Maestro Ilayaraja News and Tidbits 2014

[sudhakarg]

The IR // MSV combo worked well fundamentally because IR was also a fan of MSV. He openly admits to his tunes being influenced by MSV "Anna". IR holds MSV in the highest pedestal. Not sure if Rahman shares the same feelings. May be I'm harping on something that happened too long ago.., but I recollect a Rahman interview where the interviewer asked "illaiyaraajavidam ungaLukku pidichcha vishayam".., and then he answering "Punctuality"!!. When he was pressed hard to state one song he liked, he mentioned "ingi iduppazhaga". Based purely on the public image, I think their respective competitive instincts takes over precedence in their relationship.

[hmohan]

Rahman and Orchestration - news to me.

// IR is very strong on Violin section which ARR also matches //
IR's string section orchestration is being compared with ARR that too a statement like he can match IR.

[JamesDap]

The IR // MSV combo worked well fundamentally because IR was also a fan of MSV. He openly admits to his tunes being influenced by MSV "Anna". IR holds MSV in the highest pedestal. Not sure if Rahman shares the same feelings. May be I'm harping on something that happened too long ago.., but I recollect a Rahman interview where the interviewer asked "illaiyaraajavidam ungaLukku pidichcha vishayam".., and then he answering "Punctuality"!!. When he was pressed hard to state one song he liked, he mentioned "ingi iduppazhaga". Based purely on the public image, I think their respective competitive instincts takes over precedence in their relationship.

I agree cent per cent with this. This is the reason why such a collaboration will never materialise.

From the point of view of a fan's flights of fantasy, I would welcome such a collaboration, though. No, I don't think ARR can add anything to IR's music in terms of melody, harmony or rhythm. IR is way ahead in those departments and to consider Rahman his equal in orchestration is...well, I should rather not comment on such opinions. But ARR can certainly add a lot to IR's music in the production department. Production doesn't just mean recording. It means paying attention to minute details to build up a good fundamental base into the stuff that gets the masses roaring. As a parallel, Richard Carpenter of Carpenters borrowed many songs (legally), sometimes even ad jingles, but mostly songs composed by Burt Bacharach, Paul Williams and Leon Russell. It is not that he was a better musician than them (though his own compositions like I Need to Be in Love rivalled the ones he chose from those composers. But he knew much better how to build up a song into something big. If you at all happen to be familiar with Carpenters, listen to the original versions of Close to You and then the Carpenters version and feel the difference. The former will sound incredibly bland in comparison. This is also how Pink Floyd scored over more musically talented prog rock bands in the 70s; they just knew how to put music together better than everybody else.

It is not that IR lacks in the production department and Agni Natchathram in particular stands out for great production to complete masterful composition. But we are not in the 80s anymore and ARR can update his production such that a new generation of listeners can relate to it. Remember IR always operated out of Prasad Studios whereas ARR built his own studio and still produced better recorded music. So he knows things about production that IR does not. It is the trump card with which he ousted IR in the commercial sweepstakes. It would be interesting to see what IR's music would sound like in the hands of a master producer like ARR. Musically, no. ARR is already busy rehashing his earlier melodies and has been for some time, and that's without producing even half of IR's output. IR still brings out new dimensions of his music, new stylistic approaches after so many years. It's another matter if the public doesn't have the patience to listen and discern these differences any more and it's certainly not his fault.

[Russellmtp]

I agree cent per cent with this. This is the reason why such a collaboration will never materialise.

From the point of view of a fan's flights of fantasy, I would welcome such a collaboration, though. No, I don't think ARR can add anything to IR's music in terms of melody, harmony or rhythm. IR is way ahead in those departments and to consider Rahman his equal in orchestration is...well, I should rather not comment on such opinions. But ARR can certainly add a lot to IR's music in the production department. Production doesn't just mean recording. It means paying attention to minute details to build up a good fundamental base into the stuff that gets the masses roaring. As a parallel, Richard Carpenter of Carpenters borrowed many songs (legally), sometimes even ad jingles, but mostly songs composed by Burt Bacharach, Paul Williams and Leon Russell. It is not that he was a better musician than them (though his own compositions like I Need to Be in Love rivalled the ones he chose from those composers. But he knew much better how to build up a song into something big. If you at all happen to be familiar with Carpenters, listen to the original versions of Close to You and then the Carpenters version and feel the difference. The former will sound incredibly bland in comparison. This is also how Pink Floyd scored over more musically talented prog rock bands in the 70s; they just knew how to put music together better than everybody else.

It is not that IR lacks in the production department and Agni Natchathram in particular stands out for great production to complete masterful composition. But we are not in the 80s anymore and ARR can update his production such that a new generation of listeners can relate to it. Remember IR always operated out of Prasad Studios whereas ARR built his own studio and still produced better recorded music. So he knows things about production that IR does not. It is the trump card with which he ousted IR in the commercial sweepstakes. It would be interesting to see what IR's music would sound like in the hands of a master producer like ARR. Musically, no. ARR is already busy rehashing his earlier melodies and has been for some time, and that's without producing even half of IR's output. IR still brings out new dimensions of his music, new stylistic approaches after so many years. It's another matter if the public doesn't have the patience to listen and discern these differences any more and it's certainly not his fault.

சொல்லிட்டாருப்பா ஜீனியஸ். இனி யாரும் ஒரு வார்த்தை பேச கூடாது. கிரிம்சன் கிங்கே சொல்லிட்டாருன்னா, அது உண்மையாதான் இருக்கும். இனி ரஹ்மானுக்கு கஷ்டம்தான். கிரிம்சன் கிங்கே சொல்லிட்டாருன்னா, இனி அவர் பாடு திண்டாட்டம்தான்.

Re: collaboration, ஆணியே புடுங்க வேண்டாம். ரஹ்மானுக்கும் அது தேவையில்லை.