Megha / மேகா

I think its a better idea to group the posts related to Megha in a separate thread. Please post your views.

Well started. Heard Chellam Konjam only. michatha kEttutu varrEn night kaa. Chellam Konjam's harmony is superb. The rhythm pattern, especially the drums are terrific. The orchestration in charanams is THE Raaja. Still not too convinced about Yuvar.

Kalvane Kalvane is ZOMFGNewAgeJazzThatBlowsYourMindAndThisGuyIsFucking70AndICantEffingBelieveIt levels.

I couldn't resist purchasing Megha (from Google Play) after the initial teaser's and Fring's post in the New Albums thread. I just listened to all the songs once. The whole album is an orchestral delight and please try your first listen in a nice sound system, you are sure to be mightily impressed. Need more listens to comprehend what's been offered.

Kalvane Kalavane first listen had a similar effect like when listening to Mudhal Murai in NEPV where the songs shakes you completely. Jazz & WCM elements in the song and the way they are stitched together is unbelievable.

Awesome.. awesome.. this is NEPV +++ ..some songs have a parallel too .. jeevane jeevanE == mudhal murai. MugilO mEghamO .. is saRRu munbu .. Not exact tunes but arrangements ..style etc.  
Balki is going to be thrilled hearing this .. and would want IR to beat this for him :-)
Nobody should make romantic epics without IR any more !!!
(I am listening on Spotify..upgraded to Premium somehow it went back to Free ..maybe credit card expired.. Thought there was some problem with the vocals.. but in the high resolution/premium version I dont hear it)
Gokul.. one more show-case album for your system !!
Madhan.. make some time from your work for sending these CDs out ..:-)
(That Italian fan should have a good recording of his fav. But Anitha is not necessarily a mainstream singer )

Kiru, You are quite right about that:)

Don't bother with Spotify, buy it from iTunes. [I have a half a mind to request raja4ever vinod do some further mod-s to the audio;)]
To me Megha & NEPV are two peas in a pod. Kalvane is super duper jazzy and I love it! 
Arrangements in both Megha and NEPV always remind me of Niram Piriththu from Time..

Gokul.

V_S wrote: the orchestration volume during the pallavi/charanams could have been down (it was on top of vocals sometimes) to make the lyrics more audible. 

Its ok, if you listen to it in a good system, it will come sound right. Moreover, half the tune is with the orchestra and people should not miss it :- ) . Singers should have a easy job. Still I feel Yuvan goes flat now and then.
This is quintessential IR.. this is the intellectual property he is creating for us ..
Some detractors might say this is the same thing as NEPV, but they dont get it . this is how original music.. real genres are developed .. you have to keep at it. IR is creating a genre.. let others keep listening to samples from all over the world and give a "new sound" in every album .. We folks here listen to music .. not sound, right :-)
(Gokul .. does iTunes do lossless. otherwise I will hunt for CDs )

Nice review of Mugilo, V_S ji  . My impressions are pretty similar - Sound is fantastic, melody and orchestration top-notch. Ramya is shaping up to be a very competent singer. Sadly apart from Raja, in today's market driven music, she doesn't really have much hope of getting challenging compositions in carnatic or other genres and we might never get to see the full range of her vocal capabilities. Another noteworthy point about the song- Great lyrics! I don't often go out of the way to praise the lyricist, especially for a Raja song, but in this case I truly enjoyed the way the words perfectly fit the tune.


In addition to mugilo, which is my pick of the album, I have given 'Kalvane' and 'Chellam konjum' a few listens. It is very very hard to classify both these songs as belonging to any one genre. I can only call it 'Postmodern Raja'. Both these songs have jazz elements to them , particularly Kalvane. But then it is jazz which has undergone the necessary ritual of processing and transformation by Raja's mind. The end result is a style which sound vaguely familiar, yet bears only a skeletal similarity to the 80s, 90s or 00s Raja. This is not the Raja of Nizhalgal or Johnny, it is not the Raja of Guru(Malayalam) or even the Raja of Hey ram. Post NEPV, he is evolving yet another style, at least when he works with the Hungarian musicians. 


Kalvane has some fantastic jazzy piano work and tantalizing interludes with Raja playing his usual game of "Guess what's next" and proving yet again that this is an impossible task. The funky guitar and drumming work by the Hungarians in Chellam konjum is instantly catchy and the song is once again, surprisingly well sung by Yuvan. Overall, it is quite staggering that at 70, he continues to explore new genres and make them his own. I really hope this collaboration with the Hungarians continues and we get more such albums, hopefully even non-film Rajazz instrumental ones featuring the guitar, saxophone or trumpet. Boy, would that be a treat!

Weakest song in the album is probably . enna vEndum .eethu vEndum.. sounds like a song from the jaganmohini movie. It did not look bad there. here it seems out of place.

I know that if there is one guy in this forum who will definitely be happy about, it would be kiru  For, as @arulselvan mentioned on twitter, everything sounds so natural in this recording. The strum of the guitar, the wind instruments and especially the voices, everything is not only crystal clear but also very natural (in a way you can also hear how the singers are struggling  ) I don't think even NEPV has this sort of recording. This is top class and 'putham pudhu kaalai' sounds so good (ofcourse if you don't go the "SJ cannot be replaced" way)

My first observation of this album vis a vis NEPV is this: NEPV had more emotional ups and downs. When they were happy, they were very happy like in 'katrai konjam' and when they were in pain, it was very painful as in 'mudhal murai'. So many emotional ups and downs throughout the songs there. In contrast, here everything is a bit subdued, the happiness as well as sadness.

Second thing I observed is the consistency of sound throughout the album. No song feels 'out of place' in the album from a purely sound perspective. It could be because the Hungarians were used throughout. Even 'putham pudhu kaali' sounds as if it was made for this movie.

Thirdly, Attila's guitaring is a joy to hear. The notes sound crystal clear and even when is distorting, the distortion is crystal clear  Other instrumentalists too sound very good. The drumming is recorded perfectly. I don't think Nemec was involved in this but the drumming is very good as well. The same drummer used throughout is also one reason why the album sound is so consistent.

@Suresh - it is just not the recordng.. the orchestration instead of being a co-star is almost the hero in these songs. mugilO is all the orchestration I have been craving for. I have been looking forward to this album since they released the teasers. I guess the impact is not that great because the audience already had a good taste of this in NEPV .. Now IR has to beat this in Balki's next movie. Probably in rudramma he will again switch tactics (like in pazhassi raja after Guru).
Re: emotions - I think saRRu munbu and mudhal murai were not really happy ones. Mugilo that way should have more acceptance.

@arulselvan in twiiter posted a series of tweets on 'Megha' and then he collected them in twitlonger. Here is the link :


http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1rm3dbi


Here is what he said:

just collecting my 'megha' twits for myself
1. 
இது ரொம்ப "பசங்களா தூரப்போயி வெளயாடுங்க" ஆல்பம். நீஎபொவ அளவுக்கான்னா இல்ல இது வேறே திசையில போகுது
2
. @rozavasanth 
திரும்பத்திரும்ப நம் ரசனை அளவைகளை இன்னொருமுறை முறை recalibrate செய்ய நிர்பந்திக்கும் ஒரே இசைக்கலைஞன்.
3.
@Raaga_Suresh
the sounds (both the instruments and voices) are more real more true and more closer than ever before. lovely
4.
the bledy experimentation doesn't stop. ever.
5 
yuvan, you have seriously grown, you know.
6 
it will be a very good idea to include all these songs *also* and shoot nepv one more time :-)
7 
how does one film kalvane kalvane without descending into literalism? . it is so abstract in its approach in putting the elements together
8 
@prasannaR_ 
for me nepv was very rushed and this is the complementary part it skipped. fuse them i say :-)
9 
nepv is the van gogh of music and this megha is the monet. that my dear is how they play.
10 
of course there are no genres in raja's music. but if you want to single out the best jazz album in tamil it is this #megha
11 
@Raaga_Suresh 
loved putham puthu 'putham puthu' not to say with added flourishes. if only some early goldies could be redone like this....
12. 
@Raaga_Suresh 
this song (jeevane) is a superb piece. shows how far raja has gone away from icm and carried wcm to the boundaries of modern jazz.
13. 
@Raaga_Suresh 
the kind of singing that refrains from showing any reference to icm and goes all out to give a floating sax like feel
14. 
if you want to imagine what kind of jazz this is just play a sax in your mind along with voice of raja in jeevane jeevane;raja class! #megha

Wow fantastic posts.

Is it just me or is the iTunes audio quality really not upto the mark? I don't think I ll get CDs here so I guess I should look  for lossless downloads. Sad but no other go

Nerd wrote:Wow fantastic posts.

Is it just me or is the iTunes audio quality really not upto the mark? I don't think I ll get CDs here so I guess I should look  for lossless downloads. Sad but no other go

What are you listening on ? do you listen to mp3s at all ? Quality is all relative :-) I have spotify for convenience only. My music is ripped to FLAC using ExactAudioCopy. I usually start the day with ramanamaalai or geetanjali. But today starting with mugilo :-) .. Recording is not bad with Spotify's ogg-vorbis compression. But I need the CD or FLACs.

You hear that sound? That's Raaja laughing his rear off at all smartarse 'music reviewers' and genre & time-period pottalam katters.  

Kalvane Kalvane... When the prelude started I was like 'ah, niram piriththu  pArthEn 2.0 probably!' and moments later it had me going 'ThakkAli dei! WTF?!' This is Raaja toying with the listener! I just couldn't figure out the flow of this one. The construction of the tune, the orchestration, the interludes, the shifts in ragam/scale (can some punyavAn please explain the shits in the charanams to me?)... this one's a musical roller-coaster! Gonna need a lot more listening for me to ullvAngify this song, anuanuva anubhavikkanum, rusikkanum, rasikkanum. SOTY without a shred of apprehension or doubt.  

Chellam Konjum... whattay FUN! Free-flowing acoustic drumming... there, Raaja sir, you've won me already!  Totally in love with this song! And again, some beautiful twists and turns in the tune and orchestration.

kv wrote:You hear that sound? That's Raaja laughing his rear off at all smartarse 'music reviewers' and genre & time-period pottalam katters.  

Vaango KV vaango. It takes Raaja to bring you out of slumber. udal, makkaL, isai ellaam nalama? Yes. Saw one sillyblog review and was amused world still believes in those reviews and were begging him for more words in the review  namakkum vandhu vaaikkudhu paarunga.

This album is a new age Raaja delight. Like Rozavasanth says, this is Raaja 7.0. From 1976 to 2013 and still make the "kangu" burn bright which Kamal spoke of. Kalvane Kalvane. When was the last time we heard a jazz with such arrangements? Jeevane with Raaja will stay with me for a lifetime. Mugilo Megamo. IR version pwns everything in the vicinity. Enna Vendum was the weakest, not due to the music, but due to the female vocals. Musically though it is terrific. innum uLvAngaNum. Chellam Konjam's harmonies and ludes are out of the world. Putham Pudhu Kaalai sounds wonderful even with Anitha and she isn't bad too. First rushed listen la padhinja impressions. Innum kEkka kEkka lyrics, orch and their place in the overall scheme of things puriyalaam.

Already idha yellAm pala murai kEttu muduchavanga thuvanguga. I will aikkiyam aagify in the jOdhi soon.

paatai ellam Head phone il kaetu anubavikanam........

kaetadhum pidichadhu.. Enna vendum  edhu vendum.

Raja's beats....... very nice....... very very lovely instrumentation................  

rendu kaadhum.. nadu thalaiyum........... inimaiyana orchestration il rombi vazhinjadhu.......... inimaiyana sound il............. 

Rajavin own touch...........  indha paatil  niraiyave feel panren...............

repeated mode.

I am upset there are not many posts as I would like :-)
Dont worry about any reviewers .. mugilO meghamO is a song to die for ..
Better make it to #1 in all top 10 programs.. If our people dont like it .. they be damned :-)
Just open up the ears and focus not just on the vocals but also to the orchestration .. just like eating a sandwich ..bite (hear) it all together to get the full taste.
The tune has all the sangathis/nuances as in vishu-ramamoorthy or KVMs except they are played in parallel while the singer sings it plain ..
This is a classic. Even the white guys may not be able to appreciate. With our background on ICM we should be able to understand IR.

What is the direct link to buy the album please?
(sOmbEriththanam to search  )

https://itunes.apple.com/in/album/megha-original-motion-picture/id692085155

kiru wrote:

Nerd wrote:Wow fantastic posts.

Is it just me or is the iTunes audio quality really not upto the mark? I don't think I ll get CDs here so I guess I should look  for lossless downloads. Sad but no other go

What are you listening on ? do you listen to mp3s at all ? Quality is all relative :-) I have spotify for convenience only. My music is ripped to FLAC using ExactAudioCopy. I usually start the day with ramanamaalai or geetanjali. But today starting with mugilo :-) ..  Recording is not bad with Spotify's ogg-vorbis compression. But I need the CD or FLACs.

My complaint is mainly on the volume. I have to boost it up. If I play nilAchOru (downloaded from the Internet) and M back to back, for the songs of M I have to increase the volume by at least 5 levels. I do hear all the sounds and they sound crystal clear, no complaints there. I listen from my phone connected to my car stereo via bluetooth. 

Also iTunes usually do not have their music (thamizh esp.) encoded at the highest quality possible - 320Kbps. I personally haven't checked this one but its usually 192 or 256 for thamizh films. 

Another thing is when enna vENdum ends, when they sing the last pallavi, the volume kind of fades down and goes to zero which I guess is not the intended effect.

Posting my random, disorganized tweets on the album:

One round of listen in the car stereo, which is the best option currently. Severe louu with this soundtrack #Megha

70 வயசுக்காரர் மாதிரி நடந்துக்கவே மாட்டேங்குறார், yet again. And as expected #Megha is indeed the AOTY.

Can't understand the praise Yuvan has been receiving from Raaja fans. Thank God there is a Raaja version of mukilO. Miss NSK though.

Some great drumming in ஜீவனே ஜீவனே. But wait, யோவ்! அது சோகப்பாடல்யா. What a brilliant song. #Megha

Thought finally Haricharan and Raaja found their best match with கல்லாலே செஞ்சு வெச்ச and now this கள்வனே is even better. #Megha

கள்வனே is the SOTY as of now. The transition from the WCM opening to the jazzy pallavi is unbelievable. #WhatASong

Those millisecond pauses in the 1st interlude of kaLvanE. That's the magician teasing us. #Megha

Why Priyadarshini? And who writes sAnthuppottu and all these days? #FAIL in what is ennOdu vA vA V2.0.

This Priyadarshini sings like one பாட்டி. நீ போட்ட மந்திரோ நீ ஷெய்த தந்திரோ. Glorious misfit in an otherwise fantastic song.

Megha..It would take a long time for me to fully grasp the album.
But its very clear that its a landmark album.

I mean when the whole soundscape around Raaja has changed and Raja was doing 
albums like Virumandi, Nan Kadavul and all that which was more in his zone
(though a careful observer can see the change in soundscape even in these)
Used to wonder what would Raaja do in these new age movies.

Greatest souls do things right in frontof our eyes but we wouldntbe able 
to see them until it becomes so obvious.Mumbai express - I  heard kurangu kayil malai and was in love. 
Used to play that often in my room and friends also started loving it.
But did i realise Raaja was cooking something different. not at all

And then like a bolt from the blue he comes up with NEPV and this.
All the ingredients were being prepared and shown to us in Mumbai express,
cheeni kum, dhoni etc etc. And then bang comes these two albums which would be
like the HTNI and NBW for new age music.

NEPV was a different monster because every song belongs to a different genre.
That was a dream album. This was not a Tamil film music album. It was too much for a movie. There were so many emotions
and in different emotional extremes. The only way to picturaise those songs would be
to build a story around the songs like Vaidheki Kathirunthal than try to fit 
songs in the script. It was evident in the movie for me.

Megha goes in a different direction and has predominantly jazz and is more
of a Film Music in the sense the story is there in the songs.
There is lot of darkness, pain through out and the texture is consistent
song after song. Even Enna vendum doesnt cross a particular level of enthu.
That is why i think it is clicking more with many people than NEPV.
This is more mass than NEPV.Credit should go to the director for that.

One thing is clear. Raaja is in no mood to relax and has shifted a gear or two
in recent times. This is playtime.