Top of the World - The Carpenters

Whenever I listen to this number, by default my spirits tend to get lifted up largely due to it's extremely inspiring lyrics and the way it's been rendered by Karen Carpenter that oozes sweetness and a feeling of warmth on account of her cherubic silky smooth crystal voice.

Like Michael Jackson, Karen Carpenter was such a talent to reckon with possessing such angelic voice chords which is simply not possible to not fall in love with. Her voice bowled over and captivated music lovers. Unfortunately on the flip side, her life was tragic and she fell prey to health complications resulting from anorexia leading to a very early death at the height of her powers.

Despite the short stint that life provided her with, she did full justice to her talent bowling over and bewitching music lovers via her enchanting vocal prowess. She and her brother Richard Carpenter formed the band 'The Carpenters' with the sibling duo raking it big time by producing wonderous musical tunes during their time together.

The Top of the World will always remain a perennial favourite and I just wanted to share a few lines on the instrument of this riveting beauty sung by the magical Karen Carpenter with it being set to tune and penned by her brother Richard Carpenter. If ever a composition could be christened as a motivational melody, 'Top of the World' by the Carpenters will right royally be up there with the very best.

Muthumani Maalai - Indigenous folk with a twist

This song can be characterized as an indigenous composition uplifted by western classical elements but not one iota does it lose out on it's nativity. I have always been a big admirer of Raaja's folk based numbers. This is one genre that he has particularly redefined and literally made it his own by giving it a colour like no other. It sounds aghast intertwining touches of classicality to rustic earthy sounds but the output generated is simply a class apart.

This is another Sindhu Bhairavi laced number of the Maestro. The beauty of this stunner is the treatment of the swaras and the beautiful manner in which the alternate swaras of Rishabam and Madhyamam are brought upon to the mix.

The flow of the song is really adorable and gives such a feel good breezy effect when rendering it a listen. SPB and P Susheela elevate it a much further notch through their soul stirring singing. This is from the 1992 Pongal release Chinna Gounder which ran to housefull shows back in the day.

I loved playing this tune as its strewn with jewels aplenty and the bejeweled manner in which it's crafted. It may be a Naatu Pura Paattu by nativity but the song perse is all class personified having such a lustrous texture interlaced to it along with the subtle gamakas embedded that makes it an evergreen verdant green composition.

Poove Sempoove - Mellifluous Waltz

I wonder what incentive Raaja had to come up with a song as mesmerising as Poove Sempoove for the movie Solla Thudikuthu Manasu. The apt adjective to describe this number would be 'Mellifluous' as it's incredibly sweet possessing a flowery smooth flow and full of soul. It's so pleasing for the aural senses and simply creams you over.

What I especially adore about this wonder is the Waltz beat which keeps going 12 12 12 perfectly synchronising a 3/4 time signature played on melodic minor scale in Gowri Manohari ragam. There are so many triumphant transitions that simply shake you over and it might be quite a mystery to know they all appear as part of the same song though when individually heard may connote something totally different.

For the love of the Waltz beat in this vintage composition, just tried something slightly off beat by playing it like in a guitar mode by strumming along as the melody keeps mellowing. I just hope it drifted along fairly well and was not way off the mark.

Soulful Love - Kanna Kanmaniye / Deewana Deewana

AR Rahman has this uncanny ability of coming up with gems from time to time. Many a time, it might be just a minor bit portion from out of the blue but he times it so well that it resoundingly goes out of the park.

This particular composition Kanne Kalaimane or Deewana Deewana has a small verse sung by Isai Puyal himself whose strains are so addictive that I couldn't but resist trying it out.

It is basically a swara portion sung as a sargam which comes interlaced within the interlude that adds a pristine touch to the composition. The alternative use of the Dhaivatams leading to a 3 phrase chromatics is truly the signature special of this tune. 

The way it flows and branches to the main melody is simply sublime. It feels so tailormade and created exclusively for ARR to sing this composition and he has done full justice to this scorcher of a song. The man continues to conjure class since time immemorial.

The Bloom of Love - Ennavale Adi Ennavale

The formative years of AR Rahman in tinselville were really special. The tunes were laced with melody in copious and soaked with soul in abundance. The sounds were rich and those intricate bits which were seeped as layers in between many of his compositions were simply exemplary. The Gamakas which come out in fulminance all of a sudden adds a subtle touch to the brilliance

One such number which always has a soft corner within me is the love dripping composition Ennavale Adi Ennavale from the movie Kadhalan. It was the first ever song rendered by Unni Krishnan which also incidentally rewarded him with a national award. It was ARRs second film for director Shankar after the rip roaring success of Gentleman and the master composer delivered yet another scorching album of the finest finery. The soundtrack was infused with songs based on different genres with all of them receiving a thunderous thumbs up from the audience. This album signaled the ushering of AR Rahman making him truly arrive and catapulted him further as a name to firmly reckon with.

Tried a small stab at this song beginning from the lilting charanam part and traversing it back to the opening portion. This song evokes so many vintage memories from over 3 decades aback and will always remain an evergreen favorite capturing the essence of love blooming in all its austerity.

Kapi and Captivating!

Ilaiyaraaja is a magician when handling Carnatic Raga's as he knows how to bring out the inherent subtlety of it without diluting the essence one bit. Even if he adds an alien note or two, it just doesn't seem out of place at all. Prima-facie all this appears to be a mystery but the way he manages to do it is simply impossible to comprehend.

One of the Raga's where he has showcased his mastery time and again is 'Kapi'. Kapi is a derivative of the 22nd Melakarta Ragam Karaharapriya and uses a pentatonic scale on the ascendancy but on the descendancy it touches all 7 notes. It is a mood inducing raga known for it's twists and turns. Both the Nishadams (Ni2 and Ni3) are used judiciously and you'll see a leapfrogging texture that adds a distinctive unique quality to it. 

A majority of the compositions which Ilaiyaraaja has employed in Kapi ragam have been nothing short of astounding. He is literally seen toying with the ragam and since this is an experimental scale, you'll see pyrotechnics at play eventually resulting in an aural spectacle.

I have handpicked 2 masterful compositions of his in Kapi Raaga - one from Kannada (Sandalwood) and another from Malayalam (Mollywood) to showcase the prowess in using Kapi Ragam. 'Jeeva Hoovagidhe' has been a perennial favorite and is an evergreen iconic love composition sung by Dr Rajkumar & S Janaki. 'Thumbi Vaa' is a song which has been redone in multiple languages but nothing beats the original from the movie Olangal sung by S Janaki with chorus back up.

I've attempted a tiny lunge at both these songs trying to intersperse one onto another to show the delightful curvy flavour that is Kapi. Began with the middle portion of Jeeva Hoovagidhe which gets transported back to the starting portion. From there picked up on the Charanam of Thumbi Vaa and traversed along to the opening bits of the song finally ending with a touch of the famed 'I Love You' line from Jeeva Hoovagidhe.

Coffee comes in many different flavours and the decoction plays a role in determining the firmness of it. It can be light, medium, strong or whatever. Similarly Kapi ragam like it's drinking mate has a quality where the concoction that is thrown up decides the variety of the outcome. And IR is simply a kingmaker in knowing how to handle the mix as seen from these 2 captivating Kapi numbers.

July Maadham Vandhaal - Get grooving!

This song is just sheer joy. A throwback to ARRs good old early days as a composer where he used to churn out one hit after another along with effortlessly touching upon a multitude of genres. This particular movie Puthiya Mugam didn't fetch the requisite rewards due to being a dampener at the silver screen but the entire soundtrack is curated with exceptionally decorated gems. 

The bits of music that are consecrated across this particular composition is simply pure delight. You just feel like dancing with ecstasy every time the guitar tugs the heart strings with it's superlative phrases. The ample feel good factor is evident across the entire piece.

The song also captures Colombo City in it's mighty glory. My formative years were spent in this beautiful country of Sri Lanka and seeing depictions of Galface, Taj Samudra, BMICH, Independence Square, Buddha Temple etc. bring back fond memories. 

It's the interlude which really blows away in this song with the guitar showcasing it's mastery. The guitar also doubles up as a call & response technique and the riveting interlude portion is an absolute feast. Also not to mention SPB's flawless rendition giving it the much desired zeal. 

I tried attempting a bit of the interlude followed by the charanam and pallavi on the veena. First time trying out the 3rd string to capture the bass element.  Just hope I've been able to capture a miniscule bit of the magic this song is laced upon in all it's vigor.

A Magnum Opus masterpiece - Poo Malaye Thol Serava

I was introduced to a major part of Maestro's music only much into the 2000s and one of the initial compositions that completely blew me bonkers was Poo Malaye Thol Serava from Pagal Nilavu. All sorts of pyrotechnics were happening and it seemed too unreal to be true.

This song taught me the meaning of counter point and how call & response lines should blend so bewitchingly. It feels like a western symphony smothered with a native element and the output created is nothing short of histrionic. 

Have always been awestruck as to how these counter melodies keep going side by side with the harmony uniting to create such a picture perfect unison. This is song construction at such an astounding level. The song IMO can be used as a typical illustration to teach a finance student the effect of how synergies are construed from the various layers at play. 

Today being World Music Day and all, I just tried attempting the prelude, postlude and interlude of this jaw dropping composition. This was difficult for me personally as it's way beyond my scope as the notes gallop and throttle around all over the place. But the sheer joy of attempting is what makes it worth it at the end of the day. #WorldMusicDay

Mundhinam Parthen - Feel good romance

There was a phase in time when Harris Jeyaraj used to churn out chartbusters that seemed instantly appealing and alluringly catchy. 'Mundhinam Parthen' from Varanam Ayiram certainly vetoes onto that esteemed category.

The entire song is breezy and also forms an interesting backdrop as part of the movie when an older Suriya narrates all his shenanigans to a younger Suriya to woo his lady love. The depiction also travels back in time to show a retro culture prevalent and gives a picturesque feel good vibe.

Tried attempting a bit of the interlude followed by the high rising middle portion and back to the sweetened nectar bit of the opening that is Mundhinam Parthen. This number is also pretty nostalgic as it attracts plenty of high school feels. Fall in love and take a trip down memory lane with this scorching love dripped melody 'Mundhinam Parthene'.

Kanmani Anbodu - Undefined, Unfiltered, Unadulterated Love ❤

Certain compositions are pure love and this one gets cobbled, cuddled and coated with g(h)lee aplenty the way it strokes the senses with it's indefatigable melody lines. Such a simple sounding souffle soaked with staunch silver lining solitude igniting all evergreen epic love feels. 

The charanam portion is the one that gets me intrigued every time as the flow suddenly enhances consisting chirpy phrases that strikes the center of the heart chord. These weaving melody lines act like a beautiful passage as it rolls down back to the pallavi in such a scintillating fashion. This is just a mild attempt at this wondrous classic trying at best to capture these saccharine sweetened vintage bits. 

Revel in this rivulet of this reposeful rendezvous that's called Kanmani Anbodu!

Song : Kanmani Anbodu
Movie : Guna (1991)

Chinna Chinna Vannakuyil - A Mastery touch of Bass!

This was one of the earliest tracks that completely baffled me especially with respect to usage of Bass. The bazooking harmony which goes in parallel with the main tune has some sort of magical tonic and has always left me in bewilderment with the cohesion effect of how everything unifies and creates a picturesque synergy. This again is just one among a bunch of tip of the iceberg creations that involve the bass component. Many of Raaja's vintage compositions sprinkle bass in profusion and though these tones more or less play a supporting role, they elevate the content of the main melody by a significant notch. They sound so rich simply stand alone and when combined with the song reaches proportions of enormity that emanates a feeling of ecstacy when listening to the number.

This particular song apart from the employment of the trademark bass, Janaki Amma also does an astute job touching all the right chords and traversing on a merry ride along the way. The soundtrack is studded with treasure in abundance and this song surprisingly is the underplayer. However in terms of class it well and truly deserves itself to be held in high esteem.

I attempted a portion of the song beginning from the Charanam portion and connecting back to the Pallavi. There are some lovely little phrases which are a bit difficult to render but just attempted whatever I could to the wee best of my ability. This is a small labour of love to the creaters of this masterpiece who both happen to celebrate their birthdays on the same day - Director Mani Ratnam and Musical Wizard Ilaiyaraaja.

ARR 90's Quarantine Quiz!

Since it being the season of lock down and not much to do except being quarantined, an idea struck to use music as a tool to engage myself and perhaps a few others as well. Also the quarantine seemed to infuse a lot of the 90's memories and I thought what better way than entrusting good old AR Rahman songs by pulling them up from his 90's archives. Thus, I played bits of pieces from ARR compositions from a mobile key app which were mostly from the Charanam or Interludes portion and ended up creating a musical quiz with the same.

Listed below are clips of songs played along with answers for the ARR Insta Quarantine 90's quiz. I am just mentioning them as Song #1,2,3 etc up to 10 and deliberately refraining from naming the song till the very end so that those interested can take an educative guess 😊.

1) Song # 1
Starting proceedings with a song that swept the city of Madras with its razor turbo electronic beats. It was a cult classic and back in the day it had everyone swaying to it as it had the enigma to set the dance floors ablaze.

2) Song # 2
This album was topped with chart busters. However this one is a more melody driven number and happens to be an eternal favorite.

3) Song # 3
This album is studded with gems. Couple of songs are unimaginable melodies. The soundtrack also possesses a Brazilian Samba number but this particular one describes a season 😃. A high octane number with brilliant guitar play.

4) Song # 4
This particular composition is from a mainstream popular movie but somehow this song seems to have been lost in the wind and not talked about much. In essence, it happens to be a really soulful number.

5) Song # 5
This song was an out and out chart topper. it was very popular back in the days in shows such as Pepsi Ungal Choice. This particular portion however is an eerie bit which stealthily creeps in the middle of the number. Take your best shot 😀.

6) Song # 6
This one's an immensely peppy dance number. The costumes unravel a swirl of colors like a rainbow 😃. Any clue about the song would end up being an easy give away but the lyrics of the song however loosely resembles the prevailing quarantine environment 😅

7) Song # 7
I personally believe that this would be the hardest of the lot to guess. The song as such is from a renowned movie but this fleeting bit seeps through in the middle of the composition. Take your best guess 😆.

8) Song # 8
We go back to the good old ARR days. Such a simple song but so much of sweetness smothered all over that you cannot but not fall for it. An evergreen refreshing melody!.

9) Song # 9
This is from an obscure film. Even hardcore ARR fans seem to be unaware of this soundtrack. The song is a lilting melody and you can feel the heart warming effect wrenched all over this beauty💓.

10) Song # 10
And finally the last from the series. This was a masterclass of an album where each of the songs are studs in their own right. Definitely this soundtrack can claim to one of the finest from ARR's staple. This particular composition is soaked and rinsed in melody ♯.

And now time to reveal the answers for the ARR 90s Quarantine Quiz:
1) Chikku Bukku Rayile - Gentleman (1993)
2) Putham Pudhu Bhoomi - Thiruda Thiruda (1993)
3) July Madham - Puthiya Mugam (1993)
4) Kollaiyile Thenai Vaithu - Kadhalan (1994)
5) Vennilave - Minsara Kanavu (1997)
6) Thillana Thillana - Muthu (1995)
7) Varayo Thozhi - Jeans
8) Pennala Pennala - Uzhavan
9) Azhagu Nilavu - Pavithra (1994)
10) En Kadhale - Duet (1994)

Un Paarvaiyil - The Stinger and the Stunner!

There are very few compositions that bedazzle, befuddle and bamboozle you in a way that you just cannot but not fall to the trance of it's aural aura. Un Paarvaiyil Oraayiram rightfully falls in such an esteemed category. Every time I listen to it, I'm left speechless at the sheer outrageous audacity in fusing indigenous tamil folk with a pristine hindustani classical ragam like Behag and creating an output that is nothing short of an evergreen masterpiece.

The blend of instruments in conjunction with the flow of melody exacerbates the chiaroscuro and the whole song is structured in a fashion that exhibits musical camaraderie in gregarious proportions.

Attempting a shot at this song mandated to be as nimble fingered as possible with the precision for error being really high with just about 4 inches (approx 10 cm) of area to play with. Not withstanding the field, the quality of the number is akin to a sprawling stadium punctuated with slew of swaras perpetrated all over pitch forked with flowing drives moving up and down. I just tried my level best to beat the googly and come unscathed. Not sure how much I succeeded but it was an experience that left me stung and also stunned :).

Nalam Vaazha - Mellow & Mellifluous!

There are compositions which happen to be mellifluously mellow that caress and comfort the soul. Nalam Vaazha definitely goes into that bracket. The way it slithers through you with unbridled with sweetness in abundance.

The underlying tone of this majestic melody is the fact that it touches virtually every single note and those slides which canoodle the chromatics is something worth rejoicing. It touches a chord and hits you straight in the heart.

This is generally viewed as a birthday song dedicated to celebrate an event. I choose this to usher in the sun's entry into Aries (Chithirai) signifying the beginning of a new year as per the Hindu calendar.

It was an indeed quite an exercise to play few titbits from this vintage musical construction of the 90's. Wishing the sun a very auspicious solar return as it ingresses onto Mesha rasi which in essence auspices the entry point of the zodiac.

Nallai Allai - A humble attempt

Nallai Allai is a recent earworm that has stuck on to me incessantly. Shankarabaranam based melodies always turns me on and this one's as smooth as a soufle and smothered with sugar in abundance. A saccharine sweet melody that gets you hooked on instantly. Feel the magic of this majestic composition by A R Rahman for Mani Ratnam's Kaatru Veliyidai. This is a very humble attempt to try playing this song. I am just an amateur and play purely based on hearing the tone of the melody and I just jangled along using some own chords and movements. Please pardon me for the ignorance. Nalla irundha say, kevalama irundhalum tell.

Rain special songs of Ilaiyaraaja!

Whenever there is rain you feel a feeling of freshness and hearing Raja's songs raises your level of freshness, happiness and exuberance. In this series, I have handpicked 4 Raaja songs that are lilting with the rain drops dancing along adding to the excitement.

1) Song: Oh Oh Meham
Film: Mouna Ragam
Year:1986

This Maniratnam film sees a young girl (Revathi) and her college friends enjoying their youthful days and freaking out in the rain. Sung brilliantly by Janaki, this is an awesome composition. The prelude starts with a thrill of xylophone. Use of whistles and drums in the first interlude and the marriage of sorts between mouth organ and trumpet in the 2nd interlude makes for a fantastic composition.
Enjoy the rain! Enjoy the brilliance!

2) Song:Vaan Megam
Film:Punnagai Mannan
Year:1986

The same girl (Revathi) whose zest and energy hasn't diminished goes full throttle in this song. Incidentally this song follows closely on the heels of Oh Oh Megam having released just a couple of months later after Mouna Ragam. The film happens to be a historic one for many reasons. It was the last movie of the Ilayaraja-Vairamuthu combo and the first movie of the trio of K Balachander-Ilayaraja-Kamal Hassan. One of Chitra's finest songs. Wonderful preludes and interludes. Hear the melody which goes side by side with the singing. Outstanding is not the right word to describe this composition. What is it? I'm still searching for an answer

3) Song:Aathadi Ammadi
Film:Idhayathai Thirudathe
Year:1989

Raja goes one notch higher with this song. Managed to hear this song only recently and instantly got hooked onto it. This is the intro song of another heroine Girija who again is seen dancing in the rain. Chitra is in her elements. The use of Trumpet in the 1st interlude and Harmonium&Flute in parallel in the 2nd interlude is simply superb. This is actually a Maniratnam telugu film by the name Geethanjali that got dubbed into Tamil.

4)Song:Ponvanam Panneer
Film:Indru Nee Naalai Naan
Year:1983

This is a song in the rain between Lakshmi and Shivakumar. Janaki's voice especially the humming at the beginning and in the1st interlude is simply mesmerising. The bass guitar sounds like the raindrops and the flute in the 2nd Interlude is so soothing. A truly memorable song!

4)Song:Megam Kottattum
Film:Enakkul Oruvan
Year:1984

Talking about rain songs, it's very hard to ignore this pearler of a rain scorching number that dances along merrily through the bass infused rain drops. This one is as peppy as it gets and is an absolute riot. Perfect song to put on your dancing shoes and get soaked in the rain listening to the magnificent bass line that goes on a transcending channel on it's very own giving such a lilting effect.