Raja's New Albums

Audio release of un samayal araiyil

I have spoken to the audio cd company that owns the right for this.

They are going to release this digitally. They will or they can release the audio cd in case they have 500 numbers each per album.

Un Samayal Araiyil trailer

Few song snippets with kailash kher singing under maestro's guidance
 

Oggarane (Un Samayal Araiyil's Kannada version) audio releasing tomorrow.

Poster:


Telugu audio releasing on 31st March and Tamil audio on April 8th:

https://twitter.com/prakashraaj/status/448442756218634240

Enjoying this feast!

^^^ The chords in Badareya and the strings in Gaaliya. Raaja wow! Even after nearly 1000 films, such fresh music. ennatha solla!

Sixer! Give Raaja an urban-centric film in his current mood and sit back for a guaranteed melodyfest. Kailash Kher, Sharath and Vibhavari (same one who sang in Bhansali's 'Guzaarish'?) add the X element to a keepsake album. Magical strings, chords, percussion and preludes/interludes that pack myriad ideas for new-age composers to feed off for years. My friend cut some 10 ringtones in half an hour from this album. How I yearn for Bareyada to go longer; the song of this year, last year and the next year for me!

If Kamesh Ratnam reads this - I'm willing to foot the bill for 100 (or even more) CDs that can be distributed free among Raaja fans..

First impressions only.  Great arrangements.  Nice melodies, not humming any of them yet but it's just the first listen so far.  Rhythm:  seems to have gone back to the trademark Raja 4/4 (if I am not mistaken) for this one.  I loved the 7/8 for Kaatrai Konjam, the Kalvane shuffle, even Sayndhu Sayndhu had some delightful syncopation going on.  In that respect, this album seems to play safer, except for the last track.  But I already like it more than Dhoni.

nanRi makkaLE, for sharing the youtube link!



Songs are nice, especially 1 & 4!

2 & 3 are ok but sound like secondary numbers for a Sathyan Anthikkad movie...

Overall, good but not as exciting as NEPV !

Will wait for the Thamizh version now

very very underwhelming.

liked songs 1 and 4 - felt a bit disappointed by 4, mostly because it was not much more than what we heard in the teaser. (which I looped like a thousand times).

2 and 3 - not a big fan of these 'type' of songs - these similarly patterned melodies which attained it's best in Dheemi Dheemi and anything after that doesn't quite cut it. and disliked all the three voices except Karthik. the song 3 is *SO* underwhelming    and time to get rid of Ramya NSK   

after Dhoni, idhuvA   

the best was undoubtedly song 4 - very eager to hear in Tamil.

thank you suresh2.

Telugu and Kannada audio cds are priced 50 inr per cd

tamil cd is priced at 100 inr per cd. The audio company guy is very adamant and says 500 pieces per language is necessary for producing cds.

We need to give him INR 2,00,000 for the audio cds to be released. Unless we do that no way he will release the cds.

Audio cd justifications

1. Naadi thudikaathadi - only 300 physical cds sold out

2. Junglee music made all the money by getting the amount from youtube juke boxes; and from selling the album in itunes.

Sadly a representation to KR through ilayathalam and to prakash raj have not yielded results

Nothing terribly exciting TBH. Pretty sure the Kailash Kher song is 7/8 and that is my pick. Don't think I will be going back to these songs often. Song 4 is poppish ambient music...

1. ee janumavE
A song sung by Kailash Kher is, more often than not, a Kailash song than it is of the composer. We see him first... that unpolished voice sans inhibitions, seemingly towering over every other aspect of the song. And surprisingly, this appears to be the case with Raaja too! And you don't see this happening often with Raaja, do you? The tune, though a little generic, has a nice swing to it, possibly from the 7/8 time signature. The saarangi take-off from the end of the first para, with a peppy tabla rhythm, is a lovely touch. 

2. gaaliya
My pick of the album. I'd slot this in the 'pulled outta thin air' category of songs where, to me, it feels like Raaja sees these simple patterns of notes floating around him; all he has to do is pluck them and string them together. The tune's very simple but therein lies its beauty. Think 3-notes-song. Think kaiyetha kombatha. Think kaattu vazhi kaal nadaya; examples are plenty. And Raaja being Raaja, you know he wouldn't let simplicity translate to nursery-rhymes-level-lack-of-sophistication. That's where his orchestration comes to play. And the orchestration that he weaves the tune with here... what can one say? It is so contemporary. It sounds NOW. Yet there is Raaja's unmistakable and distinct stamp. How many other current day composers have managed to replicate this sound? I can't think of many, or perhaps any. OK, 'why does one have to replicate' might be a question. Fair one. Point taken. But looking at the current music scene, it looks like everyone wants to sound like everyone else. Reminds me of Jeremy Clarkson ranting about the design of contemporary cars a few years back, in his inimitable style, where he speaks about how every new car almost looks the same, be it Ford or Honda or Hyundai or Chevy. In the same vein, musical signature has to be among the most difficult things to music directors these days, I'd bet, especially given the equipment & resources available today at everybody's disposal. Or maybe it's not such a big deal as long as records sell well? I don't know. But when there's that lovely handshake between a passage of strings and an uber-cool synth bass line, with the tune gliding effortlessly in and out of this palette of sounds, I know it is, and can be only, Raaja. 

3. manadhu
Is earth-shatteringly new? No.
Stands out in Raaja's plethora of romantic duets? No.
Does it scream Raaja? Oh hell, yes!
Is that a good thing? Personally, yes!
There's also a nice saxophone solo in the 1st interlude and an electric guitar lead in the 2nd. And look at how he rounds off the first two lines in the charanams with those electric guitars licks! Come on.... the man's defying age!

4. kanasina kambani
Instantly took me to KJY+Raaja melodies. Whether this song will bring you a smile or a yawn will depend on your liking for the man's music. Raaja fans are likely to lap this one up for its unobtrusive, soothing melody. The chords and percussion are simple, nice and peaceful. If you're a Raaja fan, you can safely add this to your Raaja lullaby playlist. 

The recording quality of the album is pretty good. Listening to this one on a good pair of earphones/speakers has been an enjoyable experience. The album is not breaking new grounds in terms of concepts or musical ideas, but is essentially an album with songs that can hold your interest if you have a ear for music of this kind, the Raaja style.

I will go with my namesake (suresh2) and say that I am loving this album. I like all the 4 songs and the arrangements in these songs. More detailed review later.

I heard the songs at least 4-5 times, with full concentration, just to see if they will grow more as I focus on any nuances. But not many nuances were that awe-inspiring. 

My pick is only the Kailash Khmer song. The rest didn't leave any impact somehow. Songs 2 & 3 especially. I think raaja has done such kind of songs in dozens of albums since late 90s till date. They might appear ok and even peppy, but do not stand the test of time. At least they do not register the way the songs in Dhoni did (for me). 

Song 4 - it finished the moment I started enjoying it. Lovely tune, had great potential for some strong interludes and elaborate charanams but raaja delivers neither there. Could me as per what movie demanded but at least in album he could have fleshed it properly to relish it longer.

Overall, I enjoyed Dhoni more than this. Even Megha too. Even if one of the those 2 duets matched the level of Kalvane (Megha) or en devadai (Nadia thudikuthudi), the album would have been much more enjoyable for me. Bit underwhelmed.

From Twitter, the Telugu juke box of the same album :



IMHO, sweeter than the Kannada versions

Excellent review kv Got the glimpse of every song, still unable to come out of the first song

kv wrote:It is so contemporary. It sounds NOW. Yet there is Raaja's unmistakable and distinct stamp. How many other current day composers have managed to replicate this sound? I can't think of many, or perhaps any. OK, 'why does one have to replicate' might be a question. Fair one. Point taken. But looking at the current music scene, it looks like everyone wants to sound like everyone else. Reminds me of Jeremy Clarkson ranting about the design of contemporary cars a few years back, in his inimitable style, where he speaks about how every new car almost looks the same, be it Ford or Honda or Hyundai or Chevy. In the same vein, musical signature has to be among the most difficult things to music directors these days, I'd bet, especially given the equipment & resources available today at everybody's disposal. Or maybe it's not such a big deal as long as records sell well? I don't know. But when there's that lovely handshake between a passage of strings and an uber-cool synth bass line, with the tune gliding effortlessly in and out of this palette of sounds, I know it is, and can be only, Raaja.

Well said!

That #4 (is this MD Sharath singing?) is haunting!

Possibly the "theme music + song" that one may get to hear frequently on screen



Winner!

The main problem I feel is the rather quiet recording of these songs.  Manadi Belagaayite sounded better when I really turned up the volume.  I wonder if he needs better studios like in Budapest or London at this point to really capture in sound the energy of his compositions.  As such he is also playing a smooth jazz card when he goes urban now (Sattru Munbu being a notable exception).  After a few more listens, my views are not much changed from my first impression.  Super duper arrangements nonpareil wedded to melodies that are nice but fairly predictable.  I still need to listen to the charanam of Januvame a few more times, it sounds promising. Manadi also has that briefly climactic high moment.  I think these two are going to be my picks from the album.  Great singing by Kailash Kher and Sharath, not so keen on the other renditions.  I didn't really have a wow moment so far in this album but at the same time, all the songs are also good, no u1 for one thing and no college type songs, it seems.

It's also interesting what the identity of the artist does to expectations. Oggarane is getting mixed responses in the same forum where people received Thegidi soundtrack enthusiastically. But even that album had pretty predictable melodies with tasteful, live orchestra based arrangements so not much of a difference that way.  Guess it's very hard to forget the accumulated baggage of Raja goodies over the years.  That he still manages to surprise us pretty often underlines his genius.

I am still curious to know what these songs got to play for the film theme.   Waiting for tamil version for the lyrics, still little doubtful.

crimson king wrote: a few more listens, my views are not much changed from my first impression.  I didn't really have a wow moment so far in this album

precisely my disappointment. I am still groping for that level of awesomeness, which still eludes me.

^^^  I thought it might be the guitar solo in Manadi but there was no real resolution, rather, one of the mod-Raja pauses before melody resumed.

I have not heard other songs quite well. The first song itself is a wow factor for me. Kailash's rustic vocals (I have not heard such a voice after Malaysia Vasudevan, except for vel murugan), combined with unconventional tune and rhythm pattern scores very high. When he starts the first line with 'AhA' two times, I got floored. His voice itself has the soul. Once he starts singing, everything follows naturally. That song is too tempting. The way Maestro finishes the anu-pallavi and the way Kailash repeates the anu-pallavi second time in a playful fashion keeps me seduced.

But even as I listen again, I marvel at the quality of the arrangements, especially coming back from a quick re-listen of Thegidi.  I can't begin to think of the void Raja will leave.  There seems to be nobody else who can put together these arrangements.  All these fabulous sophisticated-pop maestros ageing gracefully together, Raja, Stevie Wonder, Donald Fagen (can't really put McCartney in the ageing gracefully category anymore) and after them, who.

Vijay:  First song is definitely the one with maximum promise.  Still holding out on that one, maybe a few more listens after some gap will do the trick.

One aspect I noticed pretty early into the album was not only bass is more audible, the bass voicings are also more complex than some of his recent work (and more like the so called 'vintage Raja' bass).  Time to remind everyone who's the boss of bass.