Milliblog!

Kaddipudi (Music review), Kannada – V.Harikrishna

Karthik — Sat, 18 May 2013 15:25:21 +0000

Composer Harikrishna and Yogaraj Bhat seem to be having a great time crooning Budu buduke… a simple, street-smart song. Soundharya samara starts off with an uncredited lady’s classical Panthuvarali singing and continues in semi-classical format, with Sonu Nigam acing the rendition – it moves off Panthuvarali only later, very oddly. Shachina Heggar’s breezy Hedarabyadre is considerably modern and is pleasantly tuneful. The composer’s wife Vani gets the soundtrack’s best, Bere yaro – an ambient, haunting melody. The short Jinke bedareruvaga sounds sweet but fails to make a dent. Hari seems to reserve his experimental best for Yogaraj-associated films, as usual.

Keywords: Yogaraj Bhat, Harikrishna, Kaddipudi, Suri

Ramaiya Vastavaiya (Music review), Hindi – Sachin-Jigar

Karthik — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:10:22 +0000

Atif and Shreya are in great form in Jeene laga, a hummable breezy tune, despite the slightly spruced 90s sound. Shreya joins Atif again in the pleasant, lilting melody in Bariyan, while Atif even briefly sings in a falsetto in Rang jo lagyo, his spritely, Atif’ishly sweeping solo. Mika’s Hip hop pummy is a perfectly functional dance track, but Jadoo ki jhappi, with its messy street band sound, hardly works. Peecha choote sounds utterly ordinary as a tune but for Mohit Chauhan’s spirited singing. Much like Prabhu Deva’s films, Sachin Jigar’s music in Ramaiya Vastavaiya treads the safe and predictable.

Keywords: Sachin Jigar, Ramaiya Vastavaiya

Fukrey (Music review), Hindi – Ram Sampat

Karthik — Tue, 14 May 2013 13:29:43 +0000

Fuk fuk fukrey is high on energy, with occasional dubstep and likeably coarse vocals by Ram and Amjad. Rabba is a curious, engaging mix of a seemingly folk’ish tune set to a pulsating mod sound, led by Keerthi Sagathia! Karle jugaad seems like Delhi’s anthem – phenomenally catchy hook and cleverly spruced-up qawali! Beda paar, despite the psychedelic sound and breakbeats barely makes a dent, but Lag gayi lottery gets its Punjabi+pop fusion adequately well, besides the enthusiastic hook! Sona Mohapatra’s Ambarsariya is a wonderful listen, with Munna Dhiman’s earthy lyrics and Ram’s lovely, guitar-led melody! Chak De Phatte Fukrey!

Keywords: Fukrey, Ram Sampat

PS: Wonder how Ambarsariya is credited in the CD, considering its earlier versions by others like RDB. Is it a traditional tune?

Maryan (Music review), Tamil – A R Rahman

Karthik — Mon, 13 May 2013 07:38:15 +0000

Rahman channelizes his sweeping patriotic template to a motivational song in Nenjae ezhu – adequately impactful. Innum konjam is absolutely hypnotic – splendid vocals by Vijay and Shweta! Naetru aval gets its sound right, but the rambling tune doesn’t help, while Enga pona is Shakthisree and Keba’s show all the way! Sonapareeya, despite the foot-tapping sound, feels contrived, while I Love Africa seems content playing off conventional notions of ‘African’ music. That same ‘African’ sound gets a superb fillip with Rahman’s fusion in Kadal raasa, sung brilliantly by Yuvan! Maryan sounds good, but doesn’t soar like Rahman’s music usually does.

Keywords: Mariyaan, Mariyan, Maryan, Maryaan, A R Rahman, Bharatbala, Dhanush

PS: Here is a wonderfully written counterpoint from Suresh on ‘Naetru aval’… as an alternative perspective!

The Shah Hussain Project Vol 1 (Music review), Indipop – Vasundhara Das, featuring Mir Mukhtiyar Ali

Karthik — Sun, 12 May 2013 15:05:19 +0000

Hun nai hatda seems like the most accessible start to the album, almost pop-style complete with catchy chorus and a superb Ranjhaa kardi interlude by Mukhtiyar Ali, all set to enchanting backgrounds. Saiyyon assi gets its piano and guitar combo brilliantly well! Vasundhara gorgeous vocals gel really well in the ambient, new-age style tune concocted for this age-old song! There’s something like the musical equivalent of an optical illusion in Sajan bin; Mukhtiyar starts on a scale and Vasundhara chimes in seamlessly, in a different scale… both sounding fabulous! Range so range tests Vasundhara’s range and she sounds distinctly Western thereby reducing the impact of an otherwise haunting tune. Tum se is the album’s most filmy, almost like a Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy number – great listen, overall! Man atkiya sounds very Indian Ocean, and demonstrates great vocal interplay between Vasundhara and Mukhtiyar. Mera sona sajan touches upon a raaga that one can seldom go wrong with – Ahir Bhiarav, and comes out victorious! Kahun na powe is the album’s weakest, with a tune that seems undecided on what it wants to achieve. The Shah Hussain Project Volume 1 is a delightful experiment getting everything mostly right; looking forward to the next volume!

Keywords: Vasundhara Das, Mir Mukhtiyar Ali, #200, Roberto Narain, Rajan Tisge, Vishal J. Singh, Hemanth Diwakaran, Shalini Mohan, Shadab Rayeen, The Shah Hussain Project Vol 1

Note: Given the album’s digital-only distribution, here’s where you can get it – Flipkart | iTunes. Project home page: http://theshahhussainproject.com/

Mallelatheeramlo Sirimallepuvvu (Music review), Telugu – Pavan Kumar

Karthik — Sun, 12 May 2013 12:45:35 +0000

Nithya Santhoshini and Lipsika sing Matakandani and Pilla galula almost like they’re praying, but, for these songs’ deep and exquisite tunes, it’s wonderfully appropriate. Ditto with Pranavi in Nee needana – an old fashioned melody with veena galore, but with a pleasant, feathery tune. Karunya – the only credited male singer – breezes through the short, ambient Alaa chandamaamanai, even as the theme pieces are resonant and very listenable. The soundtrack’s best is Kranthi’s Mabbulu kurise, that sounds like good old Ilayaraja-style use of Keeravani raaga! Pavan Kumar bucks the trend and makes a dramatically different debut in Mallelatheeramlo Sirimallepuvvu.

Keywords: Pavan Kumar, Mallelatheeramlo Sirimallepuvvu

Aaru Sundarimaarude Katha (Music review), Malayalam – Deepak Dev

Karthik — Fri, 10 May 2013 13:50:48 +0000

Riti Muthoot and Saptaparna’s vocals sound enticing in Ask Me, which, with its fascinating 80s pop sound makes for a fantastic listen! Ponoonjalil‘s tune is simply breath-taking! Deepak lets the mesmerizing tune play for itself with minimal orchestration – reserved for the interludes – and with Chithra at the helm, this is a knockout melody! Chithra’s solo is great too, as is the other version where G Venugopal and Kalyani Menon (in a superb Vaavavo piece!) join Chithra. Kannin aayiram too is a great listen – catchy tune, with very Deepak Dev’ish funky sound. Short, captivating soundtrack from Deepak Dev!

Keywords: Deepak Dev, Aaru Sundarimaarude Katha

Adithalam (Music review), Tamil – Taj Noor

Karthik — Thu, 09 May 2013 16:24:57 +0000

If you ignore the crass Vootukulley yaarumillai, Akku marku offers a warm and rhythmic gaana in with earthy, colloquial lyrics by Na.Muthukumar. Taj gets is groove right in the two melodies – Idhu enna and En kannukulle! The former’s sweeping tune and fabulous vocals by Nivas and Saindhavi make a big difference, while the latter is a Deva 2.0 style, engaging track! Idho idho’s dandiya sound is competent. Oru jaan vayithukku is the soundtrack’s pick – very Ilayaraja’ish mellifluous tune, touching lyrics by Na.Muthukumar and amazing vocals by Yazin Nisar. After a series of false starts, Taj Noor finally gets started!

Keywords: Taj Noor, Adithalam

DK Bose (Music review), Telugu – Achu

Karthik — Thu, 09 May 2013 15:29:58 +0000

The title song‘s grungy sound is monotonous but intriguing and well orchestrated, besides being sung well by Achu, Revanth and Deepu! Maula maula‘s harmonious tune is lovely, as is Yazin Nizar and Pranavi’s vocals, while Nivas excels in the wonderfully impactful pathos tune in Kanulakeppudu. Money money‘s hip-hop sound builds well and has a cool, funky outlook throughout. But the song of this soundtrack is Padipoya – scintillating use of exotic sounding instruments, superb singing by Haricharan and Suchitra and above all, kick-ass tune by Achu! Achu is back more than an year later, but his impressive form seems intact!

Keywords: Achu, DK Bose

Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 (Music review), Hindi – Sharib-Toshi and Sachin Gupta

Karthik — Wed, 08 May 2013 16:12:52 +0000

The title song gets its bouncy rhythm and hook perfectly; Sukhwinder and Shankar Mahadevan’s version is good enough, but Toshi’s vocals in the other version is impressive too! But, Jatt yamla pagla, a vapid Punjabi-techno ditty isn’t so lucky. Changli hai too is no different – tired filmy tune. Things get better with the tuneful Suit tera, a hummable melody, crooned well by Sonu Nigam and Sunidhi. Sachin Gupta’s guest composition – I will dance like this only – is heady Punjabi pop with hilarious lyrics; fantastic vocals by Diljit Dosanjh! A soundtrack akin to entering a drunk Punjabi wedding!

Keywords: Yamla Pagla Deewana 2,