Unnoticed Gems: Pongiyadhey Kadhal/Ithazhodu

Song: Pongiyadhey Kadhal/Ithazhodu

Composer: Devendhran

Lyrics: Info not available

Singer: S.P.Balasubramaniam, Janaki

Movie: Mannukul Vairam

Many people (like I did before) that thiese two wonderful songs are composed by Ilaiyaraja but it was Devendhran, who gave a bunch of good albums and then vanished. This movie has very good songs and these two songs were excellent, though they are in the same raga (Hindholam), they sound different, that’s not easy to do. The orchestration has a lot of live music with flute, strings section, guitar coupled with fabulous singing by the evergreen pair of SPB/Janaki. You only begin to wonder why this composer did not get more chances….

https://gaana.com/album/mannukul-vairam

 

 

23: Song of the Day: Pakalonnu Maanja

Song: Pakalonnu Maanja

Composer: Vidyasagar

Lyrics: Vayalar Sharath Chandra Varma

Singer: Balram (supported by Ustad Fayaz Khan and Vijay Prakash)

Movie: Neelathamara

Melody King Vidyasagar is one of the most underrated composers and this song is another proof of that. It’s a Hindustani-styled composition with fantastic singing by another rarely used singer Balram. Vidyasagar shows his versatility showing he can effortlessly traverse different genres of songs. It is an authentic Hindustani genre song and such songs are even rare in Hindi film music. The composers fittingly uses Sarangi as one of the main instruments in the song apart from Santoor and this gives an old world charm to the song. The first interlude portion is full of Hindustani alaaps and some fantastic improvisations by Vijay Prakash. The second interlude has a sprinkling of Santoor followed by a Sarangi piece and again with Santoor and flute. So the orchestration is minimalistic befitting such a song. A semi-slcassical song like this needs a capable singer and the choice of the singer here is excellent, its a pity that Balram does not get too many songs. Listen and be amazed!

 

https://gaana.com/song/pakalonnu-1

 

22: Song of the Day: Raat Dhalne Lagi

Song: Raat Dhalne Lagi

Composer: Ustad Zakir Hussain

Lyrics: Javed Akhtar

Singer: Kavita Krishnamurthy

Movie: Saaz

Ustad Zakir Hussain has just composed for a handful of movies but Saaz is probably his best work yet. This song is sheer bliss, the tune, the orchestration, the singing…..everything is almost perfect. Listening to this song will make you imagine that you are walking in a moonlit night and enjoying the whole spectacle. One of the highlights of the song is the use of Sarod, a rarely used instrument in contemporary film music. The song begins with a slow Sarangi piece and launches into the mesmerizing tune. This is a song, which you will like in the very first listen itself. No other singer could have justice to this tune, other than the super-talented Kavita Krishnamurthy. The icing on the cake are the wonderful lyrics by another Ustad, Javed Akhtar Saab, a poet par excellence. This is a prime example of a perfect song where everything merges into one wholesome experience!

https://gaana.com/song/raat-dhalne-lagi

 

Unnoticed Gem: Rayilin Paadhaiyil

Song: Rayilin Paadhaiyil

Composer: Joshua Sridhar

Lyrics: Na. Muthukumar

Singer: Hariharan, Shreya Ghoshal

Movie: Appavi

Aarabhi is a raga which gives the feeling of happiness, auspiciousness and there are only a handful of film songs set in Aarabhi and this is one of them. The raga gives a lot of scope for varied orchestration, you can make it sound classical or arrange it in a more modern way. Joshua gives a modern orchestration without taking away the soul of the raga resulting in a song which sounds very elegant. The flute pieces are outstanding and so are the bass guitar pieces. The composer uses the keyboard strings for background and it gives a good effect. The song is handled by two veterans, Hariharan and Shreya and they just hit it out of the park, especially towards the end of the charanam where the tune reaches the crescendo. This song did not become popular as the movie just vanished. It deserves much much more………

https://gaana.com/song/rayilin

 

 

21: Song of the Day: Azhalinte Aazhangalil

Song: Azhalinte Aazhangalil

Composer: Ouseppachan

Lyrics: Vayalar Sharathchandra Varma

Singer: Nikhil Mathew

Movie: Ayaalum Njaanum Thammil

Ouseppachan is one of the legendary composers of Malayalam cinema and in the past decade, he has composed for fewer movies. This song is probably his best one in the past decade, it’s so good! It has a very soothing tune, as mellow and melodious as a Ghazal. The orchestration is good with flute, guitar and keyboard only being used, it is useful in such a song because, it allows the tune to be showcased in all its grandeur. Another wonderful thing is that this was one of the first songs sung by the talented singer Nikhil Mathew (who won Airtel Super Singer many years ago) and he aces the sing completely. Listen to this when your chips are down and you will feel better for sure…….

https://www.jiosaavn.com/song/azhalinte-azhangalil/SRI-UjACfAA

 

20: Must-Listen Song of the Day: Malapola Unnai

Song: Malapola Unnai

Composer: Ensone Bakkiyanathan

Lyrics: Na.Muthukumar

Singer: Vijay Yesudas, Chinmayi

Movie: Dharani

Ensone Bakkiyanathan is a violinist and has worked as a conductor for many composers. He made his debut with this movie and this song is an excellent one, the best one from the movie (check out the others too, they are good). As expected it has great strings pieces and it feels so nice to hear the live strings. Apart from strings, Ensone also uses Flute, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Veena, Vocal Harmony and Nadhaswaram in appropriate places and it does add value to the song.  The interludes are as good as vintage Ilaiyaraja. What I particularly like is that the sound of Nadhaswaram is very controlled, unlike many other songs where it starts blaring. The tune is also very good and this results in an overall brilliant song, which has immense repeat value. You can be sure that you will listen to this melodious number after many many years.

 

https://gaana.com/song/malapola-unnai-sumanthenae

 

19: Song of the Day: Ola Ola Kudisaiyila

Song: Ola Ola Kudisaiyila

Composer: Sean Roldan

Lyrics: Yugabharathi

Singer: Murugavel, Karthika

Movie: Joker

 

This is a nectarine song which won me over in the very first listen itself! It is very rare nowadays to be utterly captivated by a song and if there is one song in the past year which had me hooked it is Ola Ola Kudisayile. It has an enveloping strings section all through the song, giving it a symphonic feel. The flute in this sheer bliss, and it comes all through the song. A special mention must be made of the way Cello has been used, its heard very clearly and it takes the song to another level. The debut singers Murugavel and Karthika do a fabulous job with their singing. It is one of the best songs EVER in Indian music, hands down. Hats off, Sean Roldan……..

 

 

18: Song of the Day: Yera Thaaza

Song: Yera Thaaza

Composer: Vidyasagar

Lyrics: Vairamuthu Ramasamy

Singer: Sadhna Sargam

Movie: Peraanmai

If you are in a mood to listen to a mellow song, without any beats, a song which flows like a river, with just a silken voice and beautiful guitar pieces, then this is that song. It’s a very simple song which can be even sung without any instruments and yet it will sound wonderful. Sadhna Sargam has sung this very well, though her pronunciation is slightly imperfect (I feel Kalyani would have been a better choice for this song), which is understandable as she is not singing in her mother tongue. It’s a fabulous song with practically no percussion and its just the guitar and the voice, what a refreshing change!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk-d4urE4uU

 

17: Song of the Day: Yaar Thoorigai

Song: Yaar Thoorigai

Composer: Ilaiyaraja

Lyrics: Info not available

Singer: SPB, Uma Ramanan

Movie: Paaru Paaru Pattanam Paaru

One of my favourite pastimes is finding rare songs of composers and I feel more happy and excited when I find a rare song of one of my favourite composers-Ilaiyaraja. This song is a rare gem and it needs to be more publicised, it is a flawless song from Raja, with intricate orchestration. If you want to test a guitar player ask them to play the interludes of this song! Raja uses Guitar, steel flute (has a different sound texture as compared to the bamboo flute), keyboard/piano, strings section, drums. The song is set in a haunting scale which sounds like Sindhu Bhairavi. Each interlude of the song is so intricate and if you want to show the genius of Raja, this one song is enough. SPB, Uma Ramanan sing it with elan and there is another solo SPB version which I always prefer. This song shows that there are many, many more fantastic songs of Raja apart from his usual staple hits.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8bIMKbNkI0

 

16: Song of the Day: Mazhaiye Mazhaiye

Song: Mazhaiye Mazhaiye

Composer: Sharreth

Lyrics: Kavivarman

Singer: Hariharan

Movie: June R

 

Every once in a while there comes a song, which sounds wow and which gets you hooked from the very first listen itself. Its quite rare to find such songs in modern times but the song for today is one such addictive song. I still remember the first time I listened to this song, I was mesmerized and I listened multiple times for the next few days. The unconventional tune, the piano pieces, the bass lines and above all the singing by Hariharan is top notch. It’s also a difficult song to sing as the tune traverses up and down and Hariharan has made it sound so easy. Listen and enjoy!

https://www.raaga.com/tamil/songs/Mazhaye-Mazhaye-26828