A side benefit from spending time with the likes of M and N every weekend is the chance to hear Bollywood numbers that otherwise would pass under my radar. Case at point - Aao na from Kyun Ho Gaya Naa. Sadhana Sargam's melliflous voice elevates this song to levels that I haven't seen in a S-E-L effort before. The classical touch to the song is very evident and probably adds to its allure. Heard it for the first time (with concentration) over the last weekend and have been hooked. It's just beautiful!
Another song/video came to my notice through one of my co-workers here is Blood Brothers by desi hip hop group Karmacy. Karmacy's singles have been featured in different hip hop compilations along with the likes of JayZ. Their single Passage of India was on the American Desi soundtrack too. Now they are out with their debut album "The Movement". And Blood Brothers is a poignant look at the American dream and the issues otherwise unseen by the family back home. Another single that's been on continuous play this past week!
Maru dhil, my heart, maru loi, my blood from the start
Mari nath, my family two worlds apart,
How do I move on bhai,
Kevirithe jais, cuz no matter where I go,
My soul is in the same place......
Speaking of heart and soul, have been listening to Ilayaraja's Thiruvasagam in Symphony this past two hours. I have always wondered what it is that makes IR's voice so calming (some people hate his voice, but he is par excellence when it comes to soul). Somehow his voice and esspecially his orchestration makes me close my eyes and TiS certainly acheives that.
Btw, TiS instantly took me on a flashback. In 1997, one of my friends, unfortunately not with us anymore, introduced me to this Malayalam soundtrack called Guru (incidentally, India's entry to the Oscars in the best foriegn movie category that year) that he had picked up in Chennai while on a visit. Repeated listening for the next couple of months made me realise that if there was a zenith that IR could reach, Guru was IT! Bought my own tape on my next Chennai visit and then one of my friends borrowed the tape from me a couple of months before I left India in 2001 and I haven't seen it ever since! Listening to Tis reminds me of Guru. The sounds are so similar and I wonder if Guru was recorded with the same musicians. The feel is the same, if I remember right. My next music purchase will be Guru for sure. So now I have a new item on top of my list for my paycheck!
Mari nath, my family two worlds apart,
How do I move on bhai,
Kevirithe jais, cuz no matter where I go,
My soul is in the same place......
Speaking of heart and soul, have been listening to Ilayaraja's Thiruvasagam in Symphony this past two hours. I have always wondered what it is that makes IR's voice so calming (some people hate his voice, but he is par excellence when it comes to soul). Somehow his voice and esspecially his orchestration makes me close my eyes and TiS certainly acheives that.
Btw, TiS instantly took me on a flashback. In 1997, one of my friends, unfortunately not with us anymore, introduced me to this Malayalam soundtrack called Guru (incidentally, India's entry to the Oscars in the best foriegn movie category that year) that he had picked up in Chennai while on a visit. Repeated listening for the next couple of months made me realise that if there was a zenith that IR could reach, Guru was IT! Bought my own tape on my next Chennai visit and then one of my friends borrowed the tape from me a couple of months before I left India in 2001 and I haven't seen it ever since! Listening to Tis reminds me of Guru. The sounds are so similar and I wonder if Guru was recorded with the same musicians. The feel is the same, if I remember right. My next music purchase will be Guru for sure. So now I have a new item on top of my list for my paycheck!
31 comments:
'Guru' was the first album for which Raja hooked up with the Budapest orchestra. And then of course for the soundtrack of 'Hey Ram'.
Also, the soundtrack of R.K.Santhoshi's 'Lajja' (wonder how many know that Raja was even associated with this movie). There have also been parts of other albums where Raja has used their services. But as far as I can remember, these are the 3 major collaborations.
Ahh.. the joys of listening to AAo Na... love that song. My roomie( a non-hindi speaking chick) hated it though... she said that it put her in a sad, pensive mood... so I wasn't allowed to play iot when she was in the room. But I did sneak it in once in a while, if I thought that she wasn't paying attention. LOL
Manoj: I thought i saw some similarity in the sounds and when i googled, got an interview link where IR is surprised that the interviewer, not a journo, but a TFM fan had actually gotten to listen to Guru. Guess even he considers it one of his best efforts. But my major concern/worry is that I have missed a lot of other stuff from IR that he has done in other languages. And Lajja had music by IR? :o
Rash: I can empathize with ur roomie. I mean, I have several songs that put me into a "mood" though the song was not quite intended to be that way. I guess its more cos of the feel of the music than the lyrics part! Anyways, Welcome...and keep coming back!
TIS is simply superb..
I am not particulalry a fan of IR's voice,but such soft and serene music really masks any roughness in the voice!
Also,I am unable to quote exact songs,but I feel some of the TIS songs seem to remind of earlier songs with the same orchestra like background.
-Raapi
u've said it perfectly wrt raja's voice. kinda nasal but totally calming. my fav is 'janani janani'. cant even imagine any1 else singing that song with that kinda effect!
haven't heard 'guru' songs. but both the movie and its songs were highly recommended by some commenters on my blog.
man.. the song Aao Na.. seriously transends me to a different Level .. Dude...
Hmm.. Loads of IR's fan here i suppose..
anti: For many Raja fans, Guru is possibly his last "complete" album. It's an experience in itself and I'll highly recommend it.
I dont wanna continue reading!
yeah, thats bcuz u toking abt muzik i dont like! :(
After ur strong reco, I got to hear Guru, and wasnt disappointed at all. Remember reading about it in the Friday reviews back then, when the movie was nominated as India's entry... Was fortunate enough to get the BGMs from Guru also, and they are mindblowing...
Still waiting to hear TiS... My DVD will take another few days to arrive:( Heard both extremes of reviews, but I think I'll like it...
Nithya: I have a lot of good memories through Guru! Bgms from Guru? Where? pls email :( I got the TiS audio cd on Saturday, DVD will probably come soon.
J: Pray, tell your preferences ;)
Manoj: Yup, that should sum it up, his last "complete album", though personally I thought Kannukkul Nilavu (another IR fav of mine, but totally under rated, I guess) came close!
Deepak: IR fans are everywhere dude :)
Balaji: you shld listen to it!
Raapi: I know what you mean by those reminders of old songs. You are not alone, I guess. But the words "Polla vinaye" are still ringing through my ears now (a friend has borrowed the CD to hear it over this week)!
Reminded me of KK telling abt 'Guru' album in that 201 wing (if I remember correctly) .... That 'Guru sharanam' was an deadly song.
Still to hear thalaivar's TiS... Waited, waited, waited while in India, but now away when it is released. Have to wait for another 3 months before that music flows into the ear...
Visu: E section? :) Where are you now? Actually Ambu had a tape. Avan dhaan ennaku kuduthaan! Guru Sharanam yesss!
Anti, thanks for pointing out the "TelegraphIndia" mention of Indibloggers.
:-)
Sure, will send it across to ur gmail.:)
The "Hey Ram" music comes to mind. It was awesome...not as celebrated somehow..
Gabby: You put me on a rewind mode by mentioning Hey Ram! Music wise, I am still confused as to how much of Hey Ram is by IR. There was some talk of L.Subramaniam dropping out at the last moment and IR filling in (and "re-recording" L.S's tunes"), but I dont know! Have to accept one thing, though - The bgms are mindblowing! And I am forever thankfull that I saw the movie when I was at a phase of life when I could appreciate dissent as a form of stating opinions! One day, when I have the time, will sit and spend a whole day watching Hey Ram repeatedly! The movie simply abounds with abstract images and symbolisms (at least I think it does) and I have to watch it again in peace!
Aao na is an incredible number! Sadhna Sargam and Udit Narayan sound divine, and so much younger too, almost as young as from their pehla nasha from JJWS days, in fact. Such a wonderfully refreshing song! One of SEL's best in my opinion along with kitni baatein from Lakshya.
And hey hey, if not too much trouble, please to email BGM of Guru when you get your hands on it :) Thankoo!
ps .. yes, I did it! :)
Oops, I forgot. Thank you to Nithya in advance, as well :)
Megha: Dandanaka done....emailed you
Thennavan: Mention not!
Now I am intrigued about Guru.
VC: Guru is heightened by IR's orchestration - The Budapest Symphony Orchestra I guess was used for Guru too (just like the latest TiS project) and some awesome singing (the usual suspects from Mallu land, i.e. KJY, Chitra, MG Sreekumar and ppl like Sujatha). The best songs in the movie are Deva Sangeetham and Guru Charanam! The movie was by itself largely symbolic and revolved around communal tensions etc. It was Oscar material and sadly, as is the case with a lot of South Indian movies, went largely unnoticed otherwise!
Looking at all the rave reviews for TiS, I have ordered a copy today. I enjoyed his 'nothing but wind' and 'how to name it' a lot.
anti: The story behind 'Hey Ram' is that L.Subramaniam walked out of the movie because of its controversial theme (Wuss!). Only problem being the songs had already been picturised by Kamal. And it was not feasible to shoot them all over again with the 'replacement' album. So Kamal went back to his old friend, who promptly came up with songs that perfectly matched the already picturised numbers, lip-sync and all. Knowledgable cynics might brush this off by saying that once you know the santham(meter) of the song, it's not as difficult as it sounds. But to me, it's always mind-boggling that he came up with something like 'Nee Paartha Paarvaikkoru Nandri' with all these constraints. If you remember that song, even the part where Kamal plays the piano matches almost perfectly.
Manoj: Hmm...true boss! hey, one min. Wasn't Hey Ram in sync sound? So, just the songs were dubbed on later. For me, Nee Partha Paarvai and Isayil Thodangudhamma were the picks, not to mention the title track!
All this Hey Ram talk has made me put the song with Jibonananda Dass’ poem on repeat mode :)
Anti, the other day after our DC blogger meet we were lazing around in one of the bloggers' apartments when I suggested to them to listen to the song "arayanname" sung by Yesudas. It is not from a movie but is from Vasantha Geethangal collection. It is there in musicindiaonline and I would like to know what you felt after listening to it the first time.
Thanks :-)
anti, guru songs super-a iruku...& i dont even understand wht he telling...awesome!!! thanks for the link buddy :)
CM: Even I don't understand half as much. But then I am only half mallu, so I think that is explainable. But jokes apart, Guru's music is probably my pick for the all time IR best! He has made simpler soundtracks look good, but this is as intense and complex as they get!
Thennavan: Thanx bosss, will listen. Anything by Yesudas should be good :) Incidently right now, my playlist comprises of 38 hindi songs by Yesudas :D
Gabby: Enjoyyyy maadi!
My guru favorite is 'Aruna Kirana Deepam'..Mind-blowing orchestration by Maestro and some amazing singing by KJ and chorus!
can any one gimme pointes for the MP3 of GURU ?
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