A.R.Rahman l Mani Rathnam l KADAL

[ajaybaskar]

[Guess_Me]

Got my CD today. It's a treat to listen to the songs in lossless audio.

[sureshmehcnit]

Thoughts on Kadal Music

http://www.backgroundscore.com/2012/12/kadal-music.html

[A.ANAND]

awesome review..

[A.ANAND]

TALE OF TWO AUDIO BLOCKBUSTERS - KADAL & ETHIR NEECHAL


There has been a total change in the way music is being consumed now. Gone are the days when people used to queue up to buy cassettes and CDs. Now, majority of the music is being downloaded or streamed online thanks to the proliferation of music boxes on YouTube. With this introduction, we do a quick ‘dekho’ at the outstanding Tamil music albums of the year with specific focus on two albums which released just a few weeks back.

The Tamil music scene in 2012 has been quite a healthy one with majority of the hotshot composers raking up one hit after the other. Albums like Nanban, OKOK, Maattrraan, Billa 2, Neethane En Ponvasantham, Thuppakki, Podaa Podi and Kumki have managed to put up decent CD sales figures as well as countless hits and downloads digitally. Songs from these movies have found a place in countdown charts on TV, online and in the various FM stations.

With listeners having a good time with such a plethora of albums, two albums came towards the end of the year. Both the albums had fair bit of hype for various reasons. Both the albums were bagged by Sony Music and the way the music was promoted and reached among the audience was impressive.

While one had the Mani Ratnam – A.R.Rahman combo the other had the much raved Kolaveri duo Dhanush - Anirudh joining hands again. Yes, we are talking about Kadal and Ethir Neechal. Listeners lapped up both the albums like hot cakes and Sony Music had reasons to smile gleefully.

Thousands of CDs were pre-booked in the case of Kadal and the music was launched two days prior to the actual planned date. The songs which were launched on a phased basis like Nenjukkule and Elay Keechan made listeners visit heaven even if only for a short while. Heeding to the advance booking response, the full music was launched in advance and the rest of the songs have also slowly started making an imprint on listeners’ minds. Adiye, being a much spoken about track, for being something totally unheard in Tamil music till now. Rahman being Rahman, iTunes charts were also stormed by Kadal.

Ethir Neechal on the other hand is a peppy and youthful soundtrack which has been composed by Anirudh after the phenomenal success of 3 earlier in the year. There is nothing experimental or unique about the sound of Ethir Neechal but the youth aren’t complaining one bit. Anirudh being a 22 year old perfectly knew what listeners of his age would enjoy. The result is some really enjoyable numbers like Boomi Enna Suthudhe, Ethir Neechal, Local Boys and Nijamellam.

Both these albums are vying for the top slot in the music charts and they have come as a whiff of fresh air in the Tamil music scene. The sales charts look that much better thanks to these albums and we are sure that 2013 would be peppered with tracks from these two films.

This is what composer Anirudh had to say about the response to his music in Ethir Neechal and also about Kadal.

“I was thrilled as well as tense when I was thinking about the release of Ethir Neechal’s music. Now I am very happy as my music has been able to stand out despite the intense competition from so many other new releases. I am thankful to listeners for making my entire album a success, rather than just a couple of songs.

There are comparisons with my earlier work for 3 but I must say that both are different films. 3 was a tragic love story while Ethir Neechal is a fun filled entertainer. My music for both these films is different and in tune with the requirements of the movie. Ethir Neechal’s music is not too serious but peppy and enjoyable. My age was a big advantage when it came to Ethir Neechal’s music as I knew what the youth would enjoy.

A.R.Rahman Sir is my big inspiration and I actually feel honored that my album and his Kadal released around the same time. Kadal has its own audience and please don’t compare our work. It won’t sound right if I even talk about my film’s music in the same breath as Kadal. I am just happy that my film’s music has also worked. This only proves that music has no boundaries and that people would listen to anything that makes them happy.”

We wish both the composers the very best in the coming years. While Rahman is a proven phenomenon who just keeps getting better and better with every passing year, Anirudh has proved that he isn’t a one film wonder. He is here to stay, folks.

http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-mov...-26-12-12.html

[A.ANAND]

Sreedhar Pillai ‏@sri50
The eagerly awaited Mani Ratnam's #Kadal teaser trailer likely on January 1, 2013. It will b the 1st look after the successful audio launch.

[A.ANAND]

'after the successful audio launch'-cah?? maybe after successful audio release..

[A.ANAND]

Kadal Music Review

Mani Ratnam and AR Rahman – The duo that has created some of the most impactful soundtracks of all time in Indian cinema returns once again for a Tamil project – Kadal (Sea). Any AR Rahman - Mani Ratnam project always evokes much curiosity and expectation due to their tremendous track record together of engineering musical products that have reached far and deep into many hearts all over India and beyond, and which continue to be referenced as high quality musical benchmarks.

So, what is it about their combination that motivates or inspires AR Rahman to forge high level creativity and musical refinement that elicits immense intellectual and emotional satisfaction from the listener? Time and again, we have noticed that when Rahman is given the right space and platform for free flowing artistic avenues, he usually delivers a very fine product. With certain directors who enable that type of creative freedom, Rahman's products seem to bristle with soaring musical genius that are now often considered classics……not only with Mani Ratnam, but with other notable directors like Rakesh Om Prakash Mehra, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Shankar, etc. However, the tag line that is often repeated is that AR Rahman gives his best to Mani. He seems to provide Rahman just the right amount of creative space, inspiration and mentorship to turn on all musical cylinders to full throttle. Rahman has been quoted as saying that he considers Mani Ratnam like a family member and that their relationship plays a very important role in his creative process. I do think that the depth and longevity of their relationship allows Rahman to be at ease during the creative process. I think that Rahman is the type of person who thrives on positive relationships and personalities that elicit a certain high level of interpersonal comfort and rapport in order for him to be just totally himself, which then allows him to be very free flowing with his imagination and creative juices. For some composers, that variable may not be so important, but for Rahman, I think it is, esp. given the high potential for immense creative output.

However, despite their overall grand and royal track record, I must admit their last three outings in Raavan/Raavanan, Guru, and Yuva/Ayutha Ezhuthu were not amongst their best creations in my opinion. I was left with lingering disappointment with all three albums. Sure, all three had some outstanding numbers, but to me, l felt overall lacking as whole album masterpieces. Each of these albums to me felt too inconsistent in quality, or at least what I consider consistent, high level quality from start to finish from their past benchmarks like Roja, Bombay, Dil Se, Alaipayuthey/Saathiya, Kannathil Muthumittal, Iruvar, etc.

Since Yuva/Ayutha Ezhuthu in 2004, I felt that Mani Ratnam wanted to explore other varied and adventurous scripts, which I respect and appreciate from an artistic standpoint. He wanted to branch out as a film maker and experiment. However, in the process, Rahman too had to create music that matched the varied subject matter. The stylistic and sonic range of Rahman's music increased as he explored different genres, but I felt the overall quality got diluted somewhat as well with some notable exceptions. For example, the tracks Tere Bina, Aye Hairathe Aashiqui and Jaage from Guru are absolute delights with evergreen melodies. However, tracks like Baazi Laga and Ek Lo Ek Muft from the same album left much to be desired for me for their relatively flat and uninspired melodies and musical arrangements. Raavan had the epic and haunting Behene De and enrapturing, pulsating Ranjha Ranjha, but fell short with tracks like the too condensed and to the point Beera and the too unrefined folk number, Kata Kata. Yuva had sweetness and spunk in Kabhi Neem Neem and pathbreaking, high octane techno jazz in Aye Khuda Hafiz, but the melodic flatness of Badal and once again, the loud roughness of Dhaka Laga Buka didn't hook me in.

So, now with the music of Kadal, my hope is that the duo return to a consistent, high quality musical form that I expect from them without having tracks that tempt the skip button. Do they deliver?

1) Chittirai Nila – The opening cries of a baby inform me of a lullaby about to unfold and the smooth and deep voice of Vijay Yesudas lead me gently into a very soothing and soulful atmosphere, textured by Rahman's warm pad chords. A song about a father talking to his newborn child about hope and love, the music by itself speaks of deep sentiments and open hearts. Add a few seconds of Sarangi with minimal arrangements, and boy, you've got my interest and how! Flashbacks of Rahman songs from the 1990s trickle through my memory cells with the gentle and minimalistic arrangements and spacious ambience that is beautifully crafted, a type of sound and effect he used to emphasize a lot more in his earlier days than he does today. The song proceeds with smoothness and grace, and with seamlessly shifting rhythmic patterns after several measures, never once are you bored or tempted to drift. Rahman uses a very sweet pan flute sound here and there for emotional nuance, which might be the continuum instrument that he occasionally employs to imbibe a spiritual and Indian classical emphasis from its pitch bending, microtonal footnote, but surely conveys a feeling of innocence and tenderness. The final, more upbeat groove of the track with added strings, rhythms, and the majestic choral lines transforms this track from a tender lullaby into a soaring, majestic, spiritual anthem. My only wish is that the song went on a few more bars to give me a feeling of a more complete resolution and finale. One of my very favorites from this album and one of the most beautiful and inspirational opening tracks from any AR Rahman album.

2) Adiye - The opening brief piano jazz chord definitely tells me that Rahman is up to something very creatively interesting here, almost a naughty gesture of "aha, now you'll see what I've got up my sleeve!". A huge genre and mood shift, the album blazes forward with a track that is quite bold and quite forward, but quite amazing. Gospel style defines this romantic track and Rahman truly extracts the very best out of singer Sid Sriram with his impeccable performance, which I'm sure he worked very hard to perfect. The choral harmonies with the jazz filled piano chords sing praises to Rahman's brilliance here, and not a brilliance of epic proportions, but a quality that gives the song such a tremendous charming character and personality. As much as I love this track, to me, perfection would have been achieved had there been even a brief musical interlude of solo piano playing without voice in the middle or end of the song to add some variety and dimension. Nonetheless, a song one can hardly fault, if one is open minded enough to appreciate this very genre specific number that is executed very authentically and with memorable impact. This is already a favorite among many ARR fans and I can see why.

3) Moongil Thottam - The beautiful, opening acoustic guitar arpeggios and serene ambiance signify another soothing, smooth, and tender track. Full of romance, touching and deep sentiments, and gentleness, this romantic duet is exactly the type of song I had hoped to hear in this album. It is a true beauty of a ballad full of dignity and with a chord sequence that gives you chills…..the good kind! You add melodic hooks and a very memorable and hummable tune overall, you know very well this song is going to loved far and wide. Singers Abhay Jodhpurkar and Harini offer their vocal talents with sincere performances. That moment of silence between the first interlude and the first stanza before Harini sings……ahh…perfectly executed and what an amazing impact that is hard to describe with words. The hallmark of a genius composer for me is not only knowing when to pour it on, but when to turn it off, and timing is everything! The second interlude captures my attention the most with its dreamy soundscapes dotted by harps, strings, piano, accordion, as you're just whisked away to a very soft and warm place that you don't want to leave. I do wish the song went on a little longer, just like the first track, but that's the problem with great songs: at some point, they have to end!

4) Elay Keechan – Switching gears once again, we enter another very genre specific number here, but with more fusion elements. I frankly have never heard country style music mixed with African and Caribbean elements into a seamless, coherent whole before. Well, this is indeed a first time juxtaposition that I can remember, and Rahman shows us an example of why his music has reached global heights and why he is truly a global composer, not just an Indian MD. Sung by Rahman himself, it's a track that flows very well and carries a spirit of free flowing frolic and uplifting vibes. He chose this track himself to sing, probably because he had so much fun with it. The rhythms are added with crispness by the quarter note claps and once again, the vocal harmonies take a prominent role in the musical mix. The song ends very gracefully and brightly, fading out with only a single note high pitched guitar arpeggio remaining, a very classy touch!

5) Nenjukulle – We all were first introduced to a glimpse of Kadal's music with this song, which played on MTV unplugged two months before the actual audio released. The audio and video of this song were a huge hit, went viral on the net, and set quite high expectations for the rest of the album. Sung very well by relative newcomer Shaktishree Gopalan, the album version boasts of more pronounced rhythms and added instruments like flute. However, over time, I have begun to prefer the MTV version, which featured a more beautiful and elaborated intro and ending, and with deeper sentiment as Rahman's accordion makes its old world charm sound much more prominent. In both versions, the melodies and harmonies are the same and it's a song that has become a favorite of many, and understandably so by its unyielding grace, smoothness, and melody that you can never forget. I think it's one of the most beautiful melodies from an ARR-Mani Ratnam album and I can never really tire of hearing this number, esp. with two versions in hand! The sentiment of a girl not being able to truly express in words what is in her heart is communicated just beautifully through the melody and chord progressions. Without even knowing a word of Tamil, one gets a sense that it is a romantic number of attempted expression of love, self consciousness, and mild shyness. Rahman has always demonstrated the gifted ability to communicate subtle and refined emotions through music very convincingly and sincerely. Acoustic guitar, strings, accordion and light percussion predominate and Rahman demonstrates once again how he can do so much with so little. Once again, just like the other two songs earlier, we are treated to soothing sounds, smooth melodies, and light, spacious, acoustic arrangements.

6) Anbil Vassale – This track took some time to warm up given its unconventional mode and emphasis on vocal harmonies almost exclusively, but once it sank in, the experience became much more pleasant. Rahman has created numbers like this before, heavy on philharmonic sounds and choral textures, and in this track with its Christian significance, the music surely conveys that religious tone, even with patriotic flavors at times. Given the Christian backdrop of the storyline in the film, a song like this would make perfect sense. Sung by Haricharan, the melody and chords do stay with you after some repeated listens. The track has the potential to be loved more universally if picturized well, though its high class niche genre appeal may limit that to an extent. The beautiful chimes add brightness and majesty to this lush track for sure. A very classy number without a doubt. The ending with only vocal harmonies with smooth and minimal strings, slowed down and elaborated, is very appealing and ends the song very gracefully and soothingly, one of my favorite parts of the whole album.

7) Magudi Magudi – I'll be honest, when I first heard this track, I cringed a bit. I thought it was going to be one of those skip worthy tracks like Pappu from Jaane Tu and Latoo from Ghajini and Shano from Yuvraaj. However, after just 2-3 listens, something about this track hooked me in that elevated it much above the few ordinary techno numbers that ARR churned out before. This track has been described to belong to the "dubstep" category, though some have argued it's not exactly in that genre. Well, whatever it is, it's a highly addictive and pulsating trance type number with suspenseful chord progressions, a very dance friendly rhythm, and vocal acrobatics and gimmicks. Chinmayi's few word liners in between somehow reminded me of some tracks from Enigma, but only vaguely so. To me, it's arguably one of the best electronic dance numbers that ARR has ever come out with, though on the short side and would have benefitted from another minute of hypnotic psychedelics. Rahman could have really "freaked out" with this number had he wanted to, adding more sonic layers and doing an extended outro and I get the feeling most of his fans wouldn't have minded! This type of track was quite unexpected and sort of out of the album's predominantly acoustic oriented personality, but hey, leave it to Rahman to always surprise and go against the usual grain. I'm glad he didn't simply remix one of the earlier numbers and just throw it in there as a dispensable track, as so often Indian film composers do these days. Despite being the odd man out, this highly experimental number works, esp. for the cosmopolitan youth who are much more into these genres of music than the traditional Indian music lover would be.

So, this is indeed quite a musical journey from start to finish, exploring quite a range of musical genres, moods, and sounds. No doubt that the album bristles with colorful variety, so often as most AR Rahman albums do. As an album as a whole, to me, this is the most quality consistent and coherently packaged ARR – Mani Ratnam album since 2002's Kannathil Muthumittal. There is not one track I want to skip and each track stands out for its strong character and craft. It's also the most melodious and sonically pleasing album from the duo since then too, which to me is a great delight. Back are the smooth melodies, soft, acoustic instruments, spacious moments, and nuanced textures, and an album which is largely very soulful and spiritual. I get a strong, nostalgic flavor of Rahman of yore with this sweet package and though I could have been more satisfied had there been a bonus instrumental track and generally longer songs, I really can't complain much. Though this album to me holds up quite well against some of their earlier 1990s classic juggernauts, it seems to lack an "epic" quality in comparison to those benchmarked albums in my opinion. However, it most certainly classifies itself as their best creation in the past decade due to the highly artistically refined qualities of the music as a whole and for an overall sonic experience that is extremely soothing and warm. Overall, this album is indeed a career highlight for AR Rahman and another feather in his cap!

REVIEW BY ARRYGFAN

[Sunil_M88]

Moongil Thottam – A life changing composition that has emerged from the sea’s vast depth.

http://caughtinthemusicalstorm.wordp...as-vast-depth/

Sunil Malhotra

[satissh_r]

You are in a trance Sunil