Coke Studio Season 8 Review - Part 2 (Umran Langiyaan & Ae Dil)

At the outset, thanks to all readers for the great response to my previous blog. It was a dream come true for Nabeel bhai himself to share it on his official fan page! Served as a shot in the arm for me to write more and often!

Umran Langiyaan

So as promised, I am continuing to discuss a few more of my top picks from CS - Season 8. Let me begin with the other song featuring Nabeel - Umran Langiyaan. Now this one is a beautiful fusion of two very old Punjabi folk songs. One goes by the name of the title itself - Umran Langiyaan. Written in the 1970s by Mazhar Tirmazi and rendered by Asad Amanat Ali (brother of Shafqat Amanat Ali) with poise and command (definitely recommend you to listen to this version). The second one too is an old Punjabi folk rendered by Allah Ditta Lonaywala (link here). While Nabeel has been brilliant with the rendition of the second folk song, it's Ali Sethi who owns this performance from the beginning. Talking of Ali, he is indeed a personal inspiration for me for having done so much in so little time. For starters, he is a Harvard graduate and professionally a writer and columnist. While interested in music since childhood, Ali grew up listening to greats like Nusrat sahib and Abida Parveen.  However the unbelievable fact is that he forayed into classical music only in 2008 when he begun his training under Ustad Naseeruddin Saami! And within such a short span, performing compositions completely on a classical base with such eloquence, is no joke by any means! And hence I say he is a real inspiration for rookie singers like me! (You are invited to read more about him here and watch one of his interview to Tehelka here)

Coming to the composition, the beautiful thing that I noticed is that the folk element is always felt in the entire composition. And seems like Ali had a great role to play in that for insisting on using harmonium and dholak for most of the song! (Watch the behind-the-scenes to know more!). The first song is about separation and yearning of the lover. And Ali's voice perfectly reflects that pain and longing. Without sounding sad, he beautifully brings out the concern yet optimism that the lyrics is wanting to convey. While the intro line and the alap sets the mood of the song, the mukhda at 1.24 brings the harmonium and the dholak into the fore setting the foundation of the song. Modern music elements are heard more in the first antara with bass and drums being more conspicuous owing to the absence of the dholak. The use of Rubab instrument at places specially the interludes by Tanveer bhai is intelligently done. And Ali's virtuosity is apparent all through the song as he hits all the notes perfectly and the subtle harkats are crisply and eloquently executed.

The interlude between the two folk songs is for me the best part of the rendition musically! While the root raag in my opinion is the same (Bilawal That, C major scale), the mood however shifts from separation/concern of the lover to happiness/hope metaphorically represented by the tinkling of bangles of the lady lover in the lyrics. And the heavenly flute piece by Sajid Ali does the transition perfectly exceeding everyone's imaginations. And in comes Nabeel with his soulfulness equally matched by Sajid's flute as he begins the second folk song. Nabeel's voice is much softer and melodious reflecting the happy mood. Post the brief piece, the two stalwarts get together for the final showdown as they literally fuse the two mukhdas at the end in a way that would keep you yearning for more.

I would definitely recommend multiple hearings of this slow-poison for it to hit you and keep you addicted for atleast a few weeks!

Ae Dil

My number 3 pick of this season is Ae Dil and boy what a performance this is from the duo - Ali Zafar and Sara Haider! Now like the other songs, this too is a recreation of an old classic sung by Saleem Raza. This song while can still be argued as a pop number, has many elements of jazz/blues throughout such as the use of melodica, minor chord usage at many places, the vocal style and generous use of vibrato (the on-purpose wavering of vocals by Ali). The arrangement also boasts of a brilliant lead guitar interlude in between by Omran 'Momo' Shafique (Have been following this guitarist since the early seasons and he is too good!).

The song begins with a brief english section which kinda sets the contemporary feel before the main mukhda begins. The melodica throughout the song is a welcome addition and goes with the romantic mood beautifully! The song's foundation is the rhythm set by the chords played on the piano and acoustic guitar. The drum work is just brilliant and really helps in changing the momentum in the interludes and places where there is a transition from one vocalist to the other. My 'aha' moment is the lead guitar section from Momo after Ali Zafar asks him to 'take-it-away'. And he literally does so with his magical fingers and joyful expressions, taking the song to it's zenith and handing over the baton back to the vocalists.

The vocals is a beautiful banter between the boy and girl which Ali and Sara bring out perfectly with their on-screen chemistry. Sara has been the real revelation of this composition. Who knew that the quiet backstage vocalist could deliver such a power packed performance! Sara comes with a sort of 'sophisticated' accent which goes with the contemporary, jazzy feel and she has a beautiful throw in her voice which gives a sense of command at portions where the girl responds to the boy (like at 2.56 when she sings 'Tune kiya tha pyaar kyun'). Also for lack of a better english word, the 'ada' with which she sings - like how she extends 'Ae dil kisi ki yaad main... at 3.06, adds the icing on the cake! Coming to Ali, I believe this is one of his finest performances till date! Perhaps he has exhibited all skills that a contemporary vocalist has in his book, in a single song. His husky voice texture was perfect for this genre and his vocal range was unimaginably sky-rocketing! The stand-out features for me were the vibratos and falsettos! He used the vibrato so beautifully in the English section. And I haven't seen anyone controlling falsettos at that high pitch so perfectly.

The best part of the rendition was the chemistry between the two! Perhaps the probable reason why this song has more than 2.5 million views while Bewajah is still trying to chase the 2 million mark. The expressions, smiles, hand gestures and overall exuberance added to the joyful experience of the performance and also reflected in the vocal feel. Do listen to this and listen again and again, I am sure this will keep you hooked for a while!

Had intended to discuss three songs in this blog, but I thought this level of detailing is required to do justice to these amazing compositions! So in interest of the length, let me leave you hopefully submerged in the awesomeness of these two compositions. Hope I did strike the right chord with you atleast with one of them. Look forward to your thoughts, suggestions and comments! So until my next post, keep listening and sharing. :)

- Prabhu

musicdilseblog@gmail.com

Coke Studio Season 8 Review - When Strings got the blend just right & Nabeel Shaukat Ali stood out with Bewajah!

It's been just two blog-posts since the supposed 'reincarnation' and lethargy has already begun to set in! While I still need to figure out how to get that discipline into my system, just had enough time this Sunday to write my next post which was lurking in my head for over a year!

The perennial hunger for good music does bring out the uncharacteristic stalker in me as I spend loads of time browsing various online channels to search for my 'aha' moment. The one forum that I keenly look forward to and has not disappointed me so far is the coke studio series from across the border. Being the biggest platform to showcase their music, unlike in India where Bollywood is still the king, I have discovered some amazing tracks come out from there! My hypothesis for this is that there is much more independence for musicians to be creative and imaginative while they experiment with their arrangements and not being influenced by producers, directors, script or demands to force fit an item number!

While each year has produced some remarkable tracks, I was really impressed with the last season (8th), with each episode having something to boast about! Given that the 8th season came out almost a year back, this blog, as you might have guessed was long due! And alarm bells started ringing when I recently read about the line-up of Season-9 (which btw looks equally exciting and esp. the experimentation with multiple producers within the same season!) and I thought this is perhaps the last logical opportunity to write about a bunch of amazing compositions perhaps unknown to many and hopefully this blogpost and the couple to follow will help reduce this information asymmetry!

I would like to begin with my find of 8th season – Nabeel Shaukat Ali. Bewajah for me is the song of this season and it's only fair that I dedicate this blogpost only for this beautiful composition!

Co-incidentally Nabeel was the winner of an Indian reality show Sur-Kshetra, which I generally avoided for all the melodrama and cold war between the judges. Incredibly talented is the least I could say to describe him. Nabeel is super soulful on one hand and technically immaculate on the other and that indeed is a killer combination very few possess! I only hope he goes on to give us more of these gems.

Coming to this composition, while the melody and the arrangement of the coke studio version was more like love-at-first-sight for me, what hit me a little later was the simple, yet deep lyrics! One can relate to these lines quite easily and the soothing melody that accompanies it takes you out of the world for a while. The lyrics are written by a contemporary poet Babar Shakeel Hashmi.

The whole composition is a combination of many distinct, independently creative layers woven together by Nabeel’s soulful melody perfectly. Begins with a typical pop arrangement – acoustic guitar, standard drums and with a pronounced bass-line which at places stands out with its own parallel melody. And then magic begins to unfold with Nabeel’s melody first and then the strings section filling the air beautifully as the chorus attains a crescendo. The first stanza brings in the traditional instruments. The flute and tabla are very distinct and goes well with the softness of the melody at 1.53. The strings then kick in again at 2.15 as the pitch picks up. Watch out for the flute interludes in between one of the stanzas. Use of Flute by Sajid Ali and Strings section led by Javed Iqbal has been a common theme across compositions in this edition. And it has been wonderfully arranged by Strings, not overdoing it, just the right amount to bring in the blend of classical and folk music beautifully.

My top stanza of this composition was:

Unse milne ki wajah koi nahin

Dhoondhta kyun hai wajah bewajah

So enjoy this classic and do share your observations and thoughts! I am sure you’ll have this on loop for a couple of weeks if this is the first time you are hearing this. In the interest of this post’s length will discuss my other top picks in the upcoming post. So until then stay tuned, keep listening and sharing.

- Prabhu :-)
musicdilseblog@gmail.com 

GBSM – Sakkath Fresh Maga (Music Review)

Kannada commercial film industry is like your quintessential 'average student' from school days - quite content with mediocrity. While some examples from the so-called ‘parallel’ cinema have shined from time to time (recent one is the award winning – Tithi about which even Aamir Khan had tweeted), the commercial cinema has always been the quieter sibling among the South Indian lot. 

Same goes with the music in the films. While the influx of external talent has definitely rejuvenated the music industry (with Mungaru Male being a significant milestone in this regard) in recent times, you hardly get numbers which have an impact across the country! In this context, the music from the movie Godhi Banna Sadharna Mykattu (released this weekend and already hearing some great reviews!) has made a rare, courageous attempt to stand out among the lot. 

The reason why I consider this music album revolutionary is never in any other Kannada movie have I seen so much experimentation in terms of musical genres, arrangements, artists and instruments. The music is composed by a young musician – Charan Raj who very creatively blends his varied musical influences to create this fresh product! I definitely recommend you to watch this interview of his to know more about his composer.

Listen to the complete album here:

Naa Ee Sanjege 

Vocals: Siddhanth, Lyrics : Rakshith Shetty, Sitar: Ustad Hafiz Bale Khan, Wind instruments: Raman Iyer, Tabla: Shailesh Shenoy

Coming to the album, the standout composition for me is Naa Ee Sanjege. The seamless blend of jazz with Hindustani classical music in the arrangement is major attraction of this composition! The transition in the genre reflects in the choice of instruments and the vocal style beautifully, but at the same time doesn’t seem forced and abrupt! This song is sung by Siddhanth and guess what! It was his first playback song! Can you believe it? He does full justice to both the genres and varies his vocal style to get the feel of the individual genres right! The musical arrangement displays brilliant creativity to say the least! The song starts off with piano, bass and wind instruments bringing in the jazz elements and then transitions to sitar and tabla as the Hindustani part kicks in with the wind instruments supporting the main melody thus retaining a hint of jazziness! The song is primarily on G# major with ‘Ma 2’ used occasionally making the melody interesting. This song has an equally interesting female version sung by Sharanya Gopinath who brings to fore the jazz elements in her voice much more prominently that Siddhanth!

Komala Henne

Vocals: Job Kurian, Lyrics: Dhananjay Ranjan, Guitars: Sunil Silvester, Bass: Sunil Silvester, Sarangi: Deepak Paramashivan, Additional vocals: Charanraj

The second song of this album – Komala Henne is sung by Job Kurien. (Has some amazing renditions in Music Mojo). The essence of this song is the melody which is done full justice by Job Kurien’s honey-clear vocals and Deepak Paramashivan’s Sarangi interludes. The guitars, percussion and bass throughout also bring in some techno-effect gelling wonderfully with the classical elements. The melody is obviously on minor scale (F# minor to be precise), but this song interestingly has elements of both Kharaharapriya and Natabhairavi at places with both D1 and D2 being used.

Ranga Bhoomiya 

Vocals: Haricharan, Lyrics: Kiran Kaverapa, String Arrangement: Nelson Kumar, Flute: Sandeep Vasishta, Veena: Deepak Paramashivan

Next up is Ranga Bhoomiya again very rich melodically but has a prominent strings section with double-bass setting the rhythm throughout the song bringing a western element. Keys and violins at places build up the song beautifully. Again a very creative experimentation with the melody. Song seems to be in Kharaharapriya overall but again D1 and N3 have been tactfully used! Also while the song is on E-minor scale, there are brief moments in the interlude when it shifts to E-major which brings some curiosity. Song is beautifully sung by Haricharan who brings in the carnatic element contrasting with the western arrangement!

Katheyondu Shuruvaagide

Vocals: Arun Kamath and Sparsha R.K., Lyrics: Sharath Bhagavan, Violin: Aneesh & Vidyashankar, Shehnai: Balesh, Guitars: Sumesh Parameswar, Bass: Sumesh Parameswar, Additional Vocals: Ananya Suresh

Katheyondu Shuruvaagide begins like a breezy western number (the initial guitar intro actually reminded me of U2’s ‘I still haven’t found what I am waiting for’) with guitars and bass sounding prominently. Arun’s vocals is processed at places which adds to this mood. Magic, however for me, begins when the carnatic violin enters followed by the soulful shehnai accompanying the sargam. Sparsha’s beautiful classical cameo adds the icing on the cake as the instruments come together for the crescendo. The song is primarily on C-major scale, while N2 stands out in the classical violin parts indicating adherence to Harikambhoji or it’s derivatives.

Ale Moodadhe

Vocals: Sooraj Santhosh, Lyrics: Sudarshan D.C., Guitars: Sunil Silvester, Flute: Prakash Hegde, Bass: Prashanth Mathias

Ale Moodadhe is that song in the album that you can listen to on loop for hours while relaxing on your easy chair facing the beach! Well, if you don’t have this luxury, like in my case, you can still lie down on your bed, close your eyes and pretty much have the same experience! Thanks to this melody, it would take you to a different world. This song is completely driven by the vocals and Sooraj Santhosh (remember Masala Coffee on Music Mojo?) has done an incredible job. Being soulful on one hand to go with the soft arrangement and bringing the required emotions in the rendition helping to convey the lyrics beautifully. The subtle instrumental arrangement supplements the pronounced vocals very well especially the flute and classical guitar portions. The song is on C major scale with M2 used at places especially in the flute interludes thus implying a kalyani/yaman influence.

The remaining three songs of the album have a prominent techno arrangement.

Ayomaya

Vocals: Inchara Rao and Siddhanth, Lyrics: Dhananjay Ranjan, Guitars and Mandolin: Prashanth Mathias, Bass Guitar: Prashanth Mathias, Brass instruments: Rahul R Govinda, Additional Vocals: Charanraj

Ayomaya leaves with you a dark, sophisticated feel owing to its arrangement and the melody being in a minor scale. Another notable aspect is lot of vocal processing (especially Inchara Rao’s part). Siddhanth shines again with his amazing throw. It wasn’t a love-at-first-hearing case for me with this, but the song does grow on you on multiple hearings.

Gaasi Gumma

Vocals: Charanraj and Ananya Suresh, Lyrics: Dhananjay Ranjan, Guitars: Prashanth Mathias, Bass guitars: Prashanth Mathias, Veena: Narendra H.N., Brass instruments: Rahul R Govinda

Charan Raj had to add a brass-heavy composition to complete the missing piece in this album and that’s what he did with Gaasi Gumma. He builds it amazingly well with first introduction of double bass and then a plethora of brass instruments. He particularly shines as a vocalist transforming his voice during the song. (first a bass heavy voice and then a childish tinge to his normal voice, of course aided by all the editing tools at his disposal!) The vocal harmonizations are executed very well by Ananya Suresh. The Veena interlude is an interesting addition as Charan Raj transforms his voice in the next stanza.

Mouna

Vocals: Deepak Doddera, Lyrics: Dhananjay Ranjan, Guitar: Prashanth Mathias, Bass Guitar: Prashanth Mathias, Additional vocals: Charanraj and Ananya Suresh

Perhaps the most techno composition of this album and add to that a rap section. Again takes a lot of creativity to come out with such a composition! Arrangement wise very heavy in bass which drives the whatever little melody this song has. This should interest you more if you like techno songs!

So overall GBSM is a complete album with something for everyone. Charan Raj shines with his creativity and experimentation dabbling with genres, instruments and artists. The risk definitely seems to have paid off well for him. Barring a couple of songs which are gracing the mediocre surface, many of the songs are too good and a couple of them are just too good to be true! Given this is my first music review, I’ll go with a generous 9.5/10 for Godhi Banna Sadharna Mykattu, the album attempts something brave and that certainly needs to be acknowledged. I look forward to your feedback, comments and any corrections.