Delhi-6 Review

Delhi-6 Music Review

This is the first album of this year 2009 from our Golden Globe Winner-Mozart of Asia A.R.Rahman and it was a completely enriching experience to listen to this album.What a way to start this year. This album can be easily listed as one of the top 10 A.R.Rahman albums till date. Following Rang De Basanti, A.R.Rahman has once again proved his class and had bettered his RDB compositions in both flair and class. Its indeed a great privilege to pen my thoughts about this album.

1) Aarti (Tumre Bhavan Mein) – Rekha Bharadwaj, Kishori Gowariker, Shraddha Pandit, Sujata Mazumdar:
A typical bhajan to start the album. Not much of orchestration with female harmony section and shruti box and jingles throughout, its a pure melody to relish and its also short in duration.
Rating: 8/10

2) Arziyan – Javed Ali, Kailash Kher:
"Maula Maula" is a typical Rahman quawali number with the traditional tablas and harmoniums and nowadays Rahman has become a master in such compositions soaked in Hindustani music and a little bit of Sufism thrown in. The guitars are great and subtle and they blend beautifully throughout the song. Both the singers Rahman's new find Javed Ali(of Jodha Akbar fame) and Kailash Kher do complete justice to this song.A completely soul stirring composition that can be grouped with "Khwaja Khawaja",Sona Sona" and "Varaaka Nadi Karaiyoram". The pad usage along with the harmonium around the 3.20 minute and 4.50 minute is great. The subtle string section and bassline throughout the song makes it a pleasant hearing.
Rating: 9.5/10

3) Bhor Bhaye – Shreya Ghoshal, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Raga: Gujiri Thodi
Rahman has attempted to bring the immortal Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan composition with nice overlapping with vocals of Shreya Ghosal . A classical composition brought to younger generation in Rahman's own unimitable style with tablas and harmoniums.
Rating:10/10

4) Delhi 6 – Blaaze, Benny Dayal, Vivinenne Pocha, Tanvi Shah, Claire
A pure rocking number. This song is a complete electrifying number. What can one expect when all rocking power houses like Blaaze, Benny Dayal,Vivienne Pocha, Tanvi Shah and Claire share the mike???The result is a pure electro funky number with electric guitars and acoustic guitars. The use of slap bass guitar is commendable. Even the tabla also shares its space there. Suddenly from 2.18 minute, we hear brass and timpani and reverse cymbal too. Little weird..This song could have been better.
Rating: 8.5/10

5) Dil Gira Dafatan – Ash King, Chinmayee
Ash King makes an interesting debut here. Even in the prelude, one can sense the coming of vintage A.R.Rahman of Kadhalan days. The use of oriental strings,pads,bells,music box and guitars and string section makes the song a stunning melody. Ash King and Chinmayee are flawless and they do justice to this innovative song. The violins, scottish pipe and wood bass before and during the first interlude brings in an Irish feel to the song. The string section fuses the western classical opera feel to this song.A great melody to hear.
Rating: 9.5/10

6) Genda Phool – Rekha Bharadwaj, Shraddha Pandit, Sujata Mazumdar
The first prelude is very interesting with some funky sounds and electro beats and then the songs starts like a folk tune. But what happens next is mesmerising. We suddenly hear synth bass, distortion guitars and electro beats- a complete transformation of a folk song presented in western style. Good chord progressions and neat beat section with bird chirping sounds adds beauty to this song. Its a very short interesting number.
Rating: 9.5/10

7) Hey Kaala Bandar – Karthik, Naresh Iyer, Bony Chakravarthy
This is an another Middle Eastern flavoured song with neat bass riffs and fast beats. The rap section(is it by Ember/Bony Chakravarthy??) is done to perfection and the song sways to and fro and some times gives a deja vu feel at various places. The FX effects(atomic blast and ambulance) at few places are interesting. The voice morphing and the hip hop style of this song will make this song a perfect dance number. The pipe is enchanting like a magudi sound. A perfect blend of hip hop/Middle Eastern and Bhangra in typical Rahman style. The scale changes and distortion guitars adds splendour to this song. A worthy listen.
Rating: 8/10

8) Masakali – Mohit Chauhan
Only one word to describe this song "STUNNING". This was the song that was aired in Delhi 6 trailer and evoked a sense of curiosity to hear this album. A pure Rahman number which has all the trade mark Rahmanish elements in abundance and grandeur. A stunning melody rendered effectively by Mohit Chauhan. The string section accompanied by Mohit's singing in the first prelude just signals that some thing breath taking is going to sweep us away. Ghatam,accordion by A.R.Rahman himself and bass guitars and castanets soon follow and this song definitely has the Spanish feel. A pure melodic fun number with the excellent
strings section and the accordion in the first interlude is a treat to hear.Sure it takes us back to the glorious IRUVAR days. There is also a trademark Rahmanish percussion bit in 2.20 minutes and 3.32 minutes(like Uppu Karuvadu from Mudhalvan). The tempo of the song is perfect and the percussion is pure Middle Eastern stuff.The singer crooning Mattakali and laughing makes it a pure fun number.
Rating: 10/10

9) Noor – Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan's baritone voice appears in the backgounds with soft strings at the backgound. I don't know hindi....It must be some poem...I suppose....Its quite effective and typical Rahman work.
Rating:7/10

10) Rehna Tu – A. R. Rahman, Benny Dayal, Tanvi Shah

" A GREAT TRIBUTE TO HAKEN'S CONTINUUM MIDI CONTROLLER"

Wow...This is my another pick of the album. Rahman is so soft and soothing in his vocals. Little bit of hip hop rhythm and beautiful bassline, electric guitars and nice chord progressions. Typical Rahmanish song touching the higher crescendos with reverse cymbals,the music is great when Rahman sings Rehna Tu accompanied by guitars and soft beats.This song has shades of blues and classical 70's and 80's pop style.A little bit of Carpenter's style. This song is a great tribute to the "Finger Board MIDI Controller-CONTINUUM". The song has the lengthiest postlude may be after "Duet" that it almost comes for 2 minutes.

The part played in CONTINUUM is great and it is really wonderful to know that only a very few people in the world use "CONTINUUM" in their albums. Wikipedia lists only 7 popular artists using this instrument. Our Rahman is there among the legends. I strongly believe that we will hear more from this FINGER BOARD instrument. Some big surprise is sure to strike us.......
Rating: 10/10
FINAL VERDICT:
This album is easily one of the most appealing albums by Rahman in the last 5 years and one of the best that can be grouped along with May Madham, Thiruda Thiruda, Rangeela,Swades and Rang De Basanti. A very fresh album with so many genres.A must buy for any music fan.

WARNING: Dangerously Addictive

AR Rahman wins 'Best Composer' gong for 'Slumdog Millionaire'

Washington, Jan 9 (ANI):

AR Rahman has walked away with the Best Music Composer award for Danny Boyle's 'Slumdog Millionaire' at the 14th annual Critics' Choice awards in America.

The movie, which follows the story of the young boy from rags to riches, has walked away with five gongs at the award ceremony, reports Variety.

Director Danny Boyle won Best Director award. Writer Simon Beaufoy, also won an award for the film.

Actor Dev Patel added another trophy to his credit with the young actor/actress award.

Actor Sean Penn walked away with the top award for best actor for his film Milk, while Anne Hathaway for 'Rachel Getting Married' and Meryl Streep, for 'Doubt' won a combined award for best actress.

Heath Ledger was honoured posthumously for his role as a Joker in "The Dark Knight".

Kate Winslet won the supporting actress for her role in "The Reader," and Bruce Springsteen received the song award for "The Wrestler." (ANI)

GHAJINI- MUSIC REVIEW

This was one of the most expected albums in 2008 and finally the album has released and let us see how the songs fare well when compared to Harris Jayaraj’s work in Tamil. Lets have a preview into the songs….

1) Guzarish

Singer: Javed Ali

Guest Vocals: Sonu Nigam

The album starts on a breezy note with the melodious “Guzarish”. This was the first song that came out in the promos and its an highly addictive number. With Sonu Nigam on the guest vocals and Javed Ali rendering the main song it’s a treat to hear. A very typical Rahmanish melody with a booming bassline from the 2.02 minute, this song is already a hit. Mandolins by Seenu adds ambience to the song. Would have been nice if they had included an extra Sonu Nigam version also. Soft enigmatic beats and subdued string section complements the song. Excellent start to the album

Rating: 9.5/10

2) Aye Bachoo

Singer: Suzanne

When the first song was a breeze, this song is a power packed dynamite. The song starts with a distortion filled old FM synthesized foot step synth and then slowly thumping percussion joins with power packed lead/distortion guitars. The mute guitars along with tubular bells join in this power package. The interludes are ordinary but Rahman has packaged this song very well that it doesn’t keep you bored.

Not to forget Suzanne as she carries this song forward. A perfect fun filled dance number.

Rating: 8/10

3) Kaise Mujhe

Singers: Benny Dayal and Shreya Ghosal

This song according to me is the pick of the album. With tapes led by Laxminarayana and Raju, this song stands apart due to its complicated structure and immaculate orchestration. A typical Rahman melody, sung by Rahman’s latest favorite Benny Dayal.

But wait, I always thought this was a tailor made song for the maestro himself. Rahman could have sung it himself. Benny seems to have imbibed this song deep in this mind, that his voice sounds almost the same as the “Mozart of Asia”.

When it just seemed, Benny was running out of steam, Shreya comes to the rescue as she elevates the song to new heights. Guitars and Flutes and soft piano throughout the song interspersed with chorus section makes it a dream song. The highlight of this song is the collaboration of international artist Kazimir Boyle (worked with Rahman in Elizabeth-Golden Age) who had worked in the likes of Hans Zimmer has done the additional programming to this song.

Rating: 10/10

4) Bekha

Singer: Karthik

This is another power packed song sung by Karthik. Karthik returns with a bang with his energetic singing. Its been a very long time since we heard Karthik in Rahman’s music. This song starts in a hip hop style with beats, trumpets/sax with neat bassline. The chorus is somewhat ordinary but what happens after 1.10 minute is breathtaking. Saxophone by Martin Daes and pianos bring a nice jazz feel to the song. It’s the hero intro song told in Jazz/Mid 70’s Rock style with Rahman’s contemporary stamp all over it. I still feel odd when Karthik rushes through the words. A good song sung with finesse by Karthik. This is another pick of the album.

Rating: 9/10

5) Lattoo Lattoo

Singer: Shreya Ghosal

This is a pure dance number straight from Rahman’s desk. It may seem that it’s an usual Bollywood dance number but a closer hearing would reveal the intricate layering of various synth effects. Rahman has been giving a lot of dance numbers in recent times. But sometimes, it gives a feeling as if we are listening to a private album’s number( May be due to Pravin Mani’s additional programming and arrangements). But bass guitar riffs are typical Rahman stuff and Shreya Ghosal’s voice fits into this number. But her voice best suits melodies. A thoroughly enjoyable number. May be Rahman should have tried Ranjit Barot for this song.

Rating: 8/10

6) Kaise Mujhe (Instrumental)

Guitars: Neil Mukherjee

Flutes: Kiran

Rahman picks the best number in the album for this instrumental. Its slow, somber may be a flash back for the Asin episode. Guitars and flutes are the soul of the song. Hear it when you are lonely and sad. It evokes your emotions deeply. I don’t know why the pianist (Rahman???) is not credited. It’s so soft that it blends into the guitars and flutes and weaves magic throughout.

Rating: 10/10

VERDICT:

A.R.Rahman has emerged victorious in this attempt. Composing for a remake is not easy as original songs come to the composers’ mind thereby hindering the actual thought process. Ghajini(Tamil) is one of the Harris’s best work till date and cannot be compared to any other composer’s work. But there cannot be any comparison to Rahman’s work as the maestro has given pure magical numbers and has maintained his 100% success ratio this year. The one important thing is he is not repetitive either in his tunes or in the BGM arena. This album is a must buy for any music fan…..

Music Credits:

Guitars: Ivan Jeevaraj, Neil Mukherjee and Sanjeev Thomas

Mandolins on “Guzarish”-Seenu

Saxophone on “Bekha”-Martin Daes

Tapes on “Kaise Mujhe”-Laxminarayana and Raju

Additional Vocals on “Lattoo”- Karthik, Tippu, Benny

Backing Vocals on “Lattoo”-Tanvi, Shakthi Sree Gopal, Anisha, Suvi

Backing Vocals on “Kaise Mujhe”- Clinton Cerego, Vivienne, Hrishikesh Kamerkar, Dawn Cordo, Dominique Cerego.

Operatic Vocals on “Guzarish”- Kavita Baliga (KMCC Faculty)

Additional Programming: R. Krishna Chetan, Henry Kuruvilla, Suresh Peters and P.A. Deepak

Additional Programming on “Kaise Mujhe”- Kazimir Boyle

Additional Programming and Arrangements on “Lattoo”-Pravin Mani

Vocal Supervision on “Aye Bachoo”-Srinivas

Recorded at:

Panchathan Record Inn, A.M.Studios, Nirvana and Blue Frog

Mixed at: Panchathan Record Inn and A.M. Studios.

Mixing Engineers:H.Sridhar and S. Siva Kumar

Musicians’ Fixer: R.Samy Durai

Music Co-Ordination- Noel James

COMPLETE TRACK LISTING FOR THE MAGNUM OPUS 'GHAJINI'

COMPLETE TRACK LISTING FOR THE MAGNUM OPUS 'GHAJINI'

This is good news friends!!!!!!!!!!! One of the most eagerly awaited A.R.Rahman's release in Hindi is expected to be out on November 15. Hope it turns out to be a huge hit........

The entire music credits section boasts of the best in the industry............minus the ARR regulars the drums maestro Sivamani and flautist Naveen....................And yet another faculty from Rahman's own KM Music Conservatory...........

There are two additions in Recording Studios like Blue Frog and Nirvana............Looks interesting.........A big surprise in for sure...................

SAKKARAKATI- ARR SPECIAL

SAKKARAKATTI REVIEW

This is the most expected album of this year…..Rahman has given mind blowing music for this album. The album is already a hit with songs topping the charts.

1) Taxi Taxi-Benny Dayal, Blaaze, Viviane, Javed Ali
The album kick starts to fifth gear in the first song itself. This song starts with a funny cute humming by Viviane and then followed by powerful bass lines and thumping beats. Guitars and Mediterranean strings by John Themis deserve a special mention here. The lyrics are powerful and its already a hit all over the city. Rahman has given hip-hop in bhangra style. Benny Dayal is a great find. His singing is very stylish and mature. Some of the bass (particularly from the 3.10 minute) used in this song brings back the vintage old Rahman of Kadhalan days. Good news-he is back with a bang. The French lyrics by Viviane is innovative. Blaaze does his usual rap. Luckily he is an asset to this song. The interludes are interesting. A perfect friendship song.
Rating: 10/10

2) Marudhaani-Madushree, A.R.Rahman and Henry
The song starts with a bang with the melodious Madushree humming her way through. Her voice resonates amidst the beats. This song is the pick of the album. It is lot better than Munbe Vaa and will the former a run for its money. Such is the impact that the song gets better and better after repeated listening. Very effective ambient pad usage in this song. There are oodles of chord progressions in this song. The piano interludes along with flute and chimes are stunning and Rahman still has not started his magic. Wow what a humming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Very catchy bass guitar usage and harmony section weaves magic in the song. Lyrics are good-could have been better.
He spells magic on the listeners. The humming alone is enough to give the other songs a run for its money. Absolute magic. Going to rule the charts for times to come.
Rating: 10/10

3) I Miss you da-Chinmayee, Indai Haza
Very unconventional song structure-it belongs to Mazza Mazza (remember Sillunu Oru Kadhal) category…. Chinmayee has given her best in this song. The Eminee chants are very addictive. Indai Haza (Chinmayee’s alter ego) is none other than Chinmayee herself. The husky singing from Chinmayee from 2.10 minute is sheer magic. Ambient pads with flutes and Analagon with the powerful bass guitar/Orchestral hits gives a new dimension to this song. It’s a very catchy song with a futuristic setting. Song structure and sound design ahead of times.
Rating: 9.5/10

4) Chinamma-Benny Dayal and Chinmayee
This song is a remake version of Rahman’s hit number by the same name from the controversial magnum opus-Meenakshi-Tale of Three Cities. This song’s prelude starts an old fashioned distortional FM style flute followed with the crashing Bass guitar. What follows is Rahman’s techno version of Andhra folk. Percussion is the strong point of this song ably complemented by saw lead and electric synth bass. Benny Dayal is an apt choice for Sukwinder Singh. While the hindi version was a solo, here the tamil version is a duet. The usage of claps as a layer in the 1.47 minute and the interlude in the 2.20 minute is great. Chinmayee sounds very different. The well panned rolling beats reminds of Sivamani’s work in Konjum Mainaakale….. The singers have to be complemented for their good work and Rahman retains the final humming of Sukwinder. Really nostalgic. This song is already a hit.
Rating: 9.5/10

5)Elay- Krish, Naresh Iyer
Krish makes his debut under Rahman. Its really surprising as how Rahman has managed to give so many hit numbers in the same album. This is the best song the Mozart of Asia has composed in Country/Soul Genre. Its lot better and refreshing than Roobarooo. Excellent guitar strumming and excellent violins throughout the song. Rahman has tried his hand in fusing Irish folk and the output is unbelievable music.
Excellent usage of chimes and Bondoneon/Harmonica throughout the song.Lyrics are excellent and mundane at some places. Excellent chords elevates this song to new highs and ambient pad in 3.15 minute is trade mark Rahman music. Great fun number.
Rating: 9.5/10

6) Naan Epodhu-Reena Bharadwaj
This is another remake-Yeh Rishta from the movie Meenakshi-Tale of Three Cities. This is a beautiful semi classical Hindustani melody with dholaks and guitars ruling the song. Absolute melody. Excellent bass guitar and piano and the bass guitar played on the keyboard takes us back to the Rahman of early 90’s Hear the bass from 2.10 to 2.14 just before the synth effects come into picture. The water flowing sound with veenas and guitars and pianos adds beauty to the already beautiful song. Rendition of the song is good but the female singer had to work on her pronunciation. Lyrics could have been a lot better.
Rating: 10/10

VERDICT:
An absolute classic album. Don’t miss it. A sure buy for any music fan. Highly addictive.

Jingles of A.R.Rahman

A.R.RAHMAN'S FIRST EXPERIMENTATION-JINGLES

Here is a collection of Rahman's jingles......Dunno how far it is authentic. A friend of mine had collected from some website.....Thanks for that author.....

Rahman's biography all over the internet says he has composed more than 300 jingles.....So this is just a small list.....People may add to the list:

1. Asian Paints directed by rajeev menon

2. Boost featuring Sachin Tendulkar and Kapil Dev

3. Cinthol featuring Arvind Swami dircted by rajeev menon

4. Parry's Kasthuri Tea

5. Tilda Basmati

6. Jeenic Choclates

7. Murugan textiles

8. Leo Coffee featuring Arvind swami

9. Springz Mineral Water

10. Titan watch directed by Rajive Menon

11. Remanika Sarees -thrissur,kerala

12. Premier Pressure Cooker sung by sujata

13. MRF Tyres Directed by Bharatbala

14. Hero Puch

15. The Hindu Young World

16. Allwyn's new Trendy range of watches

17. Nestle Sunrise Cofee directed byRajeev Menon

18. butterfly home appliances

19. Bru cofee

20. Shriram chit funds

21. leo sprinz

22. Tata chola tea directed by Bharatbala

23. MGM Dizee world

24. John's umbrellas

25. Garden vareli sarees

26. BSA Cycles

27. Bavens Studio in Kerala

28.AIRTEL

29.World Space

MY FAVORITES: PUDHU VELLAI MAZHAI

ROJA-PUDHU VELLAI MAZHAI




Song: Pudhu Vellai Mazhai
Movie: Roja (1993)
Singers: Unni Menon, Sujatha
Music: A.R.Rahman

This is the first song that made me to sit and observe its sound design in minute detail. So I thought of writing about this song, which made to sit up and listen with sheer curiosity. I could very well remember the day when the audio was released and I was doing my 5th standard to be precise.

Those days we had a small Panasonic Hi-Fi System. We used to listen to the songs everyday. That was when this happened. I was returning from the school when I heard a completely new sound. I went to my home and heard the song. I asked my father about the song and my father replied it was someone called Rahman who has struck tamil music like a storm. That was the day when I became a hardcore fan of Rahman. Now Rahman is an internationally acclaimed musician and is truly Chennai’s pride.

“Pudhu Vellai Mazhai” starts with an amazing prelude of bass guitar well coerced with cute piano rolls and some synthesized glass-breaking sounds. The song had everything new written about it. The sound, the song structure and more over the choice of singers were all innovative. The interludes with female chorus accompanied by electronic piano and bass guitar is truly amazing. For the Indian audience the sound was entirely new and the beats added energy to the song.

Unni Menon made a re entry into Tamil film music( Earlier he sang “Pon Maane” from “Oru Kaidhiyin Diary” in the name of Vijay) and so did Sujatha. “Pudhu Vellai Mazhai” is a semi classical song and has strains of the 22nd Melakarta raga Kanada.

Rahman is known for blending classical and western music thereby creating his unique sound. Just close your eyes and listen to this song switching off the lights. The sounds resonate throughout the room and it clearly depicts some cool hilly regions. The sounds also suit to the ever-beautiful hilly Kashmir region with voices reverberating throughout the valley.

Rahman has brilliantly used his synthesizer and brought together effects of jazz guitar, cello, mandolin and flutes. Wow.. What an amazing mix. Interestingly this song has a Yanni connection. People who had listened to Yanni-Quiet Man will understand what I meant to say. Thaiyanban who composed for the tele serial “En Iniya Iyandra”( Serial that was telecasted in DD in 1994-but he actually used the haunting BGM from the movie "THE BOUNTY-Vangelis" is another story) came close to Rahman’s track. That was another haunting score.

Yanni and Rahman have mutual admiration for each other that Rahman used Yanni’s orchestra in one of his live shows. To sum it up this is one such amazing song that was in the Yanni-Petshop Boys mould. ARR is an amazing composer and he set a new trend in tamil film music.
Even today if I get a chance to meet Rahman I would request him to dust up his old synthesizer and roll his fingers over it. Such is the magic these songs have spun over us for the past 15 years. Simple music yet more melodious and it has that cute little surprise element in it.

LYRICS
pudhu vellai mazhai ingu pozhiginradhuindhak kollai nilaa udal nanaiginradhuingu sollaadha idam koodak kulirginradhumanam soodaana idham thaedi alaiginradhu
nadhiyae neeyaanaal kadal naanaesiru paravai neeyaanaal un vaanam naanae
(pudhu vellai...)
nee annaikkinra vaelaiyil uyirp poo vedukkenru malarumnee parugaadha poadhilae uyirp poo sarugaaga ularumun pudavai mundhaanai saaindhadhil indha bhoomi pooppooththadhuidhu kamban paadaadha sindhanai un kaadhoadu yaar sonnadhu
(pudhu vellai...)
pen illaadha oorilae adi aan pookaetpadhillaipen illaadha oorilae kodidhaan pooppooppadhillaiiru kaigal theendaadha penmaiyai un kangal pandhaadudhoamalar manjam kaanaadha pennilaa en maarboadu vandhaadudhoa
(pudhu vellai...)