Monday, December 15, 2014

Jagada Jagada Jagadam

Song: Jagada Jadada Jagadam
Movie Name : Geethanjali
Singers : SP Balasubramaniam
Music Director : Illayaraja
 
   In the recent week or so, I have convinced myself that this is one of SPB's greatest vocal performances ever! This song has long stretches requiring him to hold his breath, requires powerful enunciation of lyrics to show raw emotion/power, and then has high pitched singing.

  Add to this, the fact that it was and still is an incredible adrenaline pumping song. The lyrics are energetic, inspiring and quite a mouthful! Yet, the tune is soulful, just like a rock song should be!

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Raasave Unnai Nambi

Song: Raasave Unnai Nambi
Movie Name : Muthal Mariyathai
Singers : S Janaki
Music Director : Illayaraja
 
   As with every Illayaraja song that I have written about, I went through a phase of liking this song followed by just falling in love with it after some time! I think its because the first thing that I noticed in this song is the tune and the singing but eventually I pay attention to the orchestrization and the interludes which blows me away!
 
   Janaki has an extraordinary talent to convey the emotion in the song through her voice. There are places where she is sad, afraid, happy and sometimes proud in this song. She displays all these emotions at different points in the song in a manner that perhaps no other singer can!
 
  A word of mention for the lyricist Vairamuthu who won his first National Award for this movie. The ability to piece together a song with all of the variations in emotion is a tough ask. The lyrics are simple enough, for me to understand (even though its not my native language) but still convey so much emotion without being repetitive or generic.
 
  And finally the best for the last - Illayaraja. Sometime, I listen to the interludes of a song and wonder why Raja wasted an awesome tune on the interludes. And why he chose that variation (sometimes even deviating from the main raga of the song) to get to the interlude. There is a simplicity to the interludes in this song, but not without Raja's magical touch. The interludes alone make your mind wander through a range of emotions. Again, how is it possible to do this within one song ? My other favorite portion in this song is the end of the charanam. It ends with a small gamakam which I absolutely love.
 
Ada manthayila ninnaalum nee veera paandi theru
That was in fact the first reason I liked this song and now it has become an earworm!

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Current Earworms

Song: Em Sandeham Ledu, Emiti Hadavidi
Movie Name : Oohalu Gusagusalade
Singers : Kalyani Malik, Sunitha & Deepu, Shravani
Music Director : Kalyani Malik
   Kalyani returns with his style of music - very lightly instrumented focusing on lyrics while keeping melody intact. Bonus points for Shravani on Emiti Hadavidi for singing in a very casual way which is very catchy. 

Song: Kandangi
Movie Name : Jilla
Singers : Vijay, Shreya Ghoshal
Music Director : D Imman
 
   Discovery solely due to waking up in middle of nights for Dhanush and listening to songs on TV. Specifically stuck in my head after Uma made me listen to this song and watch the visuals. Whats not to like about this song ? My favorite part is
Chinna Chinna poiyyum pesara
Jillunu thaan soodum yethura..
Absolutely delightful.
 
Song: Boochade
Movie Name : Race Gurram
Singers : Shreya Ghoshal, Rahul Nambiar, Naveen
Music Director : Thaman SS
 
  Instant favorite for Arjun too who perhaps listened it two times on two different days before starting to sing along and requesting me to play the "Boomchade song"
 
 

 

Monday, April 14, 2014

Vinmeen

Song: Vinmeen
Movie Name : Thegidi
Singers : Abhay Jodhpurkar, Saindhavi Prakash
Music Director : Nivas Prasanna
 
   This is another instantly likeable song which has a simple orchestrization, tune and rhythm backed by good singing from Abhay and Saindhavi. My favorite portion is the second stanza. The background chords and percussion seem to be a little more pronounced in the second stanza which adds to a wonderful effect. I am not sure quite why, but this song has been stuck in my head for the last couple of weeks.
 

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Vijana Surabhi

Song: Vijana Surabhi
Movie Name : Bachelor Party
Singers : Ramya Nambeesan
Music Director : Rahul Raj
 
   I have a soft corner for multi-talented people (actors who can sing, singers who can act, music composers who can sing/play instruments etc). I feel that they enjoy different things and are not forcing their way through one single profession. Ramya Nambeesan does a very good job in keeping with the mystery in the tune for this song. The choice of raagam (is it Panthuvarali ?) is what sets the tone for this song and makes it instantly likeable. Even before we get to the song, there is the bass guitar in the beginning which appealed to me. Overall, a very haunting piece and a true earworm!
 

Friday, February 28, 2014

Kalaya Nijama

Song: Kalaya Nijama
Movie Name : Coolie No 1
Singers : Illayaraja, Suseela
Music Director : Illayaraja
 
   About 8 seconds in to this song, Illayaraja creates a beautiful arrangement of strings, vocals and bass guitar that I find hard to describe. A reason why I am writing about these songs that are "old" is because of new technology and how it enables me to listen to songs in a different way. Back when cassette tapes and mediocre quality sound equipment in theaters were all we had, this song was a good but largely generic number for me. Today, when I listen to a good quality recording, the song has a completely different effect when other instruments jump out at me.
 
 Bear with me on this long post. Take the prelude as an example. About 8 seconds in to the song, when I originally heard the song, all I could hear was the humming by female singers and the occasional violins. Now, when I listen to this song, the occasional violins are not occasional but are present all through that interlude. Same goes with the vocals, and did I mention the bass guitar ? The point is that you pick any one of these pieces and follow them through the interlude and you will find that they are amazing, they have a simple tune of their own. Forget the original picturization for a minute. What an awesome composition!  And then I wonder about Illayaraja. Why the bass guitar ? Wouldnt it have been lost on 95% of people hearing the music back then on the sub par playback systems ? Forget them, how many people on the movie crew got it ? Then why does he add it ? The answer perhaps lies in the way he composes music - it is not through improvisation or incremental addition. It is composed as a whole. Imagine being in the head of Illayaraja and listening to these three pieces playing in synch in your head and writing down the notes to each one separately. For a person like me, THAT is unbelievable!
 
  After listening to this song over and over again, I thought if I was being unfair to other composers. Did other composers also face a similar issue (of being handicapped with subpar playback equipment) ? I skipped to next random song in my playlist "Churake dil tera" from Main Khiladi Tu Anari by Anu Mallik - an awesome song that I will probably write about some day. I strained to listen to any other instruments that I didnt pick up earlier. There were none. The song was exactly as I remember it and I had picked up every instrument back then when I heard it. I was a little disappointed although happy at having listened to one of my childhood favorite songs.(I hope no one is crying foul at the unfair comparison. Firstly the next song was random, and secondly the movies themselves were probably equivalent in content)
 
  Is this why they call Illayaraja ahead of his times ? He has pieces in his song that were not just for the average listener. There were hidden gems which I  (and people like me) could not even pick apart till 20 years later. That, to me is dedication. He composed music as he saw it fit and didnt dumb it down because a movie named Coolie number 1 did not need sophistication. If you havent already, get your self some good headphones, get a good quality version of this song, and go discover Illayaraja. All over again!

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Thendral Vanthu

Song: Thendral Vanthu
Movie Name : Avatharam
Singers : Illayaraja
Music Director : Illayaraja
 
  Why revisit this song after I have heard it so many times ? Because of this video of Nasser talking about this song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJdb0j54RzU). When I heard this song after looking at this video, I heard an instrument in this song that I had never ever noticed before. About 20 seconds in to the song, still at the prelude, The chorus of female singers subsides but for a faint presence in the background. As Illayaraja starts humming the main tune, a violin joins in. Where did this violin come from ? I had not heard that before. I always feel that Illayaraja cheats me. He has an easter egg planted in songs that reveals itself after subsequent listenings.
 
  If you cant view the video, here is the summary. Nasser ventured in to direction with Avatharam movie. (He was 37 years old at that time and Illayaraja was 52 yrs old and well established by then - not mentioned in the video). Nasser mentions that he finished the movie before Illayaraja did any work on this movie. He showed the movie to Illayaraja who was impressed and was willing to work on it even before talking to the producers about remuneration. After watching rushes of the movie, Illayaraja asked Nasser to come to his recording studio. Illayaraja was prepared with the right situations for songs even before Nasser mentioned anything, just based on one viewing.
 
   While Nasser waited patiently, Illayaraja scribbled notes (which Nasser later learnt were the notes for the song - Thendral Vanthu). When Illayaraja first mentioned the tune to Nasser, he was disappointed. He mentions in the video that he realized at that point how ignorant he was. He couldnt say whether he liked the music or not, because he had no reasons for either. He mentioned to Illayaraja that the movie is at a fast pace at this point and he would hence like the tempo to be picked up. Nasser also humbly mentions that he realizes he is out of depth while saying this. Illayaraja asked him to return later in the evening. When Nasser returned, he felt like he entered a lavish wedding. Seeing the orchestra made him feel that he was getting his money's worth. Again, Nasser alludes to the fact that he had no depth in music. He did not know what to ask of Illayaraja, and what he should expect. When Illayaraja played the interlude for him, Nasser mentions that he cried. He was amazed at how Illayaraja could create a composition this intricate at such a speed, scribbling notes on paper at a feverish pace.  
 
You can imagine what Nasser would have experienced, if you see this clever edit of this video --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoVhrKGjKT4&t=10m12s (credit to original uploader satz satish).