Jaya jaya gokula bala - Narayana Teertha

I learned this Narayana Teertha Tarangam about quarter a century ago along with my mom and sister from our then guru Smt. Ranganayaki Sridharan - resurrected it now thanks to my mom. Enjoyed recording this with the husband!

Thooli Adidudho

"Thooli Adidudho" is a beautiful lullaby for baby Krishna, composed by Vijay. It was in 2009 that we first started work on this. After many a roadblock over 4 long years, I finally decided to publish this here. The orchestration couldn't be finished, nevertheless, just the simple backing track that Vijay Narayanan has created carries the song through so very gracefully. Thanks Vijay, for trusting me with this lovely melody. Hope I've done some justice. Thanks Vijay. N for the track, and thanks Karthik Nagarajan for rendering it with me - you've done a beautiful job as always.

Oh, and Octaves completes 7 years! Thanks people, for visiting. Thanks for keeping this going.

Composer and lyricist: Vijay S. Aiyar
Backing track: Vijay Narayanan
Vocals: Karthik Nagarajan and Sindhuja Bhakthavatsalam



Lyrics:

thooLi AdidudhO, kaNNA thookkam dhaan varudhO
lAli pAdidudhO, mannA thAyin thaen manadhO
neela vaNNA, bAla kaNNA, neeyum thoongida thAyum aengida
thooLi AdidudhO...

pArkkum pArvai pARkadal, mazhalai mozhi pullAnkuzhal
kannam rendum kanirasam unthan uthattil vadivadhu madhurasam
ulagin seyalgaL unakku theriyum
uRangum pozhudhilum nadaththa theriyum
mAyavA, manadhu mayangida

nyAniyE nee thoongida thAlAttu geetham pAdinEn
nALaiyE un geethaiyai indha ulagum vizhiththida pAdu nee
nyAniYE nee thoongida thAlAttu geetham pAdum thAi
nALaiyE un geethaiyai indha ulagum vizhiththida pAduvAi
uRangum vizhikkuL ulagam suzhala
yugangaL siladhundhan kanavil malara
thooyavA, thazhaikkum thavamena

thooLi...

Another playback song

Here's a glimpse of another song I sang a few lines for in a Telugu film "Chinna Cinema", composed by Praveen Lakkaraju with lead vocals by Srinivas Josyula.



I also sang a couple of lines for a montage song in the same film: https://soundcloud.com/plakkaraju/chinna-cinema-montage-song

Quite excited that I get to share credits with SPB on the same album! Probably the closest I can get to the legend.
Listen to all songs here:
https://soundcloud.com/jaya-venkata-pratap-lavu/sets/chinna-cinema-mp3

innum ennai - Singaravelan

If I were asked to use the word "grand" for any one Tamil film song, it would be for this one. True to the name of the raga of this song - Gambheera Nattai - that's what this song is: majestic. Of course, what else can we expect when all the pillars of Tamil film music come together - the maestro, SPB and S. Janaki...
One song whose prelude alone can give goosebumps, one song which is such a magnificent combination of intelligence and aesthetics, one song I can never tire listening to.

(If there's something I don't like about this song, its probably the lyrics and the visuals - but the music more than makes up for both of these!)

I've collaborated on this song - for the first time - with Vivek Mahadevan. I think he's done a beautiful job of this! It was a pleasure working with him. And as many of you may know, he's getting married very soon! So Vivek, here's wishing you and your wife-to-be a very happy married life and the best of everything! :)

A little about the mix: the k-track is something I created by a simple voice-removal from the original and I was pleasantly surprised to hear the result - I thought it wasn't bad at all, for a voice-cut track! However, it can never equal a properly made karaoke in quality, and that in turn has a bearing on the effects we use for the voices as well, so as to make them blend with the track. Vivek and me have tried our best in making this sound reasonably good. Let us know what you thought!

Song: innum ennai enna seyya pogiraai
Film: Singaravelan
Music: Ilaiyaraja
Lyrics: Vali
Singers: SPB, S. Janaki

Download here.

poo vaasam- with Karthik Nagarajan

Octaves turns three and I couldn't have found a better song for today.
Its usually hard to pick out a single favorite song for anyone, but I think if I'm asked to do that, its very likely that I'll pick poo vaasam most of the time.
I usually say that once a composer picks a good raga, half the job is done- for the beauty of the raga itself takes care of much of it. But this song, despite being in one of THE most beatiful ragas (vivahapriya/ shudhdha sarang) stands as a wonderful composition in its own right. I'll be ever so thankful to Vidyasagar for creating such an outstanding melody. Everytime I listen to it, I feel so much thought and care has gone into making each and every bit of it. And of course, can't forget the beautiful lyrics!

Not to mention everything else associated with the song: anbe sivam, one of the classiest and brilliant movies in Tamil cinema- and one with which I really relate to; Kamal Hassan- what an absolute genius... and of course, Madhavan who's adorable in this.

For this song, I could only think of Karthik's voice... and when I heard his recording, I was just amazed. His parts can really pass off as the original, I would say. (I totally loved Vijay Prakash's rendition by the way!)
I've been wanting to do this song for long but never found a good karaoke... So thanks, Karthik for the patience to fix the karaoke track to make it sound as good as the original, and of course for all the efforts in mixing.

This one's probably the most fulfilling cover I've done till date. Here's hoping that you enjoy it too.

And as this blog completes three years today, many thanks to friends, fellow bloggers and well meaning critics who have kept it going through all the hits and misses :)

Song: poo vaasam
Film: anbe sivam
Music: Vidyasagar
Lyrics: Vairamuththu
Singers: Vijay Prakash/ Sriram Parthasarathy (two versions), Sadhana Sargam

Mixing of this version: Karthik Nagarajan

anbendra mazhaiyile with Rashmi Nair

Murali suggested I do this song and created a karaoke for it. Then thought it would sound nice as a duet. Asked Rashmi and she was immediately up for it.

Can't resist mentioning Meera's eagerness to do the mix and and especially her super fast completion of it!

Thanks Murali for spearheading this and valuable inputs on doing overlays, backing vocals and such; Rashmi, for joining in and lending your lovely voice; and Meera for a very fine finish!

Here's how we've divided the portions: (S is me and R Rashmi)

(BG humming: S & R)

S: anbenRa mazhaiyilae agilangaL nanaiyavae adhiroopan thoanRinaanae
S: vaikkoalin maeloru vairamaay vairamaay vandhavan minninaanae

R: viNmeengaL kaNpaarkka sooriyan thoanRumoa pugazhmaindhan thoanRinaanae
R: kaNNeerin kaayaththai senneeril aatravae sisubaalan thoanRinaanae
R: anbenRa mazhaiyilae agilangaL nanaiyavae adhiroopan thoanRinaanae
S: (adhiroopan thoanRinaanae)
R: poarkoNda boomiyil pookkaadu kaaNavae pugazhmaindhan thoanRinaanae
S: (pugazhmaindhan thoanRinaanae)

S: kalvaari malaiyilae kallonRu pookkavum karuNaimagan thoanRinaanae
S: nootraandu iraivinai nodiyoadu poakkidum oLiyaagath thoanRinaanae
S & R: irumbaana nenjilum eerangaL kasiyavae iraibaalan thoanRinaanae
S & R: mutkaadu engilum pookkaadu pookkavae puviraajan thoanRinaanae

R: anbenRa mazhaiyilae agilangaL nanaiyavae adhiroopan thoanRinaanae
S: (adhiroopan thoanrinaanae)
R: vaikkoalin maeloru vairamaay vairamaay vandhavan minninaanae
S: (vandhavan minninaanae)
S: anbenRa mazhaiyilae agilangaL nanaiyavae adhiroopan thoanRinaanae
R: (adhiroopan thoanRinaanae)
S: vaikkoalin maeloru vairamaay vairamaay vandhavan minninaanae
R: (vandhavan minninaanae)

And here we go...

Song: anbendra mazhaiyile
Film: minsaara kanavu
Music: A.R.Rahman
Lyrics: Vairamuththu
Singer: Anuradha Sriram

Karaoke track created by Murali Venkatraman
Mixing by Meera Manohar

khamoshiyan gungunane lagiin

This is a relatively less known number by Rahman from 1-2-ka-4. The movie bombed at the box office I guess, but had some good melodies- including this one and sona nahi na sahi.
Found an excellent karaoke track for this one on an esnips page... and it was a long pending idea to do a duet with fellow blogger Rajesh Raman and it somehow never took off until this one.
Needless to say, Rajesh is remarkable. One of those singers who we should be lucky to have here, among us.
A little about the original: A sensational duo, Sonu and Lata have sung this. Lata, despite the shake and all other age related factors sounds so expressive. I wish I could isolate her singing from her voice...
Sonu: Amaaazing as always. Check out a live version by them at the Unity of Lights concerts with Rahman here: Sonu is adorable! :P
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gsmoWEsvpo&feature=PlayList&p=BFBDCF7A7807CBBF&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=37

Now, here's our's :) Let us know what you thought. This was recorded a long time back- we kept going back and forth on mixes... finally decided to pick the best one and put it up... Many thanks to Rajesh's friend Arun Varma for his efforts in mixing this.

Song: Khamoshiyan gungunane lagiin
Movie: 1-2-ka-4
Music: A.R.Rahman
Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri
Singers: Lata Mangeshkar, Sonu Nigam

This version mixed by: Arun Varma

Vande Mataram

Here's a short piece also recorded with my sister couple of weeks back. Its vande mataram in raga Khamas as rendered by four of the best Carnatic musicians of our times. Listen to that here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YpxQRVOpdU

Here's our version:

Seattle- Episode 2 :)

Enjoying my summer break with my sister... after albela sajan last time, we recorded this old Kannada song from the 80's today. Beautiful song set primarily in Shuddha sarang/ Brindavana saranga.
Thanks Sumi, for the choice of song.

Do let us know what you thought about this :) And whether you could tell who's who ;)

Here goes...

Song: Theredhidhe mane
Movie: Hosabelaku
Music: Ranga Rao L M
Lyrics: Kuvempu
Singers: Janaki S, Vani Jairam

Download here.

Kurukku Siruththavale

Our own blogger Star -Murali Ramanathan- is back to active blogging :)
After Uyire- my very first duet in this blog, and then kaaththirundhaen, here's another duet with him, a Rahman number again- kurukku chiruththavale. Set in ragam Vaasanthi (with some slips into Mohanam) this is a beautiful rustic/ folkish song and has two of the most beautiful voices- Hariharan and Mahalakshmi.
Here's our version. Hope you like it.

Song: Kurukku Siruththavale
Film: Mudhalvan
Music: A.R.Rahman
Lyrics: Vairamuththu
Singers: Hariharan, Mahalakshmi Iyer

This version mixed by: Murali Ramanathan

Sonnaalum with Karthik Nagarajan

sonnaalum kaetpadhillai is one of those mesmerizing songs that I call "black holes" - once you start listening to it, it just sucks you in deeper and deeper till the point of no return. What a brilliant song with two of TFM's very best voices- Harini and Unnikrishnan. When it comes to female singers in TFM, the two that I simply adore and worship and Chitra and Harini (who to me is "Shreya of the South" ). While I've sung a quite a few of Chitra's songs, I've sung only one of Harini's so far (manam virumbudhae), that too in the good old days when I hadn't started recording digitally. I'm so glad I finally got to do one more.

Welcome Karthik Nagarajan- with whom I've sung this song- to the world of audioblogging. He's an incredibly talented singer I got introduced to, through a common friend. Do visit his blog that he's started recently to listen to some more of his songs.

Many thanks to Swati and Anil.B.S for the karaoke track. Anil had created this track for Swati and Ali who did a beautiful Hindi version of this song sometime back. Do listen to that one too,here.

So here is our version, up for you.
This song goes out especially to my dad- he totally loves this song, lyrics and all, and listens to it with the same involvement that he has while listening to a Carnatic concert :)

Song: sonnaalum kaetpadhillai
Movie: Kadhal Virus
Music: A.R.Rahman (ONE AND ONLY!)
Lyrics: Vairamuththu
Singers: Harini, Unnikrishnan

This version mixed by: Karthik Nagarajan

Jotheyali

Pity that hailing from Bangalore, I haven't done a Kannada song till now... Growing up, Kannada was the second language I learnt and having lived in Bangalore all my life, Kannada holds a special place for me :)
I've finally managed to do a Kannada number now with Jo - Jotheyali. This is a HUGE hit from the 80's and till today, any important function in the city like Rajyotsava day, and this is the song that blares out through loudspeakers. The late Shankar Nag who was the hero in this film still has a huge dedicated fan following and almost every Kannadiga adores him.
I've always loved this song, and long after I got a karaoke track for it (thanks to Madhu), requested Jo to do it thinking his voice would suit the song. I think he has done a great job of it, taking care to get the pronunciations right. Let us know what you think of this one!
(The tune was recycled by Raja recently in a song in the Hindi movie Cheeni Kum-like all the other songs in the movie- called Jaane do na. Hope to record that sometime as well...)

Here goes- Jotheyali- dedicated to all the Kannadigas out there! How I miss home...

Song: Jotheyali
Film: Geetha
Music: Ilaiyaraja
Lyrics: Udayashankar
Singers: SPB, S. Janaki

This version mixed by: Joseph Thomas

Final Solutions- with TSJ

TSJ I guess are not too new to the audio blog world here. They've been making some innovative music and I particularly liked their song "azhage" in Blogswara V3.

Earlier last year, they contacted me for doing a small vocal piece for the background score they were composing for a Mahesh Dattani play called Final Solutions performed by East Indian Follies. The play was staged in Idaho in September 2008.

Do check out their website http://blog.tsjstudio.com/ to hear the music and for more details on the play.
I think they did a great job of it!

BlogSwara 5 released!!

BlogSwara has released its fifth volume online!!
This time, I had the fortune of singing two songs:

azhaiththadhu yaaro: Thanks to Vijay S, got to sing a classical based melody again, after kaaththirundhen last year. Raga based songs always hold a special place for me and I so totally enjoyed singing this beautiful number, azhaiththadhu. Thank you, thank you, Vijay S!
Its not too often that you come across people with good orchestration skills plus a good understanding of ragas. Vijay Narayanan has been really supportive in these respects!
I don't have to say much about Jo- a voice that can make almost anything sound good!
Thank you, team- it was great working with you guys!
Here's a small fun video made by Vijay Narayanan - on his experience with the orchestration.




Listen to the song here!

khoye khoye: My first venture into such a genre and it was truly very exciting! Thank you Anup, for trusting I could pull it off! Used to singing classical/ melody based songs usually, this was a very refreshing change for me indeed!
Ajay Chandran's lyrics were what added life to this song- thank you, Ajay!
Many thanks to Nandu and Sam who have been extremely supportive and worked tirelessly to bring the right sound.

Listen to the song here!

I hope you enjoy listening to all songs of BlogSwara V5 as much as we enjoyed making them!

Sleepless in Seattle

After about eight years or more, I finally got to sing with my sister here in Seattle. And the feeling is just awesome :) We decided to sing this beautiful classical based song from Hum Dile De Chuke Sanam- Albela Sajan.
We started recording and it just went on and on and on and into the dead of the night! Nevertheless, it was an absolute fun experience. Love ya, Sumi :)

Here's the song, up for you.

Song: Albela Sajan
Music: Ismail Darbaar
Lyrics: Mehboob
Singers: Ustaad Sultan Khan, Kavitha Krishnamurthy, Shankar Mahadevan.
Movie: Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam

Download here.

Ooradangum saamaththile

This rustic Ilaiyaraja number seems to have been quite an obscure one. A seemingly simple song, it has the beautiful voices of Swarnalatha and Uma Ramanan, filled with expressiveness and vocal nuances.
Murali created a karaoke track for this and suggested that Meera and I do it. Meera, an ardent Swarnalatha fan has taken on her parts and I have sung Uma's parts :)
It has been quite interesting to adapt to the song and imbibe both their renditional subtleties.

Working on a song with Meera for the first time (female duets don't happen very often!) and its been a really nice experience indeed. It was also great to finally meet her in person last month! :)

Do let us know how you think we have fared in this one...

Song: Ooradangum saamaththile
Music: Ilaiyaraja
Singers: Swarnalatha, Uma Ramanan
Movie: Pudhupatti ponnuthaayi

(Can someone help with info on the lyricist?)




Download here.

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Also do check out Jo's version of Main agar kahoon from Om Shanti Om on his blog, in which I've sung Shreya's lines :)
http://jocalling.blogspot.com/2008/07/main-agar-kahoon-cover.html

Bahon ke darmiyan

Khamoshi- The Musical was a poignant film that was critically much acclaimed. It was well supported by music composed by Jatin-Lalit who are best known for their melodies. Although simple in tune and structure and use of instruments, many of their songs have left their mark- Pehla nasha for starters!
My favourites in Khamoshi were Mausam ke sargam ko sun and Aaj main upar (but for Kumar Sanu's voice!). Bahon ke darmiyan too, was nevertheless a sweet, romantic melody to which I think Hariharan and Alka Yagnik had done complete justice. The slowness of the song and the feel it gives of a soft, continuous flow are what make it linger on..
So when Murali suggested we do this song, I readily agreed. Here we have our version of Baahon ke darmiyaan, up for you.

Song: Baahon ke darmiyaan
Movie: Khamoshi
Music: Jatin-Lalit
Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri
Singers: Hariharan, Alka Yagnik

Download here.

Elangaathu veesudhey with Jo

Elangaathu veesudhey was a very different kind of melody- a haunting tune. One of my favourites in recent times.
I consider myself to be "lyrically challenged" - when I listen to a song the tune sits in my brain bang on, but the lyrics just refuse to! It takes some extra effort for me to absorb the meaning of songs. Blame it on my incompetence in Tamil/ Hindi (the two languages most familiar to me and in which I most frequently sing)or my subconscious resistance to take in the lyrics. I don't know. But somehow, one particular line in this song caught my attention and I found to be really beautiful- and it felt so good to be able to appreciate it:
"vaLaiyaadha moongilil rAgam vaLanchi Odudhae"
-translates to: (how is it that) music meanders through the flute that is rigid/ linear...
I remember when I said this to a friend, in response she said something like "logic is so far removed from poetry and it is precisely this that makes poetry beautiful!". Reminds me of "kavidhaikku poi azhagu" :)
Joseph Thomas needs no introduction in the audiobloggers' circuit here. Its been a long pending idea to do a duet with him and here it is, finally. Was a pleasure singing this with the very talented Jo. Hope you all enjoy this!
Again recorded this with a not-so-good mic. How I miss my Shure SM 57!! :( (Some software issues are preventing me from using it) But thanks to Jo for his efforts in mixing.

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

Song: elangaathu veesudhey
Film: Pithamagan
Music: Ilaiyaraja
Lyrics: Pazhani Bharati
Singers: Sriram Parthasarathy and Shreya Ghoshal

Blogswara V4 online!!

Blogswara's fourth volume is out.Do listen to the songs there and leave your valuable comments.

Click here to listen!

It has been an absolutely fulfilling experience and many thanks everyone involved.
Something memorable associated with this song was Murali's and Vijay's visit home :)
We had a fun practice session and it was wonderful listening to that golden voice of Murali's, live! :) Vijay and I were amazed listening to his impromptu improvisations and more importantly, his effortlessness.
Every stage in making this song is worth remembering.
Thanks Vijay, for coming up with such a beautiful melody!

Quintessential Qaapi

Another undisputed gem,an absolutely soothing melody from Rahman- "en mel vizhundha mazhai thuliye" based on the soul-stirring raga Kaapi. Rahman does of course go astray, and beautifully so :)
I so totally enjoyed singing this one.
Its so happening that every other song I put up here is Chitra's- it hasn't been deliberate! But I'm only happy and see this as my small tribute to the goddess.

I have sung this song with Murali Venkatraman, with whom it has been a long; musically enriching association. After being introduced to the blog world by him about a year ago, it was good to finally do a song with him. Thanks, Murali.

Song: en mel vizhundha mazhai thuliye
Film: May Maadham
Music: A.R.Rahman
Lyrics: Vairamuthu
Singers: Jayachandran and Chitra

Mixing of this version: Murali Venkatraman

Do let us know how you found it.