Ilaiyaraaja's interludes

We all know Ilaiyaraaja is a master in orchestration. I noticed a few songs of IR where the interludes begin with a specific phrase (tune), goes on to explore and then return back to the same phrase before starting the charanam. This is really very interesting. I have compiled a list of such songs that I know. Do add any other similar songs that I might have missed out.

1. Idhazhil Kadhai Ezhudhum - Unnal Mudiyum Thambi
   Notice the first BGM
   
2. Ellorum Sollum Paatu - Marubadiyum
   Again notice the first BGM
   
3. Oh Butterfly - Meera
   The strings section in the first BGM
   
4. Enavendru Solvadhama - Rajakumaaran
   The guitar+flute dual piece in the first BGM
   
5. Kuyil Paatu (happy) - En Raasavin Manasile
   Both the first and the second interludes

Here is an audio with all the above interludes. Click on the play button to start playing.

IR-interludecircle...

Hope you liked it. If you remember more such numbers do add them in the comments.

UPDATE: Refer a new version of this clip at http://rameshonmusic.blogspot.in/2012/04/ilaiyaraajas-cyclic-interludes.html.

Recent inspired songs

Recently I came across two songs heavily inspired from other songs.

1. "Silu Silukkum Silmishi" from "Chennai Kadhal" very much reminds me of "Alai Alai" from "Boys". Though it is not the same tune, the phrase looks similar to "Egiri Kudithen". The rhythm pattern, sounds used and the tune in the interlude also looks similar. Don't know why an upcoming music director who had shown promise in the film "Kadhal" should do it this way.

2. “Orugalluke Pilla Pilla” from the Telugu film "Sainikudu" sounds very much like "Chaiyya Chaiyya" from "Dil Se". The feel, the voices, the rhythm patterns, all sound similar to the one from Dil Se / Uyire. I can even imagine the producer / director requesting Harris Jayaraj to create a song similar to "Chaiyya Chaiyya". OK, this is my assumption, but I think that is the way it works in film industry. But this song along with other songs in the album has become a huge hit. So who do you think can be credited with the success of this song?

Copying songs can broadly be classified into two types - intentional and unintentional.

When you intentionally copy and compose songs similar to the original, then it is intentional copying.

Sometimes, one will compose a simple tune, but it would have already been composed in the past. And in some cases, the new composer would not have heard of the original itself. Or it would have been in his subconscious mind and would have come out as a new tune. As the number of songs composed keeps growing over the years, the number of simple and unique tunes not yet composed automatically decreases. So there is a greater chance of unintentional repetition. The first line of the song "Collegukku povom" from "Kovil" resembles "Kamban enna aanan" from "Jathi Malli" I think. The first line is plain simple and I believe this is a case of unintentional similarity.

Let me know your views.

Thaiyyaththa from Thiruttu Payale

One of the recent songs that I like very much is the Thaiyyaththa song from Thiruttu Payale. This is a nice melodious song in Raag Charukesi. Even though Charukesi evokes pathos feeling generally, this song is not a sad song. Nice melody. The Thavil beats are also nice.

I never get bored listening to this song. This song is on my list of all time Bharadwaj favorites which also include "Enakkenna Erkkanave" song from Paarthen Rasithen.

One nice thing about Bharadwaj is the clarity with which he records the acoustic instruments. For example, I don't like the Thozha Thozha song from Pandavar bhoomi. But when I heard the song in my friend's car, I could appreciate the clarity with which the stringed instruments (banjo / mandolin?) in that song were recorded. Same case for the Parthen Rasithen song. In the Thiruttu Payale song too, there is a very brief guitar piece and I was amazed by the clarity.

Do you like this song?

Angel Vandhale

This song is from the Tamil film, Badri. Music is by Ramana Gokula. I am blogging about this song because I noticed an interesting aspect in the charanams (or is it saranams?). The first charanam is sung by the lead character which is played by Vijay. It has a kind of western feel to it. While the second charanam has a light classical feel. This one is portrayed on one of the heroines, Bhoomika. But if you listen carefully, the tune of both the charanams, though seems different, is very similar. Hence I have overlapped the 2 charanams so that you can appreciate the composition. Listen to my mix below by clicking on the Play button.


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Hamsadhwani

Yesterday I was listening to this "Suppose unnai" song from Sukran. It is a peppy song based on the Hamsadhwani scale. And it set me thinking why this scale is not used in many film songs. Hamsadhwani/Hansadhwani is a janya of Shankarabharanam.

Arohanam: S R2 G3 P N3 S
Avarohanam: S N3 P G3 R2 S

It is a very sweet and pleasant raga. Most of you would have heard of the famous "vathapi ganapathim baje" song set in this raga. However, this is not used much in film songs. I first heard about this raga from my mother while hearing the song "Let me see the love" from "Colonial Cousins" debut album. Film songs in recent times set in this scale are listed below. You may add more to the list.

1. En manadhai kollai - Kalluri Vaasal
   
2. Thee kurivi - Kangalal Keidhu Sei
3. Vellai pookal - Kannathil Muttham Ittal
4. Suppose unnai - Sukran
5. Sriranga ranga - Mahanadhi (interludes and charanam)
6. Thirakkadha poovukulley - En Swasa Kaatre (starting portions of charanam alone)
7. Enna paatu - Oru naal oru kanavu
   

I could only list a handful. The chords for this raga are also very light-music friendly. Chords like C Major, G Major alone are sufficient for this scale. E minor chord can be used at times. Still not many songs are set in this scale. Other ragas like Mohanam are used more than this. Any thoughts?