IlayaRaja's New Albums 2013-15 - Mahendran film/Thaarai thappattai/Mythri

[Hulkster]

What a effect live orchestra makes. Dhoni namakellam prasadam. Amazing when you notice that he composed all the songs in 45 minutes

[KV]

And, wait, is Shreya Ghoshal's voice slightly auto tuned in VP? Esp the pallavi.

no! nevaire! marka kEttuppArunga boss. no auto business and all (if any elec voice modulation, it could be that thamnana chorus in the beginning). She's probably sung it with a nasal tinge to give it that folk 'feel' and her emotions in the song are spot on, me thinks, no saccharine sweetness and all. (no, no.. sathyama no vasyam)

[KV]

KV,

I am loving the 'vaangum panathukku' rhythm. Will try and explain why later in the day.

I'm in love with this song fully, Sureshji. SPB sounds very 'liberated', a very carefree style of singing with all those improvisations which you wouldn't generally find in an IR song. I've always been a fan of IR's minimalist rhythm arrangements, even the recent ones (like ennada pandi or jakkamma), but somehow the percussions in this song lacks confidence and finesse in execution... the idea's there, but the table player probably let it down. But this is just a nitpick, not really a major complaint.

[Sureshs65]

I still haven't reviewed 'Mayilu' songs (not that anyone is missing it ) and already 'Dhoni' is out.

I will review the album fully later but as I promised KV earlier, want to write about the SPB song, 'vaangum panaththukku'. This is a real surprise to me and once again proves to me that Raja is deep into the jazz genre and is experimenting left and right. While I love all the songs of the movie, musically this song was the most attractive for me. Especially for the rhythmic work that he does in this.

The initial beats sort of tell you that this is going to be a rhythm based song. After a few beats the guitar starts strumming the rhythm and then comes something that is quite new to Raja's work, the bass guitar playing the blues!! I love blues and I have heard lot of songs with these chords/rhythm structure. The bass guitar made an instant impression on me. And the lead also joins in this and the effect is terrific. Then SPB starts singing. Ofcourse this being a Raja song, the melody is not a traditional blues melody but his own. After the first, where only the guitars provide the rhythm, the drums come in with a simple / single beat. Observe carefully as the song reaches 'vadaga veetukku'. The rhythm now changes in true jazz style. They rhythm section changes the pattern quickly and within that beat.

The sax (or similar instrument) in the interlude is ofcourse clearly jazz. The melody in the interlude is terrific. The charanam starts with the tabla following the singer. Again there is a twist here. The tabla does not fall on a beat. The beats of the tabla are off the beat. I counted it as around 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 away from the beat. Again this happens in one cycle and the other cycle has only one beat!! The he changes the tabla to the standard sarvalaghu style before stopping it altogether and letting the strings carry the song.

The second interlude flute is lovely. SPB tries some gibberish (I think they call it scat singing?). The precision with which SPB joins with the tabla in the interlude has the stamp of Raja all over. And just when you thought it was all over, the pallavi provides one more surprise. SPB does a 'dam bam bam', breaking the rhythm and in the next cycle the guitar guys do the same. Fantastic break in the rhythm.

When I first saw this song in the trailer I thought this would be the weakest song in the link. The standard 'karuththu kandasamy' song. But luckily for us Raja gives a jazz delight. If only the tune was keeping with the normal rock/jazz tunes this would easily have become a standard jazz number. But then Raja is never a 'standards' guy, is he? He sets his own standard and that particular standard is in full display here.

[Sureshs65]

KV,

I just wrote about the rhythm. The tabla is beyond doubt the most confident guy as he has to get it absolutely right and he is not playing on the beat for about 4 cycles. The other rhythm is going on the best but the tabla is told to join in at an odd place. That's why I think you feel it is not 'confident'. Try figuring out where he is coming in and you will then realise that this cannot be played by anyone other than a very trained and experienced tabla player.

[Sureshs65]

In fact if we observe the lulluby song in 'Prasad' you will notice the similar off the beat instrumentation in the second charanam. The first charanam of the song has the rhythm arrangement which follows the normal beat. In the second charanam, the sharp sound comes at around 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 places off the beat, giving it a very asynchronous feel. That is is what Raja is trying to achieve in these songs.

[skr]

Fantastic Analysis Suresh ji
Great observation of the beat following the singer , after you said it i too found that it indeed goes away a bit
but little as how he is able to arrive at the full circle coz the notes seem to go in triples only.

Im now currently addicted to this fabby.

[skr]

KV ,
Regarding Chinna Kannile , you are right about the Percussion being the weakest area.It could be that it is programmed.
In the live orchestra , there was someone playing Tabla and there was Jaicha.I am not sure whether there was any rhythm played in this number.
However its the instrumentation which takes it to another level. It was such a fabulous sight to witness Prabhakar playing the Violin and then the entire troupe follow him and create magic together. It was a stunning visual. Both Surmukhi and Naresh did a good job (The latter was a bit tensed up and he kept putting his paper down )
This was the 1st song at the event and remains close to my heart.

Also , if you notice all the songs barring Vaangum Panathukkum have a strong Shankarabaranam influence.
Raaja , Melody and Shankarabaranam go hand in hand . What a terrific trio

[rajaalltheway]

Time and again Ayya proves that he is at his best when he is working with someone who is really good,someone who is serious about partnering with him and someone who knows deep about Ayyas kind of music.I think once Ayya learns about Sureshji,he is going to appoint Sureshji as one his personal staff

[Sureshs65]

rajaalltheway,

Ha Ha Ha. There are so many others who are so devoted to Raja that there is no chance of me getting that position. And of course there is no way I can take that position I still can't think about being in the same room as him. So...