Music Weeds

Top 10 Picks from K.K's Inventory

2014-12-26T13:40:00.002-08:00

Krishnakumar Kunnath , popularly known as K.K or Kay Kay is a playback singer from Delhi. Before he got break into playback singing he sang more than 3500 jingles in 11 languages. He released his first album Pal with music composer Leslie Lewis for which he got the prestigious Screen award as best singer.His first bollywood song was 'Tadap Tadap Ke iss Dil se' from the movie 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam' and it was well appreciated by music lover all over.
Till now he sang more than 500 songs in Hindi and 200 in regional languages.We have picked out 10 songs from the list of may hits he has given which still sounds refreshing and new:

Song : Dil Aaj Kal
Music : Ram Sampath
Lyrics : Prashant Ingole
Singers : Krishnakumar Kunnath (K.K)

Song : Kaise Bataun Tujhe - (3G)
Music & Lyrics : Mithoon Sharma
Singer: KK and Shilpa Rao

Song: Bas Ek Pal
Music : Mithoon Sharma, Pritam Chakraborty, Vivek Philip
Lyrics : Sayeed Quadri, Amitabh Verma
Singers : Dominique Cerejo, Krishnakumar Kunnath (K.K)

Song : Ashq Bhi(Bas Ek Pal)
Music : Mithoon Sharma, Pritam Chakraborty, Vivek Philip
lyrics : Sayeed Quadri, Amitabh Verma
Singers : Krishnakumar Kunnath (K.K), Sunidhi Chauhan

Song : Kabhi Aayine Pe
Music : Ustad Rashid Khan
Lyrics : Tanveer Ghazi
Singer : Krishnakumar Kunnath (K.K)

Song : Hai Junoon

Music : Pritam Chakraborty

Lyrics : Sandeep Shrivastava

Singer : Krishnakumar Kunnath (K.K)

Song : Meri Maa

Music : Anupam Amod

Lyrics : Irshad Kamil

Singer : Krishnakumar Kunnath (K.K)

Song : Tu Mujhe Soch Kabhi

Music : Sajid Ali, Wajid Ali

Lyrics : Jalees Sherwani

Singer : Krishnakumar Kunnath (K.K)

Song : Tum Mile
Music : Pritam Chakraborty
Lyrics : Sameer
Singers : Sunidhi Chauhan, K.K

Song : Sach Keh Raha Hai
Music : Aadesh Shrivastava, Harris Jayaraj
Lyrics : Sameer
Singers : Krishnakumar Kunnath

Bauls: People whose Religion is Music !!!

2014-12-26T12:43:00.000-08:00

Purna Das Baul

Baul Music is one of the few widely known and appreciated types of folk music in West Bengal and Bangladesh.

Bauls constitute both asyncretic religious sect and a musical tradition. Bauls are a very heterogeneous group, with many sects, and Originally, the Bauls were nonconformist, who rejected the traditional social norms to form a distinct sect that upheld music as their religion. "Baul" is also the name given to the genre of folk music developed by this creative cult. Music is their only source of sustenance: They live on whatever they are offered by villagers in return, and travel from place to place, as it were, on a vehicle of ecstasy.

The Bauls have been described by many in many different ways and to each they have been different. Identified by their clothes and the magical instrument "Ektaara", the story of their origin has mixed elements of Tantra, Sufi Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism.The baul costume consists of a half-dhoti and an alkhalla (saffron robes). Another noticeable identifying signs of baul is their hair style, they don't cut their hair, so a manner has been devised for coiling it neatly atop the head in a bun. they also wear a kind of necklace made of beads formed from the stems of the basil plant (tulsi).

Baul Music is that type of music which smells of earth and talks of the greater difficulties of life in the simplest of ways using metaphors, emotions and a deep sense of mysticism. Their longing for the oneness with the divine, their unconditional love for their soul mates, their emotions are reflected in their songs which are sung with the strumming of the ektaara or dotaara and with the beats of their "ghungur ".

The beauty of Baul music is that it expresses something so ordinary in an extra-ordinary way.In 2005, the Baul tradition was included in the list of "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity" by UNESCO.

Originally, the district of Birbhum in West Bengal was the seat of all Baul activity. Later the Baul domain stretched to Tripura in the north, Bangladesh in the east, parts of Bihar and Orissa in the west and south respectively. In Bangladesh, the districts of Chittagong, Sylhet, Mymensingh and Tangyl are famous for Bauls. Bauls from far off places come to participate in the Kenduli Mela and the Pous Mela - the two most important fairs held in West Bengal for Baul music. It's hard to think of Bengali culture sans the Bauls. They're not only an intrinsic part of Bengal's music, they're in the mud and air of this land, they're in the mind and blood of it's people. The spirit of the Bauls is the spirit of Bengal - ever-flowing in its society and culture, literature and art, religion and spirituality.

Bauls continue to inspire filmmakers and music lovers as more and more bands that have adopted Baul music surface. Bands like Bolpur Blues, Baul and Beyond have reinvented Baul music to the extent where they have created a stir among the young population.

A live performance by Gautam Baul at Birbhum,WB

Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobara:Music Review

2013-07-26T01:55:00.000-07:00

Sequel fever is still raging on Bollywood and this time Akshay Kumar is back with the sequel of Once Upon a Time in Mumbai (2010) with Imran Khan and Sonakshi Sinha in Once upon a time in Mumbai Dobara and is set to release on 15th August.

The music album of this moive is composed by none other than Pritam.

The album succeeded in all aspects as it has a flavor of 80’s music when kitsch was in and music was going through a transition towards Disco and Synth.

The album includes one remake (Tabiyat ali), a retro song (Tu Hi Khwahish) and two gems (Chugliyan,Ye Tune Kya Kiya).

The first song of the album is Ye Tune Kya Kiya, which needs no introduction as it has already won hearts with its promo being aired.The lyrics is written by Rajat Arora and it evokes a mixed feeling of love and pain. Pritam hits gold by choosing Javed Bashir instead of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan whose raw-rustic voice spellbounds everyone and aptly suits Sufi Quwwali forte.

Tabiyat Ali –This song is the remake of the hit song from the movie Amar Akhbar and Antony(1977).It is sung by Javed Ali and it was nicely done.There is hardly any addition to the original song and the overall treatment of the song remains the same.

A Retro-Disco song sung by Sundhi Chauhan, Tu Hi Khwahish reminds of the mid 90’s era. Sunidhi Chauhan's seductive voice is tailor made for this genre where she has previously proved her menace numerous times. Overall, the song would look good onscreen.

The last track, Chugliyaan, is where Javed Ali fares better with a romantic song that suits his honeyed and assured voice. The lyrics by Rajat Arora are quite cheeseball and is a breezy-easy-on-ears romantic number. The arrangements are beautifully crafted and interwoven alongside Rajat Arora's lovely heart touching lyrics which make this a winner all the way.

Pritam doesn't disappoint but at the same time the soundtrack doesn't lives up to the expectations and benchmark created by the first venture. Once Upon A Time in Mumbai Dobara is a good album that manages to stick to its winning formula with some gems that will live on after Shoaib is occupied by another actor after Emraan and Akshay.

Soul of IndiPop and Rock : Euphoria

2013-07-25T00:21:00.000-07:00

Whenever we come across the term "Rock Band" the first thing which strikes our mind is some crazy,wild foreign group,but Indian bands too haven't fallen far behind the race.

The evolution of Rock Band in India dates back to 1988 when the first ever band was formed by Dr. Palash Sen and his friends in Delhi and they named it "Euphoria".

Euphoria is considered as the soul of Indian Pop and Rock."Dhoom Pichak Dhoom" was their first solo track and the video of this song became the most popular video to be screened on TV that decade.Euphoria released their first album in 1999(Dhoom) and since then they have composed 8 albums.

Ahead of the success of Dhoom the band started working on their next album and released "Phir Dhoom" (2000) which was again a massive hit.In the year 2001 Euphoria got a chance to perform at united Nation General Assembly.

In the year 2003 "Gully" was released which is the most successful album of the band till date and the video of th title track of this album featured Vidya Balan in Debutante role.

In the year 2006 "Mehfuz" was released with four videos ‘Soneya’, ‘Mehfuz’, ‘Bewafaa’, and ‘Rab Jaane’.Mehfuz was the first album that the band recorded in their newly made studio “The Clinic”. The band’s current drummer, Ashwani Verma joined the band during this time.

The band completed 10 years in recording studio in 2008 and they released an album "Re Dhoom" which was a collection of 12 best songs of the band.

In the year 2011 band released their next album "ITEM" which was the best selling album to that year and it was also featured in the top 10 chart of VH1 in India's top 10 chart.To promote this album Euphoria took a 10 city tour in USA.

In 2010 they released an album "Follow your Dreams" in support of "I pledge to stop student suicides".The album was intended to motivate youngsters and bring out the importance of life.The album also featured Kaliash Kher and Shanker Ehsaan Loy.

In 2012 "Sharnaagat" was released which was the first spritual album to the band.It was released by Times music Spritual.

The band consists of lead vocalist-Palash Sen , bass player- Debajyoti Bhaduri, dholak and percussionist-Rakesh Bhardwaj, table and percussionist- Prashant Trivedi, drummer- Ashwani Verma, back-up vocalist- Vaishali Barua, back-up vocalist-Krutika Murlidharan, keyboard player-Vinayak Gupta, guitarist- Amborish Saikia, backup vocalist- Kamakshi Khanna- Back up and Kinshuk Sen- Back up Vocals.

" New Star of India"-first Bollywood movie auditioned on Facebook

2012-02-21T12:17:00.002-08:00

Nissan India joined hands with Ranbir Kapoor for the world's first ever movie which was auditioned on Facebook.
This campaign received an overwhelming response with nearly half-a-million likes on their Facebook page.It received around 2500 applications out of which 20 were selected.

"New star of India" is all set to release on 1st March,12.The movie's shooting was done at world's bigger film studio Ramoji Film City with 600 crew members and 100 Micra Cars and an Elephant!!!! This was the largest production Ramoji has ever seen.

The movie is directed by choreographer turned director, Ahmed Khan, and stars Ranbir Kapoor in the lead role.

Here is the trailer of the movie:

Rabindanath Tagore's Patriotic Song Gets Amitabh's Voice

2012-02-21T09:03:00.001-08:00

'Jodi Tor Dak Sune Keo Naa Ase' ,the most famous of all the Rabindra Sangeet was the originally composed in 1905 Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore and is a national patriotic song.
Originally titled as "Eka", the song was first published in the September 1905 and was incorporated in the "Swadesh" (Homeland) section of Tagore’s lyrical anthology Gitabitan. It was one of the 22 protest songs written during the Swadeshi period of Indian freedom movement and along with "Amar Sonar Bangla", it became one of the key anthem of the Anti-Partition Movement in Bengal Presidency in 1905.

The song exhorts the listener to continue his or her journey, despite abandonment or lack of support from others. The song is often quoted in the context of political or social change movements. Mahatma Gandhi ,who was deeply influenced by this song, cited it as one his favorite songs.
The same song is now recomposed with Amitabh Bachchan's voice in Sujoy Ghosh's upcoming movie 'Kahaani'.This is not for the first time this song is being rerecorded.Earlier eminent Rabindra Sangeet singer Suchitra Mitra recorded this song twice, first in 1948 and then in 1984.

Ekla Cholo Re- Big B's Voice:

Top 10 Picks from Hindi Classical Songs

2012-02-15T09:14:00.003-08:00

MusicWeeds brings you the list of top 10 classical songs from the greatest classicals of all time:

1)Song: ankhiyon ke jharokhon se
Movie:ankhiyon ke jharokhon se
Download Full Song

2)Song: mere dil me aaj kya hai
Artist:Kishore Kumar,Laxmikant-Pyarelal
Movie:Daag(1952)
Download Full Song

3)Song:Bahon me chale aao
Artists:Lata Mangeshkar,R.D.Burman
Movie:Anamika(1972)
Download Full Song

4)Song: Tere duniya se hoke majboor
Aritist:Kishore Kumar,Prem Dhawan
Movie:Pavitra Papi (1970)
Listen Online

5)Song:zindagi ke safar me
Artist:Kishore Kumar
Movie:Aap ki kasam (1974)
Listen Online

6)Song:Tujhse naraaz nahi zindagi
Artist:Anup Ghosal,R.D.Burman
Movie: Masoom (1982)
Listen Online

7)Song:Ghunghroo Ki tarah
Artist:Kishore Kumar
Movie: Masoom (1982)
Listen Online

8)Song:Mai Shayar Badnaam
Artist:Kishore Kumar
Movie:Namak Haram (1974)
Listen Online

9)Song:Chalte Chalte mere ye geet yaad rakhna
Artist:Kishore Kumar,Bappi Lehri
Movie: Chalte Chalte (1982)
Listen Online

10)Song:Ghunghroo Ki tarah
Artist:Mahendra kapoor,Ravai
Movie: Humraaz (1964)
Listen Online

'Indian Ocean' - Pioneers of Fusion Rock

2012-02-13T15:07:00.000-08:00

‘Indian Ocean’- those who have heard them they would remember the the unique sound of guitar played by Sushmit.The musical style of the band can be at best classified as fusion music. Some music critics describe the band's music as "Indo-rock fusion with jazz-spiced rhythms that integrates shlokas, sufism, environmentalism, mythology and revolution".

Indian Ocean are an Indian rock band formed in New Delhi in 1990. They are considered to be the pioneers of fusion rock genre in India. Susmit Sen, Asheem Chakravarty, Rahul Ram and Amit Kilam formed the most stable and successful line-up in the band's timeline.

Biography:

In 1984 Asheem and Sushmit met and they kept on experimenting with their music with Susmit on guitar and Asheem on tabla and drums.Their first notable performance was at Roorkee University.

In 1990, they were struggling hard to come up with a demo recording of their band. Susmit sold his electric guitar to raise money for the purpose. They chose to call themselves 'Indian Ocean' which came as a suggestion from Susmit’s father. They had also drafted Shaleen Sharma as the drummer, and Indrajit Dutta and Anirban Roy as bassists.

They recorded the demo, taping an incredible 45 minutes consisting of 7 songs in just one day. Despite the rushed recording, the quality of the demo tape impressed HMV enough to offer them an album deal.

In 1991, Rahul Ram who was Susmit's schoolmate at St. Xaviers, Delhi, joined the band replacing Anirban on bass.Their debut album came out in 1993, it sold over 40,000 copies within a year of its release. It became the highest selling record by any Indian band at that time.

In 1994, drummer Shaleen left the band. He was replaced by Amit Kilam who was much younger than the other band members.

In December 2009 the band lost Asheem to death. In October, after suffering a heart attack he was hospitalized in Doha where he was in coma for a brief period and recovering well.On December 25, 2009 he died in New Delhi due to a cardiac arrest.

Indian Ocean has so far not announced any permanent replacement for Asheem. However, they have brought Himanshu Joshi to fill in for Asheem's vocals and Tuheen Chakravarty for tabla and other percussion which Asheem used to play.

Every member of this band is/was unique in their own way:

Asheem Chakravarty:

Indian Ocean fans call him “the man with the golden voice”. Asheem sang and played the tabla simultaneously, a difficult feat rare by Indian percussionists. Asheem’s rhythm structures were unique and contributed a large part to Indian Ocean’s signature sound.

Rahul Ram:

His stage presence is an essential part of Indian Ocean’s live concerts. His vocals have a power and edge that emphasizes the folk roots of the band. Rahul also does most of the talking at live shows.

Sushmit Sen:

Susmit has virtually invented a new style of playing the guitar, his guitar sound forms the basis of Indian Ocean’s unique sound.

Amit Kilam:

Amit’s drumming is a happy balance between the conventional and non-conventional. He believes in layering rhythm rather than heavy drums, and prefers simplicity over technical wizardry. He incorporates Indian rhythms into his drumming in a unique fashion, moving in cycles of 8, 10, 12 14, 16, rather than simple 4/4 or ¾ styles. He goes easy on the skins, yet his playing is very dynamic.

One of the most famous song by the band is 'Kandisa' (Kandisa is an ancient prayer in Aramaic)

Most awaited movie of 2012 : Talaash

2012-02-13T12:29:00.000-08:00

The most awaited movie of 2012 is 'talaash' which stars Aamir Khan.

Talaash is an upcoming Hindi psychological thriller film written and directed by Reema Kagti. The project is jointly produced by Excel Entertainment and Aamir Khan Productions, and features Aamir Khan, Rani Mukerji and Kareena Kapoor in pivotal roles. The soundtrack is scored by Ram Sampath along with lyrics by Javed Akhtar.Principal photography for the film occurred during March-November 2011 taking place primarily in Mumbai, Pondicherry and London.Talaash is scheduled to release on June 1, 2012.

Co-written by Zoya Akhtar and Reema, Talaash is being made within a budget of Rs 40 crore and its satellite rights have already been sold for Rs 40 crore, six months before the film’s release.
The excitement among fans is no less — three fake posters are already doing the rounds online.

First look of the movie:

PS: Talaash was the title of OP Ralhan's 1969 flick with Rajendra Kumar and Sharmila Tagore. It was also the title of Suneel Darshan's film with Akshay Kumar and Karisma Kapoor which released in 2005.

Talaash is followed by Salman Khan's Ek Tha Tiger(EKT) which is expected to release on Eid.Last year Salman khan topped the list with BodyGuard and Ready with collection of 150 Cr. and 130 Cr. respectively. For salman Eid has proven to be lucky-Dabangg and BodyGuard both were released on Eid.

Now it has to be seen for whom 2012 will be luckier.

Events this week: Bangalore

2012-02-13T05:46:00.000-08:00

Posted on:13 Feb,2012

Tales of Kutty - Play

Place: Bengaluru
Date: 14th & 15th Feb,2012 || time: 7:30 P.M
Venue:RangaShankara,JP Nagar,Bengaluru
Language : English and Tamil

The play was awarded the First Runner-Up Prize at the Sultan Padamsee Award for Playwriting in 2011.

Set in a fictional town in Tamil Nadu, the play revolves around the life and dreams of the Kutty Family. The play takes a look at the dreams and aspirations nurtured by the townsfolk for the youth, simultaneously examining how these expectations reflect upon the youth's own understanding of their place in society and their way of looking at societal concepts like ambitions and failure.

Cast: Anish Saha, Ashok Vasudevan, Champa Saha,Laishram Romal Michael Singh, Meghna Srinivas, Parvathi Om, Pranay Pandey, Pratyush Singh, Shambhavi Yadav & Vaisakh Shankar.
On Guitar: Saurabh Sinha
Written by: Chanakya Vyas
Directed by: Ashwini Kumar Chakre

4PLAY - A collection of 4 short plays

Place: Bengaluru

Date:18th Feb,12 ||time:7:00 p.m

Playing At:Alliance Francaise,Millers Tank Bund Rd,Vasanth Nagar,

Bengaluru

Language: English and Gibberish

ITS OKAY!
What can be the turning point in the day of an ordinary man? In this play based on Chekhov's "Death of a Clerk", set in Bangalore's Cubbon Park, our protagonist finds his life taking a turn beyond his wildest imaginations.
PAYASAM
Based on Kulur's original play which was adapted in VKP's Kannada film Aidu Ondla Aidu. The play is about a newly wed couple, and how their lack of communication impacts the sweet beginnings of their marital bliss.
BRIDGE
What does a police official do when he finds a citizen doggedly fishing in prohibited waters? Language is no barrier in this comic battle of the official and officiated, of the victim and the victimised, performed in gibberish.
THE BEAR
A widow who fancies herself to be inconsolably bereaved pitted against a creditor who fancies himself to play hard-ball if he must to collect his dues. Find out who emerges victorious in this rib-tickling battle of the sexes in Chekovian style.

About BlueOcean Theater:
BlueOcean, started in 2011, when a group of Bangalore based entrepreneurs, directors, actors, and technicians from the film and theatre space came together with the common vision of offering fine quality theatre to a wide audience, within, and outside India.
Our philosophy is simple. If we enjoy making it, our audience will most certainly enjoy watching it. 4play is BlueOcean's first theater production. Guided by veteran film and theatre personalities in the country, we believe in living up to our name of exploring unchartered waters to deliver a fresh theatre going experience to our audience. A space where theatre practitioners can hone their craft through experimental theatre in content and form.
Directed by: Jayaprakash Kulur

MAHUA

Place:Bengaluru

Date : Feb 19, 2012

Venue : Ranga Shankara, 36/2 8th Cross II Phase J P Nagar, Bangalore 560078

Time : 03:30 PM07:30 PM

Language:Hindi

Birsa shot a man through the arse – Not his fault.

Gilli violently abused all the men folk – Not her fault.

Daadi resigned from the post of Sarpanch – Not her fault.

Bibal resolved to leave his village – Not his fault.

Kindo decided to revolt – Not his fault.

Who is to blame??

Director :Rajit Kapur

Writer :Akash Mohimen

Tickets are avaliable at bookmyshow and indiastage

Movies Upcoming in Feb,12

2012-02-13T04:52:00.000-08:00

Image Credit:moviemadly

Feb 3 Staying Alive (Anant Mahadevan, Saurabh Shukla, Chandan Sanyal,Anant Mahadevan)
Feb 3 Gali Gali Chor Hai (Akshaye Khanna, Shriya Saran, Mugdha Godse,Rumi Jaffery)
Feb 3 Love You To Death (Yuki Ellias, Carl Sequeira, Leonid Kudryavtsev,Rafeeq Ellias)
Feb 10 Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu (Imran Khan, Kareena Kapoor Shakun Batra)
Feb 10 Valentine's Night (Payal Rohatgi, Sangram Singh, Rakhi Sawant, Rahul Minz Kirshan Kumar, Baadal)

Feb 17 Ek Deewana Tha (Prateik Babbar, Amy Jackson, Omi Vaidya,Gautham Menon)
Feb 17 Married 2 America (Jackie Shroff, Archana Joglekar, Shweta Tiwari, Raghuveer Yadav Dilip Shankar)
Feb 17 Say Yes To Love (Aasad Mirza, Nazia Hussain,Marukh Mirza Beig)
Feb 24 5 Ghantey Mein 5 Crore (Meera, Abhishek Kumar, Shawar Ali, Rashid Khan,Faisal Saif )
Feb 24 Jodi Breakers (R Madhavan, Bipasha Basu, Omi Vaidya,Ashwini Chaudhary Romance)
Feb 24 Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya (Riteish Deshmukh, Genelia D'Souza,Mandeep Kumar)
Feb 29 Kuch Spice To Make It Meetha? (Purab Kohli, Nauheed Cyrusi, Mansheel Gujral Adeeb Rais)

Jal - The Band

2011-11-11T07:05:00.000-08:00

'JAL' is the leading pop rock band in India.It originated form Lahore in Pakistan.Initially the band consisted to two members,Goher Mumtaz who was the song writer,lead guitarist and vocalist of the band and Atif Aslam who was the vocalist.The first song from them was "Aadat" which created a sensation everywhere topping all the local music charts.This song was recorded in Meekal Hasan's studio and was made freely available on internet and this song became very popular and was the most downloaded Pakistani song in 2002.

Due to some differences between them Atif Aslam left the band and Goher Mumtaz then recruited Farhan Saeed (on vocals)and Aamir Sheraz(on base guitar). With the new line up Jal came out with there debut album "Aadat" in 2004.This was the best selling album of that year.In 2007 the band came with another album "Boond"which topped several music charts in Asia.The band won "MTV Asia Award for Favorite Artist India" in 2006.

In the mean time Atif Aslam came with his debut album Jal Pari which included some songs from Jal's first studio album.This again lead to a conflict between the two and Goher took the matter into court.

In 2006 video of the song ''Ik Din Aayega"was declared as the second best video out of 100 selected by ARY Music channel.

In 2007 Jal struck a deal with Gibson Guitar Corporation for the first South Asian band in history to create working relationship with any guitar manufacturer.According to the contract Jal will exclusively use Gibson Guitars in concerts,Recordings and Music Videos.In return Gibson will sponsor various endeavors of the band and also provide concert halls and equipment as and when required.

About Goher Mumtaz(Coke Studio Profile)

In his teens, Jal’s lead guitarist and vocalist Goher Mumtaz sold his bike, bought a guitar and hid it under his bed. “Everybody in my family has PhD’s and are doctors, so they didn’t really understand my passion for music,” recalls Mumtaz now 29, “I’d wait for them to leave home so that I could practice.” One day, just before his Intermediate exams Mumtaz had an accident and broke his leg. Bed-ridden, he was stuck in his room for months, free to spend many hours a day alone with his guitar. This, he claims, was the turning point of his life.

The band Jal was formed in Lahore four years later in 2002, when Mumtaz, bursting with ideas, went hunting for artists who shared a similar approach to music. Initially the band consisted of Mumtaz and Atif Aslam, and the duo created their sensational debut song “Aadat”. Due to differences, they soon went their separate ways and Mumtaz started looking for a new vocalist. He met Farhan Saeed through a mutual friend and fellow musician, Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan, and they instantly clicked. “We got a positive response with the new line up on our very first performance,” explains Mumtaz, “and the rest is history.”

Jal’s first album “Aadat” became an instantaneous hit, and their second album “Boondh” won the Lux Style Award for Album of the Year. The song “Sajni” from this album also won the Song and Video of the Year at the same ceremony, but the “proudest moment” for Mumtaz was when they won at the international MTV India Music Awards in 2006. “Winning in another country was an honor, especially because we felt like we represented the entire nation.”

Bhupen Hazarika - A gem to the Indian music

2011-11-08T10:47:00.000-08:00

Bhupen Hazarika(1926-2011)

Dr. Bhupen Hazarika who was considered as uncrowned king of north-east india's culture world passed away on 5th of november,2011.He was known for the work he did,lets have a look back on the life of this legendary singer.

He was born in the year 1926 in assam,and he did his inter in arts in Guwahati and to do his B.A he then moved to Banaras Hind University(BHU) in 1944 and M.A in political science in 1946.Then he moved to New York USA where he stayed for five years and completed his PhD in mass communication from Columbia university.
He began his career as a child actor in the second talkie film 'indramalati' in 1939.
He received President's award for best film maker thrice for 'Shakuntala(1960)','Pratidhwani(1964)','Loti Ghoti(1967)',which till date no other person in our film industry has won.He was also Chairman of Central Board of Film Censor for 9 years till 1990.
The country bestowed its greatest honor to him by giving him Padmashree award in 1977.

Mile Sur Mera Tumhara

2011-10-26T22:48:00.000-07:00

'Mile Sur Mera Tumhara..' is a national integrity song which was recorded in the year 1988 and was telecasted first on 15th August,1988 after the speech of Rajiv Gandhi(then PM of India) from the ramparts of red fort.It quickly captivated india gaining and maintaining near-anthem status ever since.
This song(& video)was intended to instill a sense of pride and integrity among Indians, highlighting different social and linguistic communities that lives in india.India's language,religion,dance,music architecture and customs differ from place to place within the country.This song perfectly depicts India's Unity In Diversity.
There are all together 14 languages used viz. Hindi, Kashmiri, Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Bangla, Assamese, Oriya, Gujarati and Marathi.

The concept of this song was developed by Lok Seva Sanchar Parishad and was promoted by Doordarshan.The song was written by Piyush Pandey and composed by Ashok Patki.The video of this song was directed by Suresh Mullick.

The song ends with a fading note of our national anthem.

Phir Mile Sur Mera Tumhara:
20 years after its original debut our national integration song was re-recorded with a new cast and was telecasted on 26th Jan,2010. This new version(16min 17sec.) runs longer than the its older version(6 min 9sec.)According to me this song was a complete let down to the original one.It was way too glamorized and resulted in loss of crux of the song,and it was a failure in bringing patriotism among a large section of population.
There were some controversies also regarding this new version like the Sindhi community was hurt due to the deletion of the sindhi line "Mohnja sur tohi desa pyara mile jadein Geet ashaanjo madhur tarano bane tadein" present in the original one. Furthermore criticism arose over not featuring personalities like A.P.J Abdul Kalam,Sachin Tendulkar,Vishwanathan Anand in the video.

-Polash

Rockstar Music Review

2011-10-26T10:27:00.000-07:00

ROCKSTAR is one the most awaited movie of this year and so is its soundtrack.
The music of the movie is given by none other than A.R.Rahaman himself and it's Imtiaz Ali's movie.
Imtiaz Ali is known for his good taste in music and few of his preceding movies like Jab We Met ,Love Aaj Kal had ruled the audio stands that time.
Most of the sound tracks were sung by Mohit Chauhan.Overall if you see its not a complete rock music,its the fusion of Rock and Sufi which is well synchronized by the 'Mozart Of Madras'.

Sadda HaQ:

Infamous song of the movie.Its an awesome song sung by Mohit Chauhan with a nice hand on guitar at the beginning of the song.The lyrics of the song is also good and some of them even call it as "Anthem of the youth".Remember how the Paathshala song from the movie Rang De Basanti stirred up a nationwide frenzy,the same is happening with this too.
This song comes with a solid punch of distorted electric guitar riffs of Orianthi Panagris (Australian guitarist,also featured in Michael Jackson's 'This is it'tour).
With this 14 soundtracks A.R.Rahaman marks his entry in hard-rock genre.Rockstar got a very good response regarding the music now we have to see whether 'Jordan'(Ranbir's character) can fuel the passion of the music loving youths of India.

RECOMMENDATION : Worth a Buy.
RATE:4.5/5

A brisk walk through Rehman's Life

2011-10-26T08:32:00.000-07:00

A two-time winner of the Academy Award (Oscar), A. R. Rahman is popularly known as the man who has redefined contemporary Indian music. Hailed by Time magazine as the 'Mozart of Madras', Rahman, according to a BBC estimate, has sold more than 150 million copies of his work comprising of music from more than 100 film soundtracks and albums across over half a dozen languages, including landmark scores such as 'Roja', 'Bombay', Dil Se', 'Taal', 'Lagaan', 'Vandemataram' and more recently, 'Jodhaa Akbar', 'Delhi 6' and 'Slumdog Millionaire'.
Rahman pursued music as a career at a very young age and after assisting leading musicians in India went on to compose jingles and scores for popular Indian television features. He also obtained a degree in western classical music from the Trinity College of Music, London and set up his own in-house studio called Panchathan Record-Inn at Chennai. In 1991, noted film maker Mani Ratnam offered Rahman a movie called 'Roja' which was a run-away success and brought nationwide fame and acclaim to the composer. The movie also won Rahman the Indian National Award for the best music composer, the first time ever by a debutant. Since then, Rahman has gone on to win the National Award 3 more times, the most ever by any music composer.

In 1997, to commemorate 50 years of Indian Independence, Sony Music signed up Rahman as its first artiste in South Asia. The result was 'Vande Mataram', an album that instantly made Indians relate to it and succeeded in rekindling the spirit of patriotism. In 2001, Andrew Lloyd Webber, the well known composer of musicals like 'Phantom of the Opera' & 'Jesus Christ Superstar' invited Rahman to compose for his musical, 'Bombay Dreams', the first time he would produce a musical he did not compose for. 'Bombay Dreams' opened to packed houses at London's West End and had an unprecedented run for 2 years and later premiered at New York's Broadway. Rahman recently composed the score for the stage production of 'The Lord of the Rings', one of the most expensive productions mounted on stage.
Rahman has undertaken several sellout concert tours in over 30 international destinations including one at the prestigious Hollywood Bowl in 2006.Recently, Time magazine rated the soundtrack of 'Roja' in the Top 10 of their all time best movie soundtracks of the world; The Guardian, UK, listed the soundtrack of 'Bombay' in '1000 albums to listen before you die'.
Rahman's music led him to be noticed internationally with several of his tracks featuring in movies such as 'The Lord of War', 'Inside Man' and 'The Accidental Husband'. His composition, Bombay Theme holds the distinction of being featured in over 50 international compilations. He also scored the music for the Hollywood productions, 'Elizabeth - The Golden Age', 'Slumdog Millionaire', 'Couples Retreat' and the Chinese movie, 'Warriors of Heaven & Earth' produced by Sony Pictures.
In 2008, Rahman's work gained global prominence with the extraordinary success of his score for 'Slumdog Millionaire' that won 8 Academy Awards including two for Rahman, for Best Score and Best Song. Rahman won over 15 awards for his score including two Grammys, the Golden Globe and the BAFTA.
Rahman has been bestowed with the 'Padma Bhushan' and 'Padma Shri', two of India's highest national civilian honours, recognizing his contribution to music, in addition to several other awards including 4 Indian National Film Awards and 25 Filmfare Awards, India's leading recognition for films. He has also been conferred with honorary doctorates from the Trinity College of Music, Aligarh Muslim University, Anna University and the Middlesex University. He was also named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world, in 2009.
Rahman has expanded his focus to newer horizons like setting up the A R Rahman Foundation to help poor and underprivileged children. He released his first English single, 'Pray For Me Brother' in 2007, with proceeds from the sales going to the foundation. He also serves as the UN Ambassador for the 2015 Millenium Development Goals. Rahman has also announced initiatives to establish a tradition in western classical music in India and recently embarked on an ambitious venture to set up the KM Music Conservatory and the KM Music Symphony Orchestra based out of Chennai, India. He plans to provide a platform for non-mainstream music through his music label KM Musiq and will shortly launch a couple of artistes.