the effect of integrity

jalti dhoop mein, halki hawaa chal gayi
mila barosa yaar ka, jaan phir sambhal gayi

khwaish sa sahi, zanjeerein pigal gayi
sabah neend ko maathe pe umal gayi
sunee sehraon ke hasrat pali hai
har toofan mein aaj yeh shamma jali hai

shaayad hai yeh dosti
yaa imaan kaa asar
aagey kya likha, humko kya khabar

why is it so?

rishtey, barose, chahat, yakeen
un sab ka daaman ab chaag hai
samjhe the haaton mein hai zameen
mutti jo kholi bas khwab hain

dil mein yeh shor hai kyun
imaan kamzor hai kyun
naazuk hai dor hai kyun

the wait...

choti raatein hain
kitni baatein hain
ab jo aaye ho, ab bathathe hain

thaamo hamein ab ek baar
thaamo hamein ab ek baar
intezar... aitbaar...
tumse pyaar itnaa karoon

A distinct musical dimension

Say Lounge music, call it contemporary, call it fusion - but nah, those names just dont fit this genre. Its just way past all that! In this case therefore- "Listening is believing" - I would say the ultimate in Indo-Global Fusion. Prem Joshua rocks! Start with the much acclaimed album MUDRA and then move on to AHIR and TARANGA. This is music which is truly captivating!

Just drive on...

Destination Hitz - I just happened to pick up this new album this week and I must say, for a drive down 'da city' this one is worth the rokda. Its a random mix of funky numbers, with vocals ranging from Kailash Kher to Shafqat Amanat Ali

The Top 5 being:

Chak de Phadde by KAILASH KHER
Bhula doh by RAETH
Jeena by SUKHWINDER SINGH
Yeh honsla by SHAFQAT AMANAT ALI
Chua Mere Dil Ko by SHAAN

Remember Shakti

Remember Shakti - a fusion music concert was held at Kamarajar Arangam on December 7. For the first time in Chennai (for a fusion concert) the hall was totally packed and the police had to divert vehicles coming in due to the parking lots overflowing. Needless to say, the show was simply fabulous! At the end of the show, the audience gave a standing ovation for a couple of minutes to all the artists!

John McLaughlin who originally belonged to the band shakti, created a whirlwind of fusion with carnatic and indian strains on his guitar. The eclectic blend of instruments and artists created a totally different musical ambience which was truly distinctive. Besides McLaughlin, the band had percussionist Ustad Zakir Hussain on the tabla and drums, the prodigy U. Shrinivas on the mandolin, V. Selvaganesh (Vikku Jr.) playing the kanjira, and Shankar Mahadevan on the vocals.

The surprise package was (who else but) Vikku Vinayakram himself! One of the veterans in Shakti. Vikku was pacy and totally rocking on his Ghatam with energetic rhythm. It was an aural and visual treat for any connosieur of music. Selva Ganesh, Vikku’s son proved that he is an undisputed master of the “kanjira” albeit he also performed on the mridangam and ghatam.

Zakir created new strains, thumps and beats with his repertoire of instruments. The best part came when he was playing two different rhythms at the same time, one hand generating one rhythm and the other a different beat altogether and it seemed as he was doing it with such an “ease of expertise”! - and as he ended his solo, the audience shouted back “WAH USTAD”!

Shrinivas was the fastest among the lot when it came to speed and fast-paced strains. His hands moving as fast as a speeding bullet! That was simply stunning to watch! Shankar amazed the audience with his speed, voice modulation and perfect timing with the rest of the group.

“The music was heavenly” danseuse Shobana told Shankar as he and the team came out backstage to meet some of us gathered there. Starting from Chennai, the group will perform in four other cities — Mumbai on December 9, Pune on December 10, Bangalore on December 13, and Goa on December 15. John McLaughlin’s `Mahavishnu Orchestra’ was an electric band that established fusion as a new and growing style within the jazz and rock worlds. After the band split McLaughlin worked with a low-key acoustic group called `Shakti’. This group combined Indian music with elements of jazz. Shakti was formed in the mid 1970s and has fans across the globe.

The Chennai Concert Circuit

Heartbeat Ensemble

"Heartbeat" is an ensemble of carnatic music and fusion styles pioneered by Ghatam Karthick and is a regular feature during the kutcheri season. Karthick is accompanied by Embar Kannan on the silent violin and by Raju on the Mandolin. This is one concert a connosieur shouldnt be missing out on! - Watch out for Heartbeat in the coming weeks in the city - Check out their show timings on Kutcheribuzz. [More on Heartbeat]

Remembering Rafi

It was a mammoth event. One which diehard fans of Mohammed Rafi, Kishore or Lata ought not to have missed. `Nostalgia,' the show featuring Mohammed Aslam (Paatshala/RDB) and a few other artists at the Kamarajar Hall, Chennai, had an imposing 40-piece orchestra with Raguraj Chakravarthi as conductor. You just had to close your eyes to be transported to Rafi's duniya. [More on Remembering Rafi]