Songs and credits (to the extent available) at the end of the review. Also has information on which song belongs to which episode.
G V Prakash Kumar gets just the one song in Modern Love Chennai, for Krishnakumar Ramakumar’s Kaadhal Enbadhu Kannula Heart Irukkura Emoji. The composer totally makes his mark with that song though – Kukunnu is total earworm material! While the melody itself is quite catchy and delivered very well by the interesting pair of singers Vagu Mazan and Ramya Nambessan, there’s also some really quirky folk-electronic fusion happening in the backdrop – the remixed version of S Ballesh’s shehnai solo to mention a highlight (which made me revisit the old remix of Leke Pehla Pehla Pyaar by Raghav). Sean Roldan is in familiar turf with the folksy, flippant romantic number Jingrudha Dhanga. Given that this features in the Raju Murugan-directed Lalagunda Bommaigal, the analogous song that comes to mind is the one Roldan composed for Murugan’s Joker, Jasmine-u. Fun track delivered well by the composer himself and helped amply by Bakkiyam Shankar’s lines replete with colloquialisms and Chennai references. In his second song Uravu, Roldan does even better – a beautifully haunting melody that occasionally seems to venture into an Ilaiyaraja (who we will get to in much detail in a bit) zone. Love how Padmapriya Raghavan and Roldan play off each other, and the charming elements in the arrangement like the whistles and Ashwin Suresh’s guitar work. Yuvan Shankar Raja turns the clock back a few years with his two brilliantly immersive compositions. Yaayum Gnaayum, which appears to be the anthology’s title track, is an ode to love penned by Yugabharathi (who writes most of the album’s songs) and is a solo act by the sultry-sounding Shivani Paneerselvam. Very trippy work from Yuvan; that rhythm loop playing throughout the song refuses to leave my head! Peranbae (part of Balaji Sakthivel’s Imaigal) plays out like sufi fusion, and Shivani kicks off this one as well. Top notch arrangements once again; the only stumbling block is the composer’s own singing alongside Shivani.
And with that, the Ilaiyaraaja show begins! Three of the veteran composer’s 13(!) songs are part of Akshay Sundher’s Margazhi, and all three are written by the man himself. Nenjil Oru Minnal is a very sweet, very hummable waltz that sees some lovely use of guitars. Thendral is trademark Raja, evoking memories of Poongaatru Puthithaanadhu, not just for its melody but also the pulsating backdrop marked by the belated introduction of the tablas et al. I really wish the above two songs had been sung by someone other than Raja though, the quality of the two tracks really warranted top tier vocal performances. Endrum Endhan breaks your heart in two ways – one, for the poignant melody that it is – made even more so by Priya Mali’s rendition – and two, for the fact that it is over in 52 seconds!
The biggest and best chunk of songs come as part of the Thiagarajan Kumararaja’s episode quite fittingly named after an Ilaiyaraja classic, Ninaivo Our Paravai. Paavi Nenjae is one song where Raja’s delivery is a great fit – the composer seems to tweak his voice slightly to suit the retro jazz piece it is. Top melody, top orchestration, especially the horns! There are two songs where Raja tips his hat to composers from before his time. First is Aanaal that harks back to the 60s (curious to see how this appears in the show); specifically a nod to this Veda-Kannadasan-L R Eswari song, @soundtrackindia tells me. Ananya Bhat is excellent in her languid, Western-influenced singing – love how the word “aanaal” is used to signify the shift in perspective. And second is the instrumental piece Kaamaththup-Paal, that riffs off Edvard Grieg’s In The Hall Of the Mountain King. First of all, hats off for picking a piece with progressively increasing tempo and intensity as reference, drawing a perfect parallel with the sexual act that the song’s title appears to imply. And secondly, what a tribute piece from Raja! The composer’s proficiency with classical pieces is well-known, even while drawing from the reference track here, Raja makes it his own, expertly adding intricate layers as he builds the song up towards its crescendo. Thee Inbame is all about the use of violins, even as Christopher Stanley is singing his heart out. That six-note refrain playing throughout the song made me think of Metallica’s Nothing Else Matters. Sooriyan Thondrudhu Saamatthilae is a whirlwind that comes and goes before you realise it! A frenzied rock piece – another annoyingly short composition – that is rendered to a tee by Priya Mali. I have seen people quoting The Rolling Stones’ Paint It Black as a potential reference for this one; however the true magic in the song is the composer throwing in a Flight of the Bumblebee-esque contrapuntal piano solo! Shivani Paneerselvam, who really is the find of the album, gets two more tantalizingly short tracks. Kaala Visai is more retro jazz with some delightful use of guitars. And Thaen Mazhaiyo is just Shivani on her own. The absence of any instrument places the onus squarely on the melody and the singing, both of which are excellent. Finally there are three more instrumental pieces from the composer. Kannil Pattu Nenjai Thotta Minnal is the only one that doesn’t really make an impact, at least as an audio track. Uncertainty of the Future delivers exactly what it says on the label – a suspenseful, unsettling kind of tune. The Good Bye is the album’s longest track, and is another piece that sees some neat jazz incorporation. A large portion of the song is the piano and sax repeating a short but very likeable melodic phrase over and over, with a brief strings segment in the middle of it all.
The Modern Love franchise has produced some great music over its previous editions, but the Chennai one is the biggest and best of the lot by a country mile. All the musicians involved have done a fine job here, but none more so than the maestro Ilaiyaraaja. What a year he has been having! And glad to see the retro trend continuing in all glory. What I hope doesn’t become a trend though, is this bit song one!
Music Aloud Rating: 4.5/5
Top Recos: Too many to name!
Soundtrack Credits
Lalagunda Bommaigal:
Jingrudha Dhanga
Song composed, arranged and programmed by Sean Roldan
Lyrics : Bakkiyam Shankar
Singer : Sean Roldan
Additional vocals : Manoj Krishna
Additional Rhythms : Ashwin Suresh
Fully produced and recorded at Roldan Records
Mixed and Mastered by Toby Joseph
Uravu
Song composed,arranged and programmed by Sean Roldan
Lyrics : Yugabharathi
Singers : Sean Roldan, Padmapriya Raghavan
Acoustic and classical guitar : Ashwin Suresh
Fully produced and recorded at Roldan Records
Mixed and Mastered by Abin Paul
Title track:
Yaayum
Song Composed, Arranged and Produced by Yuvan Shankar Raja
Lyricist : Yugabharathi
Singer : Shivani Panneerselvam
Fully produced and recorded at U1 Records
Mixed and Mastered : Kumaraguruparan M.
ITunes Mastered at U1 Records by Kumaraguruparan M.
Imaigal:
Peranbae
Song Composed, arranged and produced by Yuvan Shankar Raja
Lyrics: Yugabharathi
Singers: Shivani Panneerselvam and Yuvan Shankar Raja
Flute and Wood Winds : K. L. Vijay
Fully produced and recorded at U1 Records
Mixed and Mastered by Kumaraguruparan M.
ITunes Mastered at U1 Records by Kumaraguruparan M.
Kaadhal Enbadhu Kannula Heart Irukkura Emoji:
Kukunnu
Song Composed by G.V. Prakash
Lyrics: Yugabharathi
Singer: Ramya Nambessan and Vagu Mazan
Programmed by : Bala Sarangan
Shehnai – S. Ballesh
Fully produced and recorded at Divine Labs Chennai
Mixed and Mastered by Jehovahson Alghar
Margazhi:
Nenjil Oru Minnal
Song Composed, arranged and programmed by Ilaiyaraaja
Lyrics: Ilaiyaraaja
Singer: Ilaiyaraaja
Fully produced and recorded at Ilaiyaraaja Studios
Mixed and Mastered at Ilaiyaraaja Studios
Thendral Pudhithu
Song Composed, arranged and programmed by Ilaiyaraaja
Lyrics: Ilaiyaraaja
Singer: Ilaiyaraaja
Fully produced and recorded at Ilaiyaraaja Studios
Mixed and Mastered at Ilaiyaraaja Studios
Endrum Endhan
Song Composed, arranged and programmed by Ilaiyaraaja
Lyrics: Ilaiyaraaja
Singer: Ilaiyaraaja
Singer: Priya Mali
Fully produced and recorded at Ilaiyaraaja Studios
Mixed and Mastered at Ilaiyaraaja Studios
Ninaivo Oru Paravai:
Paavi Nenjae
Song Composed, arranged and programmed by Ilaiyaraaja
Lyrics: Yugabharathi
Singer: Ilaiyaraaja
Fully produced and recorded at Ilaiyaraaja Studios
Song Mixed by Tapas Nayak, Aura Studio, Chennai
Song Mastered by Andy Bartow, Black Dog Mastering Studio, Florida
Thee Inbamae
Song Composed, arranged and programmed by Ilaiyaraaja
Lyrics: Yugabharathi
Singer: Christopher Stanley
Fully produced and recorded at Ilaiyaraaja Studios
Song Mixed by Tapas Nayak, Aura Studio Chennai
Song Mastered by Andy Bartow, Black Dog Mastering Studio, Florida
Aanaal
Song Composed, arranged and programmed by Ilaiyaraaja
Lyrics: Yugabharathi
Singer: Ananya Bhat
Fully produced and recorded at Ilaiyaraaja Studios
Song Mixed by Tapas Nayak, Aura Studio Chennai
Song Mastered by Andy Bartow, Black Dog Mastering Studio, Florida
Sooriyan Thondrudhu Saamatthilae
Song Composed, arranged and programmed by Ilaiyaraaja
Lyrics: Yugabharathi
Singer: Priya Mali
Fully produced and recorded at Ilaiyaraaja Studios
Song Mixed by Tapas Nayak, Aura Studio Chennai
Song Mastered by Andy Bartow, Black Dog Mastering Studio, Florida
Kaala Visai
Song Composed, arranged and programmed by Ilaiyaraaja
Lyrics: Yugabharathi
Singer: Shivani Panneerselvam
Fully produced and recorded at Ilaiyaraaja Studios
Song Mixed by Tapas Nayak, Aura Studio Chennai
Song Mastered by Andy Bartow, Black Dog Mastering Studio, Florida
Thaen Mazhaiyo
Song Composed, arranged and programmed by Ilaiyaraaja
Lyrics: Yugabharathi
Singer: Shivani Panneerselvam
Fully produced and recorded at Ilaiyaraaja Studios
Song Mixed by Tapas Nayak, Aura Studio Chennai
Song Mastered by Andy Bartow, Black Dog Mastering Studio, Florida
Kaamaththup-Paal
Song Composed by Ilaiyaraaja
Kannil Pattu Nenjai Thotta Minnal
Song Composed by Ilaiyaraaja
The Good Bye
Song Composed by Ilaiyaraaja
Uncertainty of the Future
Song Composed by Ilaiyaraaja
