Naanum Rowdy Dhaan – Music Review (Tamil Movie Soundtrack)

naanum rowdy dhaan posterSongs and full credits at the end of the review.

Lyricist Vignesh Shivan’s wacky ode to the protagonist in the title song is treated to a fun, groovy tune and arrangement by composer Anirudh (excellent saxophone credited to Martin V, wonder if they meant Maarten Visser. Benny Dayal and the chorus (credited at the end) have a field day singing the track, and even Vijay Sethupathi joins the fun in the second half with some of his famous phrases (including the Ppaah! from Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom). Yennai Maatrum Kadhale has Sid Sriram on vocals, his cadence quite evocative of Ennodu Nee Irundhaal. The song is a winner though, particularly composer’s employment of the brass band-like percussion that stands out in contrast to the placid tune. It is only the introduction of the Rowdy Dhaan hook from the title song (in Anirudh’s voice) towards the end that didn’t quite work for me. Thangamey rides largely on Keba Jeremiah’s acoustic guitars, with Anirudh leading the vocals. Regular song for most part; where it hits a high is with Ananthakrrishnan’s (shuddha dhanyasi raga based, it would seem) violin soloes.

Which brings us to the two best songs of the soundtrack. Continuing her dream run this year is Neeti Mohan, acing the gorgeous melody Neeyum Naanum, punctuated by Anirudh’s fast paced chorus bits. While the piano provides the ethereal base for the song (Anirudh and Leon James at work), the composer deftly supplies other layers that accentuate its beauty – Manonmani’s sarangi, Chennai Strings Orchestra’s violins and Swaminathan Selvaganesh’s kanjira towards the climactic finish. Kannaana Kanne has Sean Roldan on vocals, a man who has been oddly missing in action this year after composing four soundtracks last year. The piece starts with a folksy vocal prelude delivered in the man’s trademark style after which it slowly picks up intensity, exploding into the delightful Celtic folk interlude made up of the accordion and Chennai Strings Orchestra.

Naanum Rowdy Dhaan. One of Anirudh Ravichander‘s best soundtracks to date!

Music Aloud Rating: 8.5/10

Top Recos: Kannaana Kanne, Neeyum Naanum, Yennai Maatrum Kaadhale

Full credits (kudos to Wunderbar Studios for supplying track-wise credits)

Kannaana Kanne

Singer – Sean Roldan
Lyrics – Vignesh Shivan

Acoustic, Electric, Bass guitars – Keba Jeremiah
Rhythm – Jared, Shashank Vijay
Keyboard programming by Anirudh
Strings by Chennai Strings Orchestra conducted by Kannan
Arranged by Anirudh, Ananthakrrishnan
Music Advisor – Ananthakrrishnan
Neeyum Naanum

Vocals – Anirudh, Neeti Mohan
Lyrics – Thamarai
Piano – Anirudh, Leon James
Sarangi – Manonmani
Kanjira – Swaminathan Selvaganesh
Strings by Chennai Strings Orchestra
Conducted by Kannan
Arranged by Anirudh, Ananthakrrishnan

Yennai Maatrum Kaadhale

Vocal – Sid Sriram, Anirudh
Lyrics – Vignesh Shivan

Piano, Synth, Rhythm – Anirudh
Music Advisor – Ananthakrrishnan
Title Song

Singer – Benny Dayal
Lyrics – Vignesh Shivan

Chorus – Sakthisree Gopalan, Kavitha Thomas, Nadisha Thomas, Mridula, Maria, Rhea Maria Raphael, S. Deepa, Angelin Nisha Rani
Saxophone, Baritone – Martin W
Piano & Synth – Anirudh
Rhythm Programming – Vivek Siva, Shashank Vijay
Music Advisor – Ananthakrrishnan
Thangamey

Singer: Anirudh Ravichander
Lyrics: Vignesh Shivan

Acoustic and Electric guitars – Keba Jeremiah
Solo Violin – Ananthakrrishnan
Piano, EP & synth – Anirudh
Rhythm programming by Shashank Vijay & Vasanth David
Kanjira – Swaminathan S

Music Advisor – Ananthakrrishnan
Album recorded at BSL, AM Studios -Chennai, Premiere Digital Mastering Studios,Mumbai
Engineers – Srinivasan, Karthik Sekaran, Pradeep, Kannan
Chief engineer at AM – S Sivakumar
Musician coordinators Samidurai, B Velavan

Mixed by Vinay Sridhar
Mastered by Nitish Kumar R

 

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