music

Poll panel dumps 'Rock On', takes 'Dance pe chance'

Election Commission was keen on using a song from the film "Rock On!" to inspire Delhiites to cast their votes but it proved to be an expensive proposition. So it has now opted for the song "Dance pe chance mar le" from the Shah Rukh Khan starrer "Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi"."The tune from the film 'Rock On' cost almost Rs.25 lakh (Rs.2.5 million). This was not feasible for us. So we decided to go ahead with another tune from the equally popular movie 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi'," Delhi chief electoral officer Satbir Silas Bedi told IANS."This is actually the Pappu Part Two campaign. During the Delhi assembly elections, we noticed a quantum jump in the poll percentage. The song "Pappu can't vote" touched a chord amongst the masses and as compared to the dismal 43 percent voting percentage in the last MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) elections, the turn out jumped to 60 percent," she added.The new song is a modified version of the successful tune. Instead of the original lyrics, the song will now go as "Pappu vote dal le"."We have decided to stick to the Pappu campaign since people are already familiar with it. We will try and reach as many people as possible through radio FM stations, TV, cinema halls and newspapers until May 7, when Delhi goes to polls," Bedi said.The "Pappu can't vote" campaign was a spin-off from the song "Pappu can't dance saala" from the film "Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na".

Playing with the lyrics, the latest jingle urges people to realise their responsibility and get up early on the day of the election, like they were going for a morning walk, and cast their vote.

"It is a simple, catchy tune with humour ingrained. We don't want to put off people, especially youngsters, using preachy messages," Bedi said.As per the earlier plan, the song "Socha nahin to socho abhi" was supposed to be used by the election commission.

Sufi singers enchant with language mix!

Sufi music is generally associated with north India, but three Dargah singers from the south have brought with them a different brand of Sufi singing, not commonly heard - a mix of Tamil, Urdu and Arabic.Abdul Ghani, 57, Ajah Maideen, 42, and Saburmaideen Babha Sabeer, 65, are all sufi singers who mesmerise music lovers with their chants at the shrine of Meeran Sahib Abdul Qadir Shahul Hamid Badshah in Nagor in Tamil Nadu's Nagapattinam district.The trio have lent their voice to an album "Nagore Sessions" produced by the label EarthSync and bring alive Sufi music in Tamil and Arabic."Sufi saints travelled worldwide. In India, their presence was predominant in the northern region. But the Sufi movement also spread to south India and one of the most important Sufi shrines in India after Ajmer Sharif is the one at Nagore. The singers there have their own brand of Sufi singing. They have a completely different style of putting it across," Sonya Mazumdar, CEO of EarthSync, told IANS."When we first came across these singers, they were singing in the dargah and our project is about giving such artistes platforms, taking them and exposing the world to their kind of music."The three singers have fused their earthy chants with Middle Eastern percussion, contemporary western and Indian instruments."We are really excited and happy that we got to travel to various places and perform songs that are a mixture of Tamil, Urdu and Arabic," said Ajah Maideen, who was in the capital to participate in the Bhakti Utsav, a festival of religious hymns."Our compositions and our brand of Sufi is different from other Sufi singers. The feeling is the same, but the style is very different," he added.Apart from India, the three singers have performed in different cities in Israel and Australia and say that "language can't be a barrier when it comes to music".All three are well versed in Tamil, Urdu and Arabic."Wherever we have travelled and performed, people have loved our music and enjoyed it to the hilt. I feel language doesn't pose a hindrance when it comes to music," said Abdul Ghani."Sufi music is something that is sung from the core of the heart. We are not trained in this form. But this is what comes naturally to us and I think that's what clicks with listeners," he added.Asked about Sufi music in Hindi films, Ghani said: "We don't feel that the Sufi music used in films is the real form of the genre. They don't use frame drum along with the vocals which is an essential instrument to create Sufi music."The three are married and have a family to support and they used to perform at marriages and other festive occasions to make ends meet apart from singing at the dargah.But they say the situation has improved after the album."After the album, I won't say there is a drastic change in our earnings, but yes there has been a difference and we are happy. The situation is better," said Ghani."Earlier people in our state did not know about us, but with this album and these shows people have started recognising us. We are famous now."

Music directors today lack a taste for ghazals: Jagjit Singh

Ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh popularised the genre in films with songs like "Tum itna jo muskura rahe ho" and "Hoshwalon ko khabar kya". But the singer rues that the current lot of music directors lack a taste for such soulful renditions.

"Music composers in Bollywood today don't have a taste for ghazals and so the genre is missing in films. Composers are influenced by western music and are churning out more songs inspired by western beats," Singh, who is back with his new album "Inteha", told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

While Singh has enthralled music buffs with his lilting melodies in films, his strength has always been the non-film sector. Entering the music scene with "The Unforgettables", he carved a niche for himself through record sales of albums like "Beyond Time", "Sajda", "Insight", "Mirage" and "Soz".

His latest offering "Inteha" encapsulates eight tracks and the singer says he came out with this one on the behest of his fans.

"'Inteha' has a fresh flavour and a new treatment. The lyricists are new and so is the kind of music. The only thing old about the album is me. All my fans have been asking for 'new' ghazals since a long time. So I have come out with this album and I hope they like it," Singh explained.

While the music is composed by Singh himself, the lyrics have been penned by a team of young lyricists - Aalok Shrivastav, Payyam Sayeedi, Faragh Rushvi, Rajendranath Rahbar, Sanjay Masoom, Amjad Islam Amjad and Naseem Ajmer.

The singer, who enjoys a huge fan base in India and abroad, is leaving no stone unturned to promote the album.

While the launch took place on board a Kingfisher flight, Singh also featured on Zee TV's daily soap "Banoo Main Teri Dulhann" to promote it.

The singer, who will be performing in 16 cities in the US from next month, calls right promotion the "need of the hour".

"Today is the time of promotions. It is the need of the hour. If you don't promote your album or your music, nobody will know about it and the album will remain in stores," Singh said.

But what about claims that the market for non-film albums is shrinking and there are no takers for music in this category?

"The market is not shrinking. Proper promotion is required. Whatever is promoted well, sells. I don't think there is any change in the taste of audiences. People still like ghazals a lot," he asserted.

But the voice that evokes deep sentiments among listeners with his songs has a complaint.

"Today, channels are only playing Bollywood songs, so how will people come to know about an album that has been released? Even radio channels don't give airtime to ghazals that much," Singh rued.

He also feels there are budding Ghazal singers in the country but most of them start studying other genres in search of quick success.

"Most people want to become successful very soon. So even if they start as ghazal singers, they leave it and try singing some other form to gain instant recognition," he said.

Singh stressed that those who want to be a ghazal singer should learn Urdu along with classical music.

Songs made nowadays are mere shouting: Kumar Sanu

New Delhi, April 7 (IANS) Music buffs still remember Kumar Sanu for his soulful renditions in hit film "Aashiqui", but the singer says he now stays away from the Bollywood music scene because songs today are nothing but "shouting".

"I'm lucky that I am not singing the kind of songs that are being made today. These songs are just mere shouting. I'm known for singing calm, soothing numbers and I want to keep doing that," Sanu, who was honoured with the Padma Shri award this year, told IANS.

"It's not that I don't get offers. I've been offered various songs in Bollywood films, but I refused. When I'll be offered a nice, meaningful song, I'll sing it," the 51-year-old singer said.

Sanu, who won the Filmfare best male playback award for five consecutive years, got his first break in Hindi films with the 1987 film "Aandhiyan".

He has worked with almost all renowned music composers in the industry - from R.D. Burman to Jatin-Lalit - and sung hits like "Mera dil bhi" ("Saajan"), "Sochenge tumhe pyar" ("Deewana"), "Ye kaali kaali ankhein" ("Baazigar"), "Ek ladki ko dekha toh" ("1942: A Love Story") and "Do dil" ("Pardes") among others.

Sanu says getting the Padma Shri this year was an honour and a responsibility.

"I want to thank the government for bestowing such a big honour on me. It has come after 22 years, but at least they thought that I deserve it. I'm extremely happy and I know that it is a big responsibility. I'll do more and better work now," said Sanu.

The singer also recently received an award from the Sur Aradhna Socio-Cultural society in the capital.

After judging reality show "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa - Vishwa Sera" on Zee Bangla and viewing scores of others, Sanu says such shows are nothing but a way for channels to mint money.

"Reality shows are nothing but games. It's a good way of minting money by the channels. Public voting is a wrong way of selecting the best singer in such shows. You cannot always trust the public that whatever they choose is the best. Judges should be given this power. Otherwise what are they there for?" Sanu asked.

He, however, admits that it is much easier for aspiring singers to get a chance to sing in films now.

"It's very easy today to get into the industry and get a song or two to sing. Today youngsters have various platforms which help them in getting recognition.

"When we wanted to be a singer, it was very tough for us to break in. People were too used to listening to Kishore Kumar and Mohammad Rafi. Replacing such legends was not even conceivable, but to be able to get a song with them being there was also not easy," said Sanu, who had broken a Guinness World Record by singing 28 songs in a single day in 1993.

Currently concentrating more on regional languages including Bengali, Bhojpuri and Tamil, Sanu will be heard in his home production "Yeh Sunday Kyon Aata Hai?" and also a few untitled projects.

Bollywood composers are singing for each other: Vishal

New Delhi, April 6 (IANS) Music directors in Bollywood are experimenting with new voices these days, but a new trend catching up is composers singing in one another's films, says Vishal Dadlani of music composer duo Vishal and Shekhar.

"Music directors in Bollywood are singing for each other a lot which is a beautiful thing. Shekhar (Ravjiani) just sang for Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. In the past, I have sung for Pritam (Chakraborty), Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Rakesh Roshan. So we are trading songs back and forth," Vishal told IANS in an interview here.

"It's really entertaining because it adds a whole new dimension to the song. Especially when a music director comes in to sing a song for you. For example, when Shankar (Mahadevan) sang 'Desi girl' in 'Dostana' for us, he took the song to a new level," he added.

The composer-singer recently lent his voice to the track of "Kaminay" for Vishal Bharadwaj and also for "Nazaara hai" in the film "8x10 Tasveer" for Salim-Sulaiman.

Vishal, who along with his partner Shekhar hit the bull's eye with "Pyar Mein Kabhi Kabhi" in 1999, managed a hit in his first film itself with the popular song "Musu musu".

The duo later went on to create chartbusters in films like "Jhankaar Beats", "Om Shanti Om", "Salaam Namaste", "Tashan", "Bachna Ae Haseeno" and "Dostana" among others.

Calling their journey in Bollywood a smooth drive, Vishal said: "Sometimes things just happen for you. A door opens and you walk through it and providence assures that it all happens for you. 'Musu musu' was the first commercial song I had ever recorded and it went straight to number one."

Vishal, who is also the vocalist of Mumbai-based electronic band Pentagram, has always worked to bring fresh talent in the forefront and he maintains that many other composers are also working towards the same.

"From Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy to Pritam and A.R. Rahman, we all as far as possible are trying to nurture and groom new talent. It's a movement that has been going on for the last two-three years. Nothing is going to remove or replace the established singers because they are truly talented, but it's beautiful the way a new voice can refresh a song," said Vishal.

The composer, who has also penned down lyrics for the song "Kuch Kum" in "Dostana", has worked with industry biggies like Yash Chopra, Karan Johar and Shah Rukh Khan. Associations with such films offer brighter future prospects, but is there enough creative freedom while working on such projects?

"Creative freedom is not a problem even when it comes to films for big producers. It's just that you as a composer should make sure that you can accentuate the emotions of the film musically.

"If you are working on a fun film, you don't set out to try to prove how much classical music you know. You try to make music that is young with an element of fun that works for the film and also keeps the director's vision which is most important," the composer explained.

Vishal-Shekhar is touted as one of the best in the business now and the duo has its hands full at the moment. Its first release of the year will be Amitabh Bachchan-starrer "Aladdin" in June. It is also working on various untitled films for Tarun Mansukhani, Siddharth Anand, Ravi Chopra, Tips and T-Series respectively.

A.R. Rahman

Tired of the relentless attention during the last few months A R Rahman has a sincere request for all those who want a piece of his action. Please let him be. He needs to catch his breath. Alas, earlier commitments have forced Rahman to return to Chennai from Bangalore where he was holed up last month. Says a source very close to Rahman, "The workload is getting heavier. Rahman is inundated with work from both home and abroad. He has taken on one new Bollywood project Abbas Tyrewala's 1-800-Love, and he needs to finish Anthony D'Souza's Blue whose background score and the Kylie Minogue item are yet to be completed. On top of that Rahman has to deal with false stories about his global conquests. Like the one that said he had replaced David Beckham in a cell phone ad for a staggering free." Such stories are making Rahman extremely wary of the future. Friends feel he's being put under tremendous performance anxiety and this may reflect on the quality of his work." Says the friend, "Rahman has decided to stay completely away from the public glare for some time. He is currently spending time on the music of Abbas Tyrewala's film. Then he has called Anthony D'Souza to Chennai to complete the music of Blue. After that he will quietly leave for London and the US. Under no circumstance will he allow himself to be put under the microscope."

Sumber: https://bolliwoodstories.blogspot.com/2009/04/music.html