly interspersed by the Aama bits by Andony Dasan) or the general mix in the orchestration, something about Kannamma evokes memories of Genda Phool. Ding Dong engages by its contrast between Mose’s English rap and Arun Raj’s Tamil rap, while Babu’s trumpet brings in a third angle of contrast in the background. Renowned violinist/concertmaster Phillip Hartl’s country-styled violin solos rule the bluesy Baby. The composer himself gets behind the mic for a spectacular retro-styled rendition.
The remaining four tracks are mostly instrumental. The title of the movie gets divided among two songs titles. Jigar has Pradeep Kumar singing his own “lyrics” to an arrangement that tends increasingly towards Robert Miles as it progresses. The other half of the title, Thanda, is packaged as a dark guitar-led piece with the occasional Latino influence (not sure if that bass sound is from an acoustic bass or an upright bass). The composer nails the Wild West sound in Hoo Haa, bringing together the guitars and Sean Roldan’s ukulele with Sean’s whistling and those hoo haa chants in a short, crisp composition. And finally the jazz piece Ottam too is kept short, just over 2.5 minutes, but that is enough to realise the promise that Santy’s Jazz Band holds. Santy’s Jazz Band is another side project of Santhosh it would seem; featuring the man himself on vocals (though this song is instrumental), Graham Jesse on sax, Sean Roldan on electric guitar, Naveen Napier on bass, Leon James on keys and Hamish Stuart on drums.
Jigarthanda. After Cuckoo, that’s a second winner from Santhosh Narayanan in less than two weeks! This man is on a roll! And quite keen to see how Santy’s Jazz Band pans out.
Music Aloud Rating: 8/10
Top Recos: Dhesayum Ezhandheney, Kannamma, Baby, Ottam
Additional musician credits below the video playlist.
Backing Vocals: Dhee, Kalyani Nair, Sean Roldan
Acoustic Guitars: Sean Roldan , Pradeep Kumar
Electric Guitars: Sean Roldan
Ukelele : Sean Roldan
Whistle: Sean Roldan
Live Drums: Hamish Stuart
Electric Bass: Naveen Napier
Acoustic Bass: Pradeep Kumar
Double Bass: Brendan Clark
Trumpets: Babu
Solo Violin: Phil Hartl
Didjeridoo : Matt Doyle
Saxophone: Graham Jesse
Strings: Studio orchestra of Sydney
Concert Master: Phil Hartl
Orchestra Coordinator: Coralie Hartl
Chennai musicians’ coordinator: Tholkappiyan
