ஐ - Shankar + Vikram + Amy Jackson + ARR

[Sunil_M88]

Here is my music review

Mersalaayitten – Anirudh Ravichander, Neeti Mohan

This track falls in the same category as “Magudi Magudi” and “Sonapareeya”. Be it natural or auto-tuned, Anirudh’s voice seems like a misfit for Vikram, however Neeti Mohan excels outstandingly in her portions. Generally there isn’t much happening in the interludes except that eccentric Violin which strikes a super goal. The Thappattai percussion loop seems forcefully inserted for ethnic appeal in this otherwise international track. This can easily be passed off as a tailor-made track for Dhanush or Vijay.

The glitzy and snazzy arsenal of sounds are pedestrian according to this day and age as every high-end club has songs of this category competing with each other in the DJ’s playlist. Beyond all this emerges a very haunting melody that if extracted from the song and e.g. heard on a piano is bound to give listeners the chills and goose bumps so much so that the all skepticisms and doubts on whether ARR has compromised whilst composing this are pleasantly vindicated.

The remix is a result of the original being put to a higher gear trying to persuade listeners to shake their legs if they didn’t in the former.

Ennodu Nee Irundhaal – Sid Sriram, Sunitha Sarathy, Chinmayi

Sid’s sophomore track with ARR proves to be as opulent as this duo’s previous venture, although he sounds a tad bit like Yuvan in the intro. The reverb effect on the drums gives a radiant concert impression followed by choir portions which provide a gospel cum Gregorian chant aura. Sunitha Sarathy who always sounds Anglophonic sounds very Indian here for a change and furthermore she’s never sounded so mellow before.

ARR employs Western Classical instruments and their use is very subtle but is definitely a fine touch for this track which progresses to be a Rock number in its penultimate portion.

The reprise takes a U-turn for the better. The acoustic guitar immediately paints an image of a night camp fire. ARR continues to give Chimanyi mesmerising compositions and as a return favour she never lets him down.

Ladio – Nikita Gandhi

This track belongs to the Scouse lass with the backing of Nikita Gandhi who sings with a competent effort. ARR again does not compromise when it comes to melody in this international club banger. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea but those who follow this musical genre will know ARR has carried out full proof research into the conventions of current international pop scene to deliver a commendable job like this which might have been out of his comfort zone. Overall ARR proves he can handle pressure with ease and does not need to ape sounds from other artists to cater to the majority’s needs.

Pookkalae Sattru Oyivedungal – Haricharan, Shreya Ghoshal

Immediately catchy hummable as it’s a song that you might feel was already inside you just waiting to reach your ears. In comparison to the other tracks the diction sounds very authentic i.e. not relying on international influences. The title of the song is it’s hook line and what a killer line it is. ARR’s recent accompanier, classically trained Haricharan supports him once again and with Shreya Ghoshal this romantic number doesn’t fall short of taking the listener to cloud 9. Shreya’s “Alaap” is just another feather in her versatility cap. This song should storm the charts without much delay and there’s no denying that it’s my favourite purely because of the involvement of such great singers. On a side note it feels like ARR is trying to pay homage to “Kadhal Anukka’s” second interlude in this tracks second interlude.

Aila Aila (Koncha Konchamai) – Aditya Rao, Natalie Di Luccio

ARR rightfully abandons structure in this track and the result is purely experimental something akin to “Boom Boom Robo Da”. Those operatic vocals by Natalie Di Luccio merging with the contrasting Hindi verses and Bhangra Dhols are the highlight of this track. The track is simply worth a repeat just to hear the blend of musical genres that aren’t likely to fall in the same equation. Whattay treat?!

Rahman Ji and Shankar once again provide another memorable album, though some songs are more memorable than others the product in conclusion is apt for today’s generation and fans expecting vintage ARR shan’t be disappointed either.

Happy Listening!

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