Pocket Size Paradise |  2009-01-28

The Oscars cannot wait any longer to reach Rahman

This year Rahman is into free-fall music, he‘s been experimenting and doing his own thing, the results are great. The Oscar chaps have come late, but no more waiting from us.



Here‘s why he‘s still rocking, Oscar, or otherwise.

‘Connections‘ was initially out only to phoney users. The Bitch was upset; I wasn‘t going to buy some N Y Z series phone to listen to the album. I need a proper CD to scratch.

"The first track I did was a drum groove for Jiya-sa-jiya then Blaaze had this idea of the Kural thing. Then there‘s one based on Rajasthani folk music-it‘s called a mosquito. There‘s another track called Mylapore blues - what if you play jazz in Mylapore - how will it sound - we just enjoyed doing this album," Rahman explains.

Connections unplugged:

Silent Invocations A,B, C - Sitars and flutes, this is music for meditation. You could perform a yagna or do the saat pheras. The best part is when track A segues into track B and then C is one of the most inexplicable wonders of this album. You don‘t even have to take a break. Over 20 minutes long, I think you‘ll get closer to god by the time it ends. 20 minutes is good enough to serenade someone also right?



Mylapore Blues - You know what, this is just the kind of piece I could film an early Wong Kar Wai film sequence in, with all the focus on red-blue-green lighting. Then again, the Cadbury guys will perhaps want to use this piece in their chocolaty commercials. "Kuch khaas hai, zindagi mein." Did you know that the word Mylapore is derived from the Tamil word mayil, meaning peacock. Here‘s one track the peacock would sure be proud to groove to.

Himalaya - Tinkle steps, its as if the mountain is a piano, and you‘re trying not to over step the keys as you play up the steep, as you glide up the summit effortlessly. This is Mozart track meeting Madras man in Yeti land, and god be good, this music be playing in the background for yeti man and you to make peace.

Kural - The Thirukkural verses aren‘t something you play around with. In another musician‘s hands, its sacred to abuse, in Rahman‘s hands, it‘s a musical hymn. Except for that Blaze chap, why can‘t I ever love rap? Rahman mai-baap, why o why the sacred with the profane? So there‘s a crone explaining some verse, and Blaze translates. Get rid of him please, like douse this Blaze!

Mosquito - Saarangi baaje, matka baaje, djembes baaje manjeera baaje. Where the hell is the mosquito buzz? Nana Patekar ka macchar kahan hai, jo aadmi ko eww-nuch bana deta hai? No doubt this track takes me to mirch masala pounding Rajasthan. This track will shortly be incorporated by the Travel & Living people into their channel. Just you wait!



Mann Chandre - Sukhwinder Singh not screeching high all the way to heaven for a Rahman number? That‘s odd! Given that ‘Jai Ho‘ has become the catch phrase till the Oscar comes home. They‘ll both be performing the song at the event. This song is a beautiful, beautiful elegy, about yearning, oh how I could yearn for this song on a moon lit night. The instruments, the choir, its absolutely lilting. It‘s so operatic in tenor.

Jiya Se Jiya - This is the track on the telly right now. Two things, one, it reminds me of Michael Jackson‘s ‘All I wanna say is that they don‘t really care about us‘. Second, it reminds me also of the song, ‘Mere pichle janam the acche karam, mujhe tere jaisa yaar mila‘ from ‘Yalgaar‘. Somehow, the tempo is similar to both the Jackson and the ‘Yalgaar‘ song. But even then, its original Rahman, how he does it, I don‘t know!

This album is a mixed bag of experiments, which instrument pulls out first depends which pocket you are rifling through for a tune. 2009 promises to be the year of Rahmania back in tub-thumping solid form.