Music Review: Sarvam Thaala Mayam (Tamil)
Composer(s): A. R. Rahman, Rajiv Menon
Listen to the songs online here: JioSaavn
The last two times director Rajiv Menon and A. R. Rahman came together, it was nothing short of fireworks. For Minsara Kanavu (1997) and Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000) are the kind of soundtracks that, their timeless appeal notwithstanding, are so melodious it defies description. Like as if beauty can be ascribed a musical form, it would be them. But the landscape has changed a lot since then. Music too has taken different directions, and Rahman himself has been no stranger to this phenomenon, perhaps even going to the extent of leading the transformation with unpredictable results. Yet this third time collaboration finds the duo bridge the old with the new, marrying the traditional with the contemporary, fairly well even if it runs the risk of sounding "too modern."
This is not a first for A. R. Rahman, who has previously explored the juxtaposition of Carnatic music and Tamil folk in Sangamam. There were the folky tunes Varaha Nadhikarai, Mudhal Murai and Aalaala Kanda, but it also featured undiluted classical compositions like Sowkiyama Kannae and Margazhi Thingal Allava that were woven deftly within the confines of a film soundtrack. The parallels find their echoes in Sarvam Thaala Mayam as well, and Dingu Dongu in many ways transports the listener back to Mazhai Thulli from the 1999 musical-dance drama, incorporating a frenetic percussive base, with the composer roping in his current favourite Bamba Bakya (Simtaangaran, Pullinangal) and Anthony Daasan for the melancholic, impassioned folk number.
Peter Beat-u Yethu is rhythmic folk, but more of the exotic Rahman variety, the song enveloped by a profusion of world-music sounds (did I hear a xylophone somewhere?) that makes it outright catchy. The title song is a befitting rhythm anthem, so joyous and soulful, with Rahman throwing in an assorted blend of percussion instruments — notably the panchavadyam — into the mix. Maya Maya is Chinmayi's show, and the heavenly soundbed (courtesy Keba Jeremiah's gentle guitar strums) that adorns the melody complements it oh-so-beautifully.
Varalama sees Rajiv Menon making his composing debut (A. R. Rahman is credited as the curator), but the Sriram Parthasarathy-sung classical piece, despite its pleasant kanjira-laden arrangement, comes off as a little too modish, not to mention, a pale imitation of Malargal Kaettaen. Maakelara Vichaaramu, a serene rework of the Tyagaraja kriti, traverses an analogous sonic space, and Bombay Jayashri, making her return in an A. R. Rahman composition after Narumugaye, is her flawless self, but then again I am not completely sold on the fusion (mridangam vidwan J. Vaidyanathan does the honours suitably). Sarvam Thaala Mayam is a veritable potpourri of sounds, but the synthetic polish that coats the classical compositions, though done right, takes some of the sheen off.
Listen to the songs online here: JioSaavn
The last two times director Rajiv Menon and A. R. Rahman came together, it was nothing short of fireworks. For Minsara Kanavu (1997) and Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000) are the kind of soundtracks that, their timeless appeal notwithstanding, are so melodious it defies description. Like as if beauty can be ascribed a musical form, it would be them. But the landscape has changed a lot since then. Music too has taken different directions, and Rahman himself has been no stranger to this phenomenon, perhaps even going to the extent of leading the transformation with unpredictable results. Yet this third time collaboration finds the duo bridge the old with the new, marrying the traditional with the contemporary, fairly well even if it runs the risk of sounding "too modern."
This is not a first for A. R. Rahman, who has previously explored the juxtaposition of Carnatic music and Tamil folk in Sangamam. There were the folky tunes Varaha Nadhikarai, Mudhal Murai and Aalaala Kanda, but it also featured undiluted classical compositions like Sowkiyama Kannae and Margazhi Thingal Allava that were woven deftly within the confines of a film soundtrack. The parallels find their echoes in Sarvam Thaala Mayam as well, and Dingu Dongu in many ways transports the listener back to Mazhai Thulli from the 1999 musical-dance drama, incorporating a frenetic percussive base, with the composer roping in his current favourite Bamba Bakya (Simtaangaran, Pullinangal) and Anthony Daasan for the melancholic, impassioned folk number.
Peter Beat-u Yethu is rhythmic folk, but more of the exotic Rahman variety, the song enveloped by a profusion of world-music sounds (did I hear a xylophone somewhere?) that makes it outright catchy. The title song is a befitting rhythm anthem, so joyous and soulful, with Rahman throwing in an assorted blend of percussion instruments — notably the panchavadyam — into the mix. Maya Maya is Chinmayi's show, and the heavenly soundbed (courtesy Keba Jeremiah's gentle guitar strums) that adorns the melody complements it oh-so-beautifully.
Varalama sees Rajiv Menon making his composing debut (A. R. Rahman is credited as the curator), but the Sriram Parthasarathy-sung classical piece, despite its pleasant kanjira-laden arrangement, comes off as a little too modish, not to mention, a pale imitation of Malargal Kaettaen. Maakelara Vichaaramu, a serene rework of the Tyagaraja kriti, traverses an analogous sonic space, and Bombay Jayashri, making her return in an A. R. Rahman composition after Narumugaye, is her flawless self, but then again I am not completely sold on the fusion (mridangam vidwan J. Vaidyanathan does the honours suitably). Sarvam Thaala Mayam is a veritable potpourri of sounds, but the synthetic polish that coats the classical compositions, though done right, takes some of the sheen off.
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