8.14.2007

Ooh la la la - Second Quarter Finals

‘Ooh La La La’ gets better with each and every episode mainly because the each and every participating band really rock. The bands participated in second quarter finals are Route 10, Innovusion and Oxygen. All the six songs good or better were well performed. Oxygen was declared the winner which again raised lot of questions about what they are really looking for in a band.

The original composition of Innovusion and Route 10 were way better than that of Oxygen. I think it is the collective performance that matters more than the quality of the song. Kalyani of Route 10 gave a jaw dropping performance in the original composition round. Also they dared to choose a classic like Illayaraja’s ‘Nee Partha Parvaikku’ song to remix in the second round and what a remix it was. They jazzed it a bit and created a new tune of the song which doesn’t actually deviate much from the original and yet sounded something fresh. But the reason given for their elimination is the ending of the remix song which I thought was done in a more matured way but not a live performance friendly ending.

If they want only performers then their choice is justified but if they want to introduce someone who could create a new idiom of music then Oxygen is far behind Route 10 or even Innovusion. I liked Innovusion’s original composition which was a pure instrumental throughout with little vocals but that itself turned as a negative point for them. I didn’t like their remix of ‘Poongatru’ song and this is where the Oxygen got an edge over Innovusion. Oxygen performed ‘Thaniyae thanan thaniyae’ song really well. It is nice to lisen remix of the new songs instead of add a bass and rock drum beats to the old song kind of remixing. The little celtic deviation didn’t gel well with the overall sound of the song but liked the jathis running all though.

Can’t wait to watch the next episode.

Btw, Here is my new composition.

6 comments:

anitha shalini said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
anitha shalini said...

Hi Sureshkumar,
Your work is amazing. I listened to "inspiration" and the Maruthanayakam theme. I liked the later better although there is room for improvisation. Inspirations...the melody or core tune itself was good...but something abt the background track didn't sit well with me...almost off key..but I don't have a ear for the modern alternative music trends...sometimes even Yuvan Shankar Raja's music sounds off key to me..so don't take it seriously. I can see that you are a Novice, but what a great attempt. Keep making more music. Its a rare gift, even rarer than being able to sing. Thank you for your comments on my blog.

Anonymous said...

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Ilaiyaraaja's classics @ esnips
http://www.esnips.com/doc/59d51eee-d3cd-4bcd-bc8f-58b182b2a69a/IlaiyaraajaS-Classics---Mandolin-Srinivas-Track01
http://www.esnips.com/doc/fca8631c-8cdf-47a0-a7ce-2f5d693c6c00/IlaiyaraajaS-Classics---Mandolin-Srinivas-Track02
http://www.esnips.com/doc/a0a4dab4-c0e5-4664-8924-fca589d1f9b9/IlaiyaraajaS-Classics---Mandolin-Srinivas-Track03
http://www.esnips.com/doc/cfe19204-85d4-4164-a741-ed35fd1fa0e7/IlaiyaraajaS-Classics---Mandolin-Srinivas-Track04

please listen and comment

Vijay Kumar said...

Looks like the format is quite flexible. I've been hearing rumours that the number of semifinalists is now 9 instead of 6. I also heard that they are evaluating singers separately. I would love to hear Route 10's Kalyani again.

http://inadeeptrance.blogspot.com/search/label/Television

P.S. Suresh Kumar said...

Vijay - It is not a rumour. One of the semifinalist is blogging and I read it in his blog that they have finally shortlisted 9 bands and I am happy that they did it. Kalyani has already sung many film songs and I too love her voice. I think Route 10 and Agam will be there in top 9 for sure.

Anonymous said...

"someone who could create a new idiom of music then Oxygen is far behind Route 10 or even Innovusion"

Innovusion was plain amateurish Suresh. Oxygen was professional. The coordination, the composition, the variations and the range that the band has shown remains to be matched by any other band yet on the show. I agree the female lead singer of Route 10 was good, but she was the only saving grace of that band. Nothing else about that band was good. It is a band search competition and all the members need to contribute for the success of the band. If I hire a Shankar Mahadevan for my band and 5 others who are useless then will my band be considered better? I don't think so.

As a team performance, Oxygen was the best on the day. Their original composition was divine. And the remix was outstanding. As Vasundhara Das said, "to adapt the song is a greater challenge than just remixing it and that can be done only by bands that have played together for years". Now that's recognition of talent. And i agree with Vasundhara Das.

I am infact rooting for Oxygen to win the finals. Agam and Track1 are also very very good. But I feel Oxygen has a more professional touch to them. Anyway, it's all a wait-n-see game! :)