Maestro ilaiyaraaja news & titbits

[KV]

R_F, for once, I'm gonna agree with you!

skr, thanks for posting it in fb, but that could do with some editing! (don't know if he'd be able to follow 'Raagams of new age IR aadhangams', ER concert discussions,etc!)

Sureshji, I was expecting this response from you! . Enna, ungalukku contentment jaasthi, enakku konjam kammi! (like vadivel says, avar isai avalo kEtturkkOmla, andha poorippu! )
While I too agree that Raaja's style is more on-the-fly regardless of how complex/lovely a song can be, lemme try and explain my POV.
True, the tunes generally gush out of the man's finger tips... but my concern, though being about the tunes as well, is more pertaining to the orchestration. Now, I don't think he writes the entire score/orchestration during the session with the director. It's probably only the tunes that get okayed by the director in these sessions. The orchestration probably then happens in the later phases. This, like what we've discussed so many times before, depends on the story, the director's musical demands, Raaja's state of mind at that time, budget, etc. If the man isn't really 'inspired' in anyway, it'd mostly result in ordinary/get-the-job-done orchestration. A director with a clear 'vision' about his film and its music would, IMO, gain more attention and respect from Raaja (contrary to the belief that he'd be snobbish to such guys), thereby driving him to work on giving something special/fresh. This is what probably has happened with Paa, Pazhasi, ASK etc.
As to what's on Raaja's mind when he does the composing, none of us can guess. If we are to assume, he probably thinks that this kinda orchestration and tunes are perfectly ok with his directors and fans (considering that this is what most MDs churn out nowadays that get lapped up so well, becoming chartbusters/cashcows). Maybe he's of the opinion that this current junta has no liking for acoustic/real music or complex/classical tunes (like in the 70s/80s). We're (adhaavadhu, naan) simply trying to send a smoke signal that there's a bunch of us who's willing to see him explore more of this kind and who are not looking at cutting edge synth sounds/loops. If he could give us some albums in this style, I'm sure a majority of us would welcome it wholeheartedly. Simply imagining the extent of the musical beauty of such an album gives me so much thrill! Why not try a shot in the dark nu thOnuchu, post pannEn, avalo dhaan.