7.26.2006

Leftovers

When I write movie or music review, i either post it here in this blog or in a website called Mouthshut.com where i have been writing for past 3 years, but mostly i post it in both. Oflate, I left without posting some of the reviews in my blog which I posted in MS. So here are the links to those reviews

Music Reviews

Omkara
Kailasa
Movie Reviews

Parijatham (Tamil)
Final Destination
Navarasa (Tamil)
Brokback Mountain
Antarmahal (Bengali)

7.24.2006

By 2 Soundtrack

Vijay Antony is one composer whom I underrated intially after listening to his songs from “Sukran”. I liked “Suppose” and “India” song from that movie and really hated his remix of “Thulluvatho Ilamai” song. As he was heavily using synthesizers and loops, I was in an impression that he sure could delivery peppy tunes that will turn into instant hits but not melodies that would stay longer in our minds. But I changed my opinion when I heard his best melody till date “Nenjan Kootil” in Dishyum. Infact I liked all other songs from this movie. From his songs, it is pretty evident that he is trying to create a unique sound of his own in his music.

Here comes a soundtrack for a movie “By 2” with just two characters. It is a very interesting all-melody-songs album which is rare in Tamil film music these days. He has come out of his own sound to give some soulful melodies. There is no heavy synth stuff or strange singing like we heard in “Dailamo” or “Suppose” song. Melody and orchestration is given prime importance. I should say Vijay has used this opportunity well. The album has got 6 songs. All the songs are penned by Vairamuthu.

“En Kaalgal” is a neat melody for heroine singing about herself with nature. The tune, the rhythm, the bass, flute and strings in the interlude all are in typical Illayaraja style or to be more specific, it sounds like “Intha Ulagil Naan” song from “Madhu”. I am just saying this as a compliment and all these together make a good song. It has a very easy melody and neat orchestration.

“Azhaga Azhaga” is a sensuous melody with all right elements in it perfectly delivering the ambience and the feel of song. The woodwinds, the kind of percussions used for rhythm and some ambient sounds all give a dense forest feel. The melody as such is very good. The strings are put to good usage in the interludes. Hariharan and Sadhana Sargam have done a great job in giving a right feel to the melody. Vairamuthu’s interesting word play is another catchy element of the song.

“Unnai Partha”, “Poovin Madiyil” and “Rojavin Poovin” all have same tune. It seems to be the theme song of the movie. It is a great melody with impressive orchestration. The starting and ending flute pieces are just so haunting ones that will instantly stick to our mind and it is going to stay for so long. The strings in the background along with the vocal melody evoke a great feel all through the song. I would have been happier if there were three different orchestrations for the song fitting the mood of the situation. The song could have been a bit longer in length. All the three songs have different lyrics fitting different situations in the movie. Not always I pay attention to the lyrics but I did for all these 3 songs. Vairamuthu has come up with something interesting again.

“Nenjil Enna” song is by a guest composer S.P.Venkatesh. It is also a nice melody but has got a home-made feel.

7.05.2006

A.R.Rahman's World Space Signature Tune

A.R.Rahman's Signature tune for World Space is a simple and elegant piece. With beautiful free flowing notes on Piano, it sure will be popular as Airtel Theme. Hope it serves the purpose of World Space Radio too. In the way piece is orchestrated and actually the tune itself reminds me Karthik Raja's theme music for "Kudaikkul Mazhai". What do you say? You can listen to the World Space theme music here

Also check out this well designed new website for A.R.Rahman