Oooh..la..la..la.. Episode # 6

I want to start this by actually talking about the quality of voice in the program. First and foremost this is not a voice hunt. The whole band needs to perform. Fair enough. But that doesn’t mean the voice can be bad. If you notice, across weeks voice has been bad and hence we don’t feel good about the program. The first week of the quarter finals had very strong voice in all the three bands and hence we felt good.. In any music show the voice is like the hero..it takes the lead.. if that is good overall looks good as everything else is in the background and hence called BGM : ).

This is probably the first week that I am in disagreement with judges. Let me get on with my views on the teams itself before mentioning my preference of the teams for this week.

The first team was “Aum“. The team was good overall.. but then the the voice wasn’t good.. The female lead (the only voice of this team) started off well. The first few lines she sang very well but then many a times it was flat (abaswaram) .Only reason she clicked for Vasundara is probably because the girl singing style was something similar to Vasundara (esp the songs from citizen).. but then except for the voice the band was good..In the remix round they actually got confused.They started off on a peppy note but then went to a slow rhythm then went again for a completely different peppy rhythm.It wasn’t clear what they were actually trying.The voice was clearly left wanting once again. Unfortunate they won…well.. the semi finalist have one lesser team to worry as Aum would be easily washed away in the semis if they continue to perform like this.

The second team that performed was Isai Mantra. They were also pretty good..but then lacked in the voice section.. they were completely off track (abaswaram) especially when they were singing on the chorus..each of them had a different note but then they lacked the harmony…in my opinion this would have been the first team to be eliminated for this weeks show. Their remix was very close to “aasai nooru vagai” song starting but then this team did a reasonably good job in the remix.

The third team for this week was Madras Tunes. They were very different.For the first time a team tried something different and more local.The male voice was very good. It exactly suited the kind of song they chose (the kuthu types). Unfortunately the female voice was again lacking. In their own composition the female voice was really bad. They actually would have won without the female voice as it spoiled the show. This team lost probably because the judges weren’t tuned towards a kuthu song though the tune was peppy and catchy. In the remix round the female voice caught up.She was not bad. This band was also confused in terms of changing rhythms/tempo. But overall it was pretty good.They were probably the best in the remix.But then they were led down by the Veena. I liked this band because they had variety of instruments + mix of male /female voice. So this team actually had a very good composition and did do a pretty neat job.I liked what Paul Jacob said – they have a great future.

The actual results for this week was like this. First to be eliminated was Madras tunes then Isai mantra leaving Aum to be the winner..

However in my opinion it was Isai Mantra to be eliminated first followed by Aum leaving Madras tunes the winner. But then I am not a judge:)

Oooh..la..la..la.. Episode # 5

This weekend I was a bit starved .I couldn’t catch up with Indian Idol on Friday, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa   or Voice of India on Saturday. All I could see was the Indian Idol results on Saturday. Pooja was voted out. Felt sad for that little girl while Ankita continues to stay on. I really don’t know how the judgement or voting happens and this girl Ankita continues to survive though Deepali and Pooja are voted out. Ok. Now to the subject matter.

Sunday was also tough for me and finished up all my work and dinner and returned home at 9 50 PM to catch up with my most favorite program. Oooh la la la at 10 PM in Sun TV.

Watching this one program is like watching several of the music shows together.First of all this is not filmy music. This is not based on a scene or what a movie director wants or a hero wants. The entire band which plays the music is the hero/heroine/ Director/ Producer and whatever. That’s why this is unique and I am madly in love with this program.

This week we had Bhoomi,  Tek Music and Base and Beats. At the end of the first round itself the results were known. Bhoomi did not have a competition. Base and Beats were definitely not upto the mark while Tek Music did give some fight but was not enough.

Bhoomi had a very good mix of all the departments. They also utilized the voice section intelligently with four different voices and a mix of male / female voice. The interesting part was though they had 4 people on the voice section, it was not the dominating section. The mix was there. They could have done better on the voice but nevertheless were good enough. Infact too good enough compared to the other teams. I don’t think there was anyone who excelled independently but they did well as a team. Even the remix song was done very well. The interesting observation of Paul Jacob that they were not enjoying themselves but trying to make sure each of them did their part well was very apt. If they are able to enjoy themselves and perform, I think they are a tough competition for the other teams in the Semis, though at this point in time V3 seems to be on top. Lets wait for the next level for now.

The second team was Tek Musik. They also did a great job. They had a good male lead voice while the female voice was just about ok. They had a good mix again of various departments. But as Vasundhara pointed out, their composition was not contemporary. It did sound something that we have heard before. That was their weakness. Again, it was a weakness only on comparative note to other teams. By themselves they were definitely a good band. I think they could have done better with their remix song also. While the music and background was very well remixed the voice portion was similar to the original in many places. They could have done better but this was not bad at all. They are also a team that scores for me.

Now over to Base and Beats. While their composition was original, they were probably the weakest band till date in the competition. I definitely would not want to give any negative comments on a band that creates music compared to rendering a movie number that was already composed. But then Base and Beats lacked in many quarters. They had 5 singers and almost nobody on the other sections. The keyboard player was playing single keys and like just playing chords at times. Even the percussion section was weak. Infact this week(not weak 😉  I thought there was not a real good drummer but all of them were ok but did not excel. Again the voice section of Base and Beats was more like a chorus singing. They were  flat several times. Truly I did not like them a bit and this is the only team that I haven’t  liked till now. They definitely lacked practice. Rightfully they were eliminated first.

One interesting point I figured out was that both Bhoomi and Tek Music were actually sub groups of their respective college bands (Bhoomi – VIT and Tek Music – PSG).

One thing which I really dint like in the program and probably the only thing – the compère. They were two jokers with an awful body language. The only word they knew was “kalakiteenga”. They were complete crap. I hope Sun TV just trashes them and has someone else to run the show.

With the show now having aired 3 weeks of quarter finalists it has reached the half way mark wrt to Quarter finals. We still have 3 more weeks of quarter finals at the end of which six teams would go into the semis.

We have several more weeks of original, creative, fresh, innovative music to look forward. I definitely am.

Melody Maestro

I love music… and go breathless sometimes if it is really melodious… i love ARRahman.. who doesnt?;)

but I see a genius in Ramesh Vinayagam.. the song “Vizhigalin Aruginil Vaanam” from the movie azagiya theeye is a masterpiece… it goes deep into your soul… what a song… Vizigalin Aruginil Vaanam Lyrics

thanks to SPB for reminding this song in the recent program on “Ennodu Paatu paadungal”.. I wish Ramesh Vinayagam gets more chances..

yet another from him was from the movie Nala Damayanti… the song “Enna ithu enna ithu”..

even if you are down in spirits these songs could just lift you to heights..

thanks Ramesh Vinayagam for those wonderful pieces…