Music Review: Coke Studio Season 9 Episode 1 & 2 (Bold Beginnings with Multiple Producers!)

The much awaited season 9 boasting of an excellent artist line-up began last week. This season is also unique in the sense that this time Strings (the overall producers of the season) have invited other music collaborators to co-create productions which is unprecedented for the Coke Studio platform! So clearly there has been a gradual transition from the one-man-show days of Rohail Hyatt (until Season 6) to Strings coming over with a rather collaborative approach. This was subtly apparent in the previous seasons in the way Strings engaged with musicians (do check out behind the scenes videos of past seasons) while they jammed. However in this season this has gone a step further in terms of independent musicians producing tracks while Strings have taken a backseat acting as overall mentors. Well logically this makes sense I would say. Creative art forms need to have room for experimentation and new perspectives should always be welcome, otherwise saturation and monotony begins to creep in. On the flip-side too many ideas while ensuring freshness might also be a recipe for cacophony and that's where I hope Strings as overall mentors must ensure consistency and quality. With just two episodes gone by I don't want to pass a judgement just yet on this experiment. However I do hope that the too many cooks in this season do prove the old adage wrong!

Coming to specific compositions, it has been a mixed bag of sorts for me so far - some have clicked right away, while some taking time to sink in!

Talking of first episode what struck me right away was:

Jaane Na Tu

Composed by Jaffer Zaidi, Sung by Ali Khan

Link to Lyrics here

Perhaps this is not a number you would typically attribute with Coke Studio - there is no fusion, not much experimentation with arrangement. It sounds like your typical late 90s/early 2000s English pop number (Actually reminded of Westlife a lot!). Notwithstanding this fact, this breezy number will sure enthrall you if you have liking for this genre. First up Ali Khan is brilliant! Can't believe that he is back after a decade long sabbatical and boy what a comeback (Checkout his single - Saathiya)! This is a genre where you just need to hit straight notes and sustain it and he does it beautifully with a vocal range slightly shriller than average, which goes with the breezy feel and the overall arrangement. What is mention-worthy is also the feeling he brings in. Somehow the bad times he went through that he speaks about (watch the BTS) is reflecting in his voice and one can feel the pain of separation.

I had been keenly waiting for a Jaffer Zaidi production after Strings announced the new format this year. Jaffer is the same guy who used to be on the keys for most Coke Studio songs right from the beginning and who boasted of long hair which alas is history now! He also had given many compositions to this platform earlier as part of Kaavish (remember Neun La Leya?). Jaffer does a brilliant job in putting together the arrangement and does it very creatively while maintaining the simplicity. The first thing you notice is the brilliant use of Strings section and backing vocals all throughout to give the breezy feel, which complements Ali's vocals beautifully. The chord structure is laid out both by the keys and acoustic guitar. The bass-line is quite creative and Mannu bhai does his own improvisations at places. The arrangement also boasts of a brilliantly done lead guitar piece at 2:20. My moment of the composition is at 4:20 when the scale changes from A# major to C major and how smartly they devised it by bringing the melody to a note (G) common to both scales and continued from there with C major scale after a pause!

Overall a beautiful pop number and as long as the expectations are of just that I am sure this won't disappoint you! Enjoy!

Aaja Re Moray Saiyaan

Composed by Noori, Sung by Zeb Bangash

Link to lyrics here.

Seeing Noori on the list of producers had definitely got me excited as I really loved their past compositions on Coke Studio (remember Saari Raat and Jo Meray?). So I was hoping for compositions with some awesome Sitar solos and an animated Ali Noor (the bearded left-handed guitarist stud!) singing in insanely high pitch. And that was alas not to be! So that definitely was a let-down from an expectations point of view, perhaps the reason why I didn't 'love' this one in the first hearing! However a couple of iterations and this started to sink in wonderfully! So notwithstanding the fact that song hardly had elements I used to associate with a Noori composition, the melody of this composition is gripping and beautifully done!

Aaja Re Moray Saiyaan is a beautiful ballad describing the season of spring where love blossoms around as evident in the flowers of various colors, as the lover calls out to his partner to be one with him! The happy mood reflects in all elements of the composition. The choice of instruments give a folk/country feel all throughout. The use of mandolin in the beginning, harmonium in the interlude sections, the mouth percussion and dholak all throughout adds to the rustic feel. The backing vocalists too have done a great job supporting Zeb with their lively, spirited harmony.

Zeb Bangash delivers a pleasant performance that this song demanded. Not overly excited but just enough to give that subtle romantic feel. Ali Hamza chips in with his unique low pitched voice supported by the choral section. The melody does come with a twist in between with interesting raag shifts. Use of komal ni and teevra ma at places is beautiful. Esp. the megha barse part does sound Yaman-ish with use of teevra ma. But these distinct melody elements are seamlessly fused thanks to the beautiful arrangement!

Overall a wonderful happy song to make your day. Do give it a try more than one time and I am sure you'll explore all the beautiful things being described in the song and much more! :)

Aaqa

Composed by Shuja Haider, Sung by Abida Parveen & Ali Sethi

Link to lyrics here.

Aaqa is a soulful Sufi composition at its best! With Abida Parveen's vocals the divine feeling is a given, however the surprise package yet again (remember Umran Langiyaan?) for me was Ali Sethi! This Harvard grad, columnist, writer, poet and what not doesn't cease to surprise me! With a stellar debut in Umran Langiyaan, Ali chose to catapult himself to the next level with Aaqa alongside Abidaji. 

This composition is all about the vocalists and they own it beautifully with their magnificence! Abidaji is brilliant with her adaygi as usual. There is a beautiful laziness in her singing and yet she is always on beat (taal)! The way she delays and extends ending notes slipping in that extra harkat (like the 'sab' in 'yeh sab tumhara karam' at 2.20) is amazing. There is a definite command in her tone which again is an Abida trademark, yet at the same time it also reflects an unassuming voice longing for Almighty's blessings! Ali stepped upto this opportunity beautifully in delivering another crisp masterpiece. Singing out of his comfort scale and adapting to Abidaji's scale, Ali did a great job singing those high pitched introductory verses. Ali too brings in his own effortless improvisations at places matching that of Abidaji's.

Coming to the musical arrangement, Shuja Haider (the producer of this composition) did the right thing by keeping it at bay mostly, giving room for the vocalists to do their magic. He did bring in a few distinct elements to the fore occasionally. Use of Rubab is beautiful. Rubab along with harmonium brings in the devotional feeling. The Humnawas (Qawwals) also do a great job supplementing the main melody.

Overall a beautifully composed prayer which warrants multiple hearings! Just listen to this closing your eyes and you will sense the divine connection happening! :)

Man Kunto Maula

Composed by Jaffer Zaidi, Sung by Javed Bashir & Ali Azmat

Link to lyrics here.

Man Kunto Maula is a beautiful kalaam written by Hazrat Ameer Khusro and one would find umpteen renditions of this online! But this Rock-Qawwali version perhaps is one of its kind! Kudos to Jaffer Zaidi's imagination here for visualizing and writing this fusion arrangement. Choice of Javed Bashir was apt. But the choice that was interesting and worked wonderful for me was Ali Azmat. While Javed Bashir delivered an expected masterclass performance, Ali Azmat's rock prologue helped exaggerate Javed's performance! The point where Ali stops and Javed starts with 'Man Kunto Maula' gives you that 'aha' feeling. The instrumentation too is designed to go with this with a build up of rock music during Ali's part which transitions to dholak and harmonium to go with Javed's qawwali.

I also loved the ending when both Javed and Ali sing the tarana together as the music builds up in both amplitude and tempo. The taan that Javed takes is perfectly done and the intensity actually reminded me of carnatic vocalists! Overall a great experiment from Jaffer and for me it worked very well. Again there would be the purist lot who would loathe this, but then recreating the exact same arrangement with no 'apni cheez' is no fun right! :) As they say in Bengaluru - 'Enjoy maadi'!

Let me list the other compositions from the first 2 episodes which perhaps I liked to some extent but maybe not loved it! (Unfortunately life too works on relative grading! :-( )

Sasu Mangay by Naseebo Lal & Umair Jaswal: A Rajasthani folk number sung beautifully by Naseebo Lal fused with a Rock-Punjabi part performed by Umair Jaswal. It's quite a gripping number as the two parts come together for a grand crescendo.

Bholay Bhalay by Meesha Shafi: A techno song driven by bass and electric guitars. The starting riff brings the rocky feel which is coupled with solos from Sitar. Meesha brings a naughtiness in her vocals which goes with the lyrics. Again not for everyone but quite creative arrangement I must add!

Baliye (Laung Gawacha) by QB & Haroon Shahid: This one is a Punjabi fusion of an original part written by Haroon and the quintessential shaadi song - Laung Gawacha sung by QB. The arrangement is quite catchy for Haroon's part owing to the high tempo. Harmonium and strings section fills the air beautifully. QB's part starts much quieter and gives prominence to the vocals. Overall it's a breezy arrangement on strings and some choral section with dholak providing the structure. Both portions come together in the end nicely. If you are a QB fan you won't be disappointed! :)

And that's all from Episode 1 & 2! Is it? You must be wondering how come I forgot the most important track - Afreen! Well I liked it so much that I really want to write a full blog-post on that. So yes stay tuned for that as well as Episode 3. I am sure you have enough ammunition to sustain yourself until then.

Take care. Keep Listening. Keep Sharing! :)

- Prabhu

musicdilseblog@gmail.com

Coke Studio Season 8 Review - Part 4 | Hare Hare Baans feat. Shazia Manzoor | Khalis Makhan feat. Bakshi Bros | Sammi Meri Waar feat. Umair Jaswal & QB

And here's a last ditch effort to slip in a few more of the remaining gems from Coke Studio Season 8 before Season 9 begins today! Feels like I am playing a 20-20 match here trying to slog it out in the last over!  Before we continue with the last over proceedings, here is a quick look at the highlights of the match so far! So It was Nabeel Shaukat Ali (Blog 1) who opened with a first-ball-six with Bewajah! Then Ali Sethi (Blog 2) joined him for a steady partnership culminating in a classical climax with Umran Langiyaan. It was then the other Ali (Zafar) who romanced with Sara Haider in Ae Dil to add some naughtiness to the innings. It then took a grounded Mulazim Hussain (Blog 3) to steady the ship with a couple of soulful performances. As the match enters its final lap, there are quite a few gems left to uncover which I'll try to bring forth today.

Hare Hare Baans

Vocalists: Shazia Manzoor, Rizwan & Muazzam

To view the lyrics click here

First up is Hare Hare Baans. This one is a Hazrat Amir Khusro written kalam (poetry)! Some quick googling revealed that this is quite a rare poetry and one would see a lot of online debate on what's the exact lyrics and origin of the song. But there is a general consensus on this having an Awadhi (Lucknowi) influence. The literal translation of the lyrics depicts the marriage of one's daughter and all the festivities around it. It narrates the plight of a father who is bidding farewell to his daughter with a heavy heart and this is reflected in the mixed emotions the composition evokes in the listener. Metaphorically this is to be understood as one's soul departing one's body towards the almighty.

Coming to the composition, Strings have conceptualised it beautifully to bring forth the pain of departure with Shazia Manzoor's singing while keeping the liveliness of the composition by concocting a beautiful Qawwali piece of the same song by smart use of instruments and powerful voice of Rizwan & Muazzam duo. The song is primarily on raag Khamaaj and at places you would find similarity with many familiar songs on the same raag. Especially at 5.25 there is an uncanny resemblance to 'Piya tose naina laage re' from Guide. The arrangement is beautifully done by Strings! I urge you to watch the behind-the-scenes video of this composition. The sheer sight of the team coming together on one of their jam sessions and experimenting, disagreeing and coming out with something brilliant is great to see. Definitely made me envious of the life these brilliant musicians lead! Especially loved the part at 0.33, when they discuss the chord structure and trying different patterns to reflect the sad mood of the song. The choice of instruments in this whole season has been fantastic and same holds true of this composition. Baans(uri) is beautifully used throughout the song. Also they used the low-frequency flute which goes with the mood of the song. The composition has two distinct arrangements - one for Shazia Manzoor's soulful part where the music is toned down to let Shazia's deep voice spray all the emotions so beautifully into the air, while the second part is the Qawwali by Rizwan & Muazzam and the music is a tad louder with use of harmonium and dholak (instead of tabla earlier!)

The soul of the song definitely is Shazia Manzoor, haven't seen many singers who can convey the essence of the song so beautifully just by varying one's voice! This is one of those songs which will keep reverberating in your head for a long long time primarily due to Shazia Manzoor. The subtle harkats are a treat to hear with Shazia hitting each note perfectly. Rizwan & Muazzam duo too have done full justice to their qawwali part complementing each other well. The sargam at 5.33 is masterfully done. Also loved the part (at 2.29) when one brother backs the other taking turns to render the alaap. Coming to Shazia's part, it would be really unfair on my part to single out any particular moment. Her performance in totality was a big 'wow' factor of this composition.

I hope this song dissolves you too in its fold like it had me! This is what I call a 'fast-poison', hits you quick, while the kick lurks inside you for a long time! Enjoy and do share your reaction after listening to this. :-)

Khalis Makhan

Vocalists: Bakshi Brothers

To view the lyrics click here

This one is yet another Punjabi folk song from Coke Studio Season 8. Unlike other performances Strings have experimented with a group (Bakshi Brothers) singing the main vocals as a chorus. And their Midas touch seems to have worked wonderfully for them yet again. The song is all about remembering the good ol' childhood days when one experienced many 'pure' things in life giving 'pure happiness' which is absent now. The choral singing does a good job in bringing the nostalgia effectively. 

The arrangement is beautiful. The best part of the whole composition is that no one element dominates the song at any point and it's indeed a team-effort - the vocalists (and don't miss the backing ones!), instrumentalists and the beautiful lyrics. The song begins with a beautiful riff on piano played by Jaffer Zaidi (of the Kaavish fame). Strings introduce matka as a percussion instrument here and it goes well with the nostalgic, rustic theme. The guitar chord-roll along with the bass-line forms the structure of the song. Sajid Ali's flute, Arsalan Ali's harmonium and Tanveer Tafu's Rubab are smartly used at interludes enriching the composition. Tabla forms the base of the percussion and Babar Ali Khanna is at his best again. Strings section adds another layer of beauty and comes much later in the song when the 'Peera-Ho' part starts at 3.34. Incidentally the raag also changes at this part and the violins convey that effectively!

The composition overall gives a happy, lively feel. While primarily on a major scale, off notes are beautifully used at places in the composition like 'komal ni' in the antara and interestingly 'komal ga' in the Peera-Ho part! So do listen to this and feel good remembering those past childhood days. :)

Sammi Meri Waar

Vocalists: Umair Jaswal & Quratulain Balouch (QB)

To view the lyrics click here

With the risk of lengthening this blog further, let me try to squeeze in another one of my favourites here! Sammi Meri Waar is a power packed performance and will keep you on your toes swinging to the beat. Strings constructed a brand new song out of a small folk piece - Sammi Meri Waar (which Quratulain Balouch - QB sings beautifully throughout). The star of the show however is Umair Jaswal! Boy what a powerhouse he is! For starters his voice is so unique and gifted. Has great control to render those vibratos and high scale pieces. He single handedly gave a rockish feel through his vocals to this otherwise pop arrangement! (check the controlled scream at 2.08)

The composition by the way is not as simple as it sounds! There is a continuous transition of scales (and hence raags) all throughout the song with Umair's part on major scale and QB's portion is on the minor scale of the same key. Hence the chords are completely different and bringing together this fusion so seamlessly speaks a lot about the creativity brought in by Strings here. Instrumentation is equally beautiful. This song like in most other compositions of the season starts with a piano riff from Jaffer Zaidi, but the most prominent part is the use of mandolin along with flute which gives a pleasant feel to the air when the song begins, as if one is teleported to a valley full of flowers and sunshine (personal imagination :-) )! This feeling continues with Umair's vocal which is accompanied by rhythm guitar in the background. The mood changes at 1.44 with the onset of strings and the minor scale kicks in beautifully! This sets the stage for QB to come in with the mukhda of the song. QB too, like Umair, has a very different voice. It's so different that it's difficult to stereotype! I believe she has created her own genre of vocals - powerful, thick in a sense yet agile. Drum work by Aahad Nayani is brilliantly done all throughout and helps Umair get the rockish feel. The other percussionist Babar bhai as usual rocked with the Dholak. A beautiful moment in the composition is when the lyrics goes 'dhol baaje' at 3.35 and all of a sudden there is a pause and only the dholak is heard giving it a contextual beauty! The acoustic guitar solo by Imran Akhoond too is brilliantly done at 3.06 which transitions QBs part to the happier sounding Umair's part. Also don't miss the brilliant flute solo by Sajid Ali towards the end at 4.56.

This one is perhaps the most powerful performance of the season and might leave you gasping at the end of it! The composition definitely deserves more than one listening for all the layers to hit you! 

There are a few more tracks from Season 8 which I would have loved to cover in this blog series. However, I don't see that happening in the near future with Season 9 starting today the hope that I get an opportunity to write about some awesome brand-new compositions with the new format this time! However, I definitely recommend you to listen to a few more of my favourites:

1) Man Aamadeh Am by Atif Aslam and a Pashto singer - Gul Pannra (she is brilliant!)

2) Rung Jindri by Arif Lohar - This man comes back after a powerful 'Jugni' performance! (watch-out for the awesome Strings section)

3) Neun La Leya by Kaavish (sung by the piano guy - Jaffer Zaidi, who has an incredibly deep voice!) - Enjoy this amazing track on raag Des

4) Tajdar-e-Haram by Atif Aslam - This one perhaps is the most popular track and one of Atif's better performances at Coke Studio

Would love to write about these ones as well sometime, time and mood permitting! Meanwhile do listen to these from Season 8 and enjoy Season 9! Will hopefully soon share my thoughts on the Season 9 tracks! Until then alvida!

- Prabhu :-)

musicdilseblog@gmail.com

Coke Studio Season 8 Review - Part 3, The one where Mulaazim shines with some Rajasthani folk

So here's part three of my review of top picks from Coke Studio Season 8! And given that the last season was the best among the lot, in my opinion, I am not sure how many more of these to come before I am done with Season 8! But definitely enjoying writing about the songs I love and I hope readers of this blog have something new to discover, relish and share! There's definitely a difficulty in putting a multi-dimensional experience into a few words, I am giving it my best shot nevertheless. :-)

By the way, the quick update is that Coke Studio Season 9 is all set to begin and the first song is already out! Check it out here and the line-up definitely looks promising! That also puts immense pressure on me to wrap this series up quickly, as hopefully I'll have fresh stuff to write about!

This blog is mainly on Mulazim Hussain - a Rawalpindi based singer. Now he too, like Nabeel, was a Sur-Kshetra finalist. The most unique thing about Mulazim is his voice. Listen to him for once and you'll agree that there is a sense of 'mitti-di-khushboo' in his rustic, soulful voice. A husky voice that naturally goes with sufi and folk genre and Strings were bang-on with their song selections for him.

Rabba Ho

Link to the lyrics here.

Rabbo Ho is a Rajasthani folk song penned by Saeed Ali Khan and composed by Mulazim's uncle - Ustaad Aslam Parvaiz. Mulazim's Rajasthani lineage is apparent in the way he sings this song with command and elegance. The song begins with a beautiful piano piece that sets the background melody which is heard in the composition throughout. Mulazim starts with some Urdu lines with minimal music - just a repetitive bass line and light guitars. Dholak is again beautifully used and goes with the vocal melody always giving the folk element. Other traditional instruments are typically used in the interludes - Sitar, Tumba & the violins. Also quite interestingly tabla is only used during the instrumental interludes but for the last antara.

Apart from the masterly vocal rendition, the composition also has a grand arrangement, fusing both modern and traditional elements beautifully. With many distinct elements in the overall composition - like the tumba lead, sitar lead, brief flute pieces and pronounced strings section, the composers also have experimented with melodies from different raags going with the main vocal melody. I saw a great influence of Khamaaj in the main melody.  Also saw use of the unusual 'komal dha' at a couple of ending notes leaving the air with a sense of curiosity and thirst, which is later quenched by the melodious instrumental lead sections that followed! The instrumental interludes are typically in Bilawal thaat (Tumba section - the strange looking mandolin type instrument played by Tanveer bhai, is on Asa Raag as mentioned in BTS).

So all-in-all a collection of superlative performances making up this masterpiece with Mulazim standing out with his honest, soulful voice.

Ve Baneya

Link to the lyrics here.

Ve Baneya is yet another fusion of two folk tracks - one going by the title itself, a song sung typically in marriages and the other - Meri Hamjoliyan which was originally sung by the legendary Reshamji and narrates the tale of a female lover who is being teased by her friends. Unlike Umran Langiyaan, here the two songs are interspersed in the whole composition and Fizza and Mulazim take turns to sing their parts. The fusion is beautifully done and sometimes you can't even make out that they are actually two different songs. Fizza and Mulazim complement each other very well. Fizza has a beautiful throw in her voice displaying command at places while being technically sound with her harkats. On the other hand Mulazim brings out the romantic element so beautifully! He is soft and reflects the emotions of a lady so well, that even shows in his smile throughout. There are so many places I just loved the 'adakari' of Mulazim. (like the subtle extension of 'naam lekar teraa...' at 3.13, similar harkat at at beginning of antara 'Sawan aaye to' at 5.07) 

Like in the previous composition, it's Babar bhai's Dholak again that captures the folk element accompanying the main vocal melody throughout. The arrangement is not as grand as 'Rabba Ho', however the usage of eastern instruments is managed beautifully - like the flute and strings interlude in between Fizza's and Mulazim's part in the beginning. The second interlude has flute and harmonium and the melody resembles 'Vaishnav Janto' closely! Both the compositions have its origin in Khamaaj thaat, while Fizza's part - Ve Baneya is clearly in Raag Des and the 'komal Ni' is conspicuous at places.

Hopefully these two tracks and Mulazim's soulful voice will keep you hooked for a week as you drown in the depth of his voice surrounded by the symphony of beautiful instruments used in these compositions! So until next time cya! :)

- Prabhu :-)
musicdilseblog@gmail.com

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.

Re-incarnating my blog with Jaago Piya from Berklee Indian Ensemble!

Being an avid music enthusiast and an aspiring performer, I always scout for good quality music! While the Indian film industry does produce some good numbers, there are a host of other gems that are obscure, yet ornate! Thanks to the internet and social media, that these gems are easily accessible now, if one is really on the lookout. Once found, what I like doing apart from just savoring the delicacy myself, is discussing them with others in anticipation of an enriching conversation, perhaps unearthing a few other gems in the process or educating the other about a musical nuance! While the discussion technique was limited to chains of unsolicited pings to my music-buddies (sometimes to the extent of pestering them :-P) as well as blasting and sharing my eureka moment on forums that I myself created to this avail! Then I thought why limit this to my known circle and why not put it out there on the word wide web, hoping someone gets entangled at some point! So yes, that’s the brief background and I better get to business before you swipe me left!

While we are on music, what is universal about it is that it is a great icebreaker! From past experiences, while one may believe in different  view points, one can often find a common ground in music. There are perhaps countable few people I have come across who loathe music and feel it’s a waste of time. But with the rest, although one's genre likings maybe way different, one can always find that one common song, album or singer, which instantly puts a smile onto each others faces and makes that connect. Worked for me time and again. And perhaps in these times of armchair-activism where  even closest of friends become digital enemies taking diagonally opposite ideological positions and blindly supporting them, music does provide that much needed break from the futile, heated mud-slinging on social media!

Not wanting to take the risk of losing you at the very point of my re-incarnation, let me conclude here by leaving you with this recent upload  - Jaago Piya from Berklee College of Music (and they do some amazing productions!), which I loved the first time I heard. This was released on the eve of Bengali New Year composed by a Bangladeshi musician - Armeen Musa. 

This song is not just to be heard, but to be seen, felt and experienced as well! The soothing melody, vocal harmonizations, the perfectly fused arrangement, the multi-cultural crew sporting the traditional bangla gamcha in rather creative ways, the smiling faces, the beautiful messages on the placards which you relate to, Layth's (the violin guy) heavenly solo, Annette's expression of having done it in the end and perhaps umpteen other moments in this composition that I look forward to each time I replay this track, while discovering a few more of them!

So without getting into any technicalities (for which I think I need a full blog post!), let me leave you to experience this masterpiece as a feeling, as an emotion, as an aura that fills you all around with positivity and hope, or perhaps even as a prayer! A prayer after-all is something supposed to connect you up there, which to me this does! Do let me know your share of those 'moments' which perhaps I have missed. Here's looking forward to adding a few more music-buddies to my list! :)

- Prabhu