AUDIOSCAN
Magic of percussion

Samaa (Music Today)

Bikram Ghosh is the tabla wizard who performed with Ravi Shankar all over the world for many years. His band Rhythmscape has established him as a fusion artiste and a gifted composer.

In Samaa, which is his first pop album, he has sought to give instruments as much importance as the vocals. The two gel together, weaving a rich tapestry. The album is a tribute to old Hindi film songs, on which it is loosely based. The use of percussion instruments is extensive in nearly all eight songs.

The album features several singers. In the forefront is Shankar Mahadevan whose Kal saari ratiya is the opening number. The album also closes with a remix version of the same song.

The other male voices are that of Jojo, Shaan and Raghav Chatterjee. Judging from Tu sapnon mein it is obvious that Chatterjee is the man to watch in the days to come.

The female lead is Antara Chowdhury, talented daughter of composer Salil Chowdhury. She sings two solos and two duets here. Of these, Main Khwab Hoon is outstanding.

Lyrics have been penned by Rajesh Johri, Sanjeev Tiwari and Ghosh himself. Pulak Sarkar has helped Ghosh in the music department.

Ghosh says his endeavour was to revive the "soul" of filmi music. He has succeeded considerably.

Private albums are getting better and better. Gone is the unrefined feel which made them poor copies of film music. The new singers are daring enough to have their own bold signatures.

This one has been sung and composed by Shibani Kashyap. She has sought to make it into a variety programme, with songs of numerous moods included. It opens with a seductive Kya Nazakat Hai, which has also been turned into a sizzling video.

Immediately thereafter, she changes track with a folksy Hakim Tara Chand, which is exactly the opposite of the previous one. This kind of changing of gears continues throughout. If Din to Gujar Jaye is tailor-made for the dance floor, Thodi Thodi Saanjh is meant for a languid evening.

The wide variety is maintained through the use of lyrics of a large number of writers. They include Vipul Saini, Virender Kumar, Virag Misra and Ashhar Farouqi. —ASC