Jul 14, 2006 07:35 AM
12710 Views
Even though there were glorifying reviews on the music of “Kailasa” album, I was quite reluctant to buy it. In sound tracks of Hindi movies, among usual voices like Sonu Nigam, Udit and the likes, the unconventional voice of Kailash Kher would be quite interesting and refreshing to listen to but I was not sure how much I would like his voice if all the 8 songs in an album are sung by him and that was the reason for my reluctance. This album is very much how I expected it to be. If I consider only the singing part, the style of singing sounds monotonous after a point.
Yet the album works mainly because of the refreshing musical arrangements, catchy rhythms and orchestration done by Naresh and Paresh. The layering of sounds and instruments has been done to perfection. The unique interesting sound of the album is because of this unusual mix of Kailash’s voice and Paresh-Naresh’s orchestration. The songs are catchy. All the songs in this album have got variety and yet follow a similar format. The words in the title of the songs at the back of the CD cover are not the first line of the songs instead those are the catchiest part of the song or the theme tune of the song where all other parts of the song finally leads us to.
The album starts with a sweet love ballad “Teri Deewani”. The track has got a beautiful arrangement of instruments with soft e-beats and percussions, piano and guitar pieces. The guitar pieces play a major role is giving a new feel to the Sufi tune of the song. More than the beats the strumming of guitar forms the main rhythm in the background and it carries the melody with it quite well. The mellifluous flute piece in the interlude though reminds us the titanic theme adds to the romantic flavour of the song.
“Tauba Tauba” is quite unique than any other song in the album mainly because of its interesting blend of Arabic and Sufi flavour. The song and Kailash’s rendition has got an energy of its own that makes one to get instantly hooked to it. The Arabic strings, the catchy beats, the unconventional voice of Kailash with right usage of synth make this song an instant winner. The remix version of the song is even better with thumping beats and just enough increase in the tempo of the song that will not hamper the melody in the tune of the song. Unlike the usual remixes we get to hear a worthy improvisation of the original in this remix.
The free flowing harmoniums, the pulling beats, the tabla beats suggests the song “Dilruba” to belong to a usual qawali genre. And yet again the catchy tune, guitar strumming and synth stuffs in the orchestration make enough difference to make the song interesting. I just can’t stop humming “Ni sa sa sa” part of the song. “Jana Jogi Da Naal” is a predictable track except for the beautiful flute pieces and a unique stringed instrument used all through the song; it sounds like plucking a very tough string. Can anyone tell me what instrument it is? I guess it is some kind of a guitar.
“Kaise Main Kahoon” belongs to folk genre. It is a very lively song with energetic e-beats, tabla beats and guitar strumming all through the song. The slowest song in the album “Naiharwa” is the most beautiful song of the album. It really takes time to grow on us. If one doesn’t pay much attention to the details, one may end up sleeping while listening to this song. One needs time to listen, understand and appreciate the minute piano, flute and string pieces hidden in the background all through the song which actually adds a lot of the overall beauty of the composition. I think this is the song where Kailash really did well with expressions in his singing. The beats are slow and soft which keeps the soul of the melody intact with it.
“Albela Saajan” is another predictable song in the album. But I like the theme tune of the song played with keyboard in this song. The guitar interludes though deviate from the main flow of the song are very innovative and good. “Allah Ke Bande” is a perfect song to close with. Though I liked all the other songs in the album, this song will create a lasting impression in listener’s mind so that one will come back to the song and so also the album. And that is how I ended loving all the songs in the album after listening to it repeatedly. The beauty of this song lies in its simplicity. Simple tune and simple chords of guitar in the background and further the fact that it is a live version makes it a special one.
On the whole, an album worth buying for its experimentation with sufi music.
