TheeNDaai

I have been suffering from a severe attack of flu(not the swine one) for the past few days that I have not been able to record anything recently (much to the joy of the neighbours!!!).

I had sung this song back in June and was waiting for Vivek to complete his part and send. Vivek, who is back after a long hiatus(hopefully this time), kindly completed it after getting permission from his fiancee! How nice of her! :)

I am so glad to be back with an ARR number! :) One of those “classic” undeserving movies where the music was a total misfit! I remember sleeping through most part of it and getting up during the song sequences!

A special thanks to Vishnu for adding the special effects to the voices!

Movie: En Swaasa Kaatre

Music: A.R.Rahman

Originally sung by: SPB, K.S.Chithra

TheeNdaai- With Vivek Mahadevan Upload Music

Aattirambile Kombile

Another beautiful song by Ilayaraaja... I chose to do the Malayalam version with Vishnu.

Film: Kaalaa Paani

Originally sung by: M.G.Sreekumar, K.S.Chithra

Mixing: Vishnu

Aattirambile kombile with adithi akkaaaaa ;-) | Online recorder

Ei Madhurati Jaeno Na Phuraay

Exactly a year ago, Murali Venkatraman introduced me to the amazing works of Haimanti Shukla. Instantly, I fell in love with her voice! It was not just the free flow of subtle nuances (you could find atleast a few intricate ones in each line!) but also the mood she so vividly captured in all her renditions that even a non-Bengali could relate to that made me listen to her songs again and again.

This particular song was my favourite from the bunch and I had promptly learnt it within a day of listening to it. The sangathis used to drive me crazy but I thought I managed to capture atleast a semblance of the inimitable original.

But then I waited and waited...till today, to sing and post this song! I was trying to get the lyrics sorted first with my very good friend, Sumit Da, who has helped me before with numerous such Bangla lyrics. I was trying to work with Shampak Chakrovarty, a very talented musician whom I met in Muziboo, to correct me on the diction and delivery of harkats. All this within a few hours today. Even as I was trying to do the mixing, I got this text from Sumit Da to correct just one word which we were unsure of! So this song is literally fresh from the Editor's desk! Of course in spite of all that hardwork, I would still have made mistakes. Please do bear with the same graciously:)

Shampak and Sumit Da- Thanks a million for putting up with my immense pressure to get this done TONIGHT! I owe you both a pint someday!!!

No gimmicks, no k-track, just unplugged- sincere and for the love of Haimanti's divine voice!

And , oh yes, Happy Birthday, Murali! :)

P.s: If you are not able to play the song, please download the same to play. Apologies for the inconvenience caused but still working on this problem. Ei Madhurati | Upload Music

Oru Kili Uruguthu

This is my most favourite female duet from all of Ilayaraaja’s. Until last week, it was the track I hunted for the most too.

After listening to “Endan kannil” from Sowmya, I approached her to see if she would be willing to sing with me if we got a track. She readily accepted. Thanks a lot, Sowmya! :)

This post would not have been possible if Raj had not found the track for us. Again, Vishnu came to our rescue by doing a fabulous job with the mixing. Thanks a million, dear Thambis!

Movie : Ananda Kummi

Music : Ilayaraaja

Originally sung by: S.Janaki and SP.Shailaja

Mixing : Vishnu Mohan

Oru Kili Uruguthu- with Sowmya.R Upload Music

Idhazhil Kadhai Ezhudum

This song is sure to appear in the top songs list in any IR fan’s diary. Until this song in Tamil cinema, many of us may not even have heard of a raga called LALITHA. Sheer revelry in the silken voice of SPB and Chithra!

When I asked Rajkumar Anjan if he will sing this song with me, he hesitated. First reason- That he wasn’t trained in classical music. If you listen to this song you won’t believe that to be the case: the sangathis flow so naturally in his voice! Second reason-That he did not have a good gear. But I honestly believed that his awesome expressions are going to make up for the technical shortcomings. Hence I had to coax him to do this duet :)

A very special thanks to Vishnu for doing the mixing for us. He spent so much time on it that he had to pull back on his own schedule. Such a selfless soul! :)

Hope you enjoy listening to our humble attempt. Please leave your comments and as always, thanks for listening! :)

Movie : Unnal mudiyum Thambi

Music : Ilayaraaja

Originally sung by: SPB, K.S.Chithra

Lyrics: Gangai Amaran

Idhazhil Kadhai Ezhudum- with Rajkumar Anjan | Online recorder

Orey Manam

Some of the best duets in the past decade have come from Vidya Sagar.

The soft classical touch in all his songs remind me so much of MSV’s compositions He is probably the best in choosing the right singer for the song too :)

I picked this particular song after listening to Vishnu on his blog (http://vishnusinger.blogspot.com/) and decided to give it a try! Hope you enjoy this Durbari Kanada beauty!

Movie: Villian

Originally sung by: Chandana Bala, Hariharan

Cover version: Vishnu Mohan and me

Chorus: Me and myself

Mixing: Vishnu

Orey Manam- With Vishnu Mohan | Online recorder