Song of the week- #9 Madari by Clinton Cerejo

It’s been a really long time since the last time I wrote on this blog. My laziness got the better of me. But then a couple of days back, while travelling, I realized that the making of good music (especially in India) is at its peak these days and it’s just too good to be ignored. So here it is, after a break, with one of the best produced and composed tracks of recent times.

Well, to begin with, who would have thought that when three people namely Clinton Cerejo, Vishal Dadlani and Sonu Kakkar get together, it would be purely magical. Cerejo went completely unnoticed even after singing Kya Karoon in Wake Up Sid. Vishal Dadlani brought up some of his magic with the Dewarists’ first song Minds Without Fear but the completely unexpected was the amazing voice of Sonu Kakkar which can be heard in Babuji Zara Dheere Chalo.

The aura and texture of this song is its primary beauty and that’s why the producer must be applauded. The song starts off with the main tune on the mandolin. Vishal Dadlani’s deep voice then kicks in with beautiful accenting on the keyboard and the bass guitar. At 3:00 the music goes silent with Sonu Kakkar bringing in purity in a wonderful manner. The bass guitar groove, the cry baby on the guitar and the rim shots on the snare make the voice sound even more awesome and the starting of beats on the Dafli at 3:52 add to the soul of the song. The snare drum tone at 4:12 is just heavenly. To take-off the song again at 4:52, Vishal and Sonu harmonize some beautiful lines followed by the Mandolin solo. And the start at 6:01 with dholaks is so unmistakable. All in all, there are so many amazing musical moments in the song including the song’s end that describing them would only be unfair to their depth.

I have listened to this track hundreds of times just to realize that producing music and getting together of musicians is what builds up the soul of a song and not shredding fast guitar solos without others contributing. Otherwise, when did cry babys on pedal-trains or mandolin or daflis or dholaks or the bass guitars sound this magical?

I have new found respect for Vishal Dadlani after this track particularly. Moreover, as a friend Surbhit says: "Imagine the level of joy and fun these musicians must be having being able to perform such an awesome track". Seriously, the joy and satisfaction is clearly visible on their faces!

While ending this, I must mention that Coke Studio India’s Season 2 has been really awesome and this song is just the tip of the iceberg. One must listen to others like Husna, Saathi Salaam and Yatra to name a few. Signing off with that. Keep Rocking. \m/

Song of the week- #8 "Pareshaan" by Amit Trivedi

It’s after quite some time that I thought I should write about a song. Which is why, I am back. And this time with the first bollywood track on this blog. Yes! This composition is from the genius Amit Trivedi. It’s called Pareshaan from the movie Ishaqzaade. Amit Trivedi has been composing some awesome stuff since Dev D and I, personally, love his music because it is signature to him.

Pareshaan is amazingly sung by Shalmali Kholgade who is a newcomer at least to Bollywood. The track begins with beautiful plucking of strings and Shalmali’s voice blending in to create a great start. Amit Trivedi has used the Harmonium and the Bass guitar as a combination to give the song a traditional yet a rock touch. The crash ride used while playing the drums seems to be a perfect background for the Harmonium solos. I believe, Darshan Doshi has been the drummer for Amit Trivedi on this album and he is one of the best drummers in the industry as can be seen from his performances at Coke Studio India and MTV Unplugged.

If you find this music enjoyable, make sure to check out the new ‘dub step’ style incorporated with his song Aafaton Ke Parinde from the same album. Although, Amit Trivedi’s music might seem a bit repetitive with the music in his consecutive albums, I think it’s his original style and that’s what makes him good. I hope we get some more rocking music soon in the future from Amit Trivedi! J Keep Rocking!! \m/

Song of the week- #7 "Fix You" by Coldplay

There are many Coldplay compositions which are amazing but Fix You is sheer joy! If you believe that music can rejuvenate you and that it can inspire you and uplift your soul, this is one composition which can epitomize that belief.

It starts with Chris Martin playing an old piano which sounds like a church-style instrument and his signature falsetto singing. The point where the electric guitar and the drums kick-in injects that energy into this track. The recorded version has the acoustic guitar coming in after the first piece but this particular live version has strings plucked on an electric guitar. Both the styles are great to listen to. However, I feel, the video of this version is more awesome as the whole band gets engrossed in the performance and more importantly it is amazing to see them enjoy and feel the emotions of the song.

Martin wrote this song for his wife Gwyneth Paltrow after the death of her father and the lyrics are so pertinent and awesome! It is very easy to fall in love with this song if you get the feel of it. Well, that’s just my opinion. :) Keep Rocking! \m/

Song of the week- #6 "Vicarious" by Tool

So I am finally back after being on a hiatus for various reasons (seeing the viewership, it’s not like many people care about it anyway :P) By the way, Lamb of God launched their new kickass album Resolution. Believe me, it is very different yet so awesome! \m/

I am going to review the song Vicarious by Tool this time. This is one more band that I started listening to quite late which kept me devoid of some great music. I know there are a lot of people who “don’t like” Tool to say the least but still I can’t understand how can someone not like it. I think it’s only coz it is kinda difficult to get into these odd time signatures and when people don’t understand them, they criticize it. I pity them! :P

Vicarious is a song based on a 5x4 time signature. The good part about Tool is that unlike DT, they compose a whole song on a type of beat instead of complex arrangements (although they do take the liberty to go to a 4x4 beat and then come back at times). With me, it was kind of weird to get a feel of it at first but once you get into the groove, it is very easy to understand the arrangement and the whole song just feels freakin awesome! I love the lyrics of the song and the use of open-closed hi-hat throughout. But the best parts for me, being a drummer, are the odd rolls and fills in the 5x4 signature along with the use of triplets and the double bass! The solo of the toms at 5:32 builds a crescendo making for the riff and vocals to come in and make the final impact. The set of rolls at the end and shouts of “Vicariously I live…” is just perfect for the end. I am sure listening to this one would elevate one’s technical knowledge of music a lot!

Hope you liked the song and my opinion! Keep Rocking! \m/