Songs at the end.
Masala Coffee take their superhit adaptation of the Thrissur Pooram song Kaanthaa (which was also part of our non-film top 25 of 2015) to Tamil with Uriyadi. The arrangement is kept exactly the same, from the brilliant kambhoji raga-based kazoo prelude to the esraj interludes by Arshad Khan. The vocals too are handled by Sooraj Santhosh and Varun Sunil as with the original, only the Malayalam lyrics are replaced with the band’s own Tamil lyrics (which @vadabadava and @blogeswari tell me could be a reference to this movie). And it is this replacement that goes wrong though, the lines come off as an awkward fit. The band strikes gold with their take on Bharathiyar’s Agni Kunjondru Kanden however, setting it to a dark Carnatic-rock arrangement (shades of thodi raga perhaps?) highlighted by the blazing guitars (watch out for that bass that kicks in around 2:10!) and Sooraj Santhosh’s brilliant rendition. Final song Maane Maane is a fine blend of Anthony Daasan and Masala Coffee’s musical sensibilities, featuring music by the former and arrangement by the band. Folk-heavy track sung by Anthony himself that the band adorns with a combination of guitars and heavy percussions, even Sooraj’s kazoo makes an appearance in the interlude.
One song in Hello Namasthe, and now two songs in Uriyadi. Masala Coffee are definitely showing promise on the composing front. Good Tamil debut by the band.
Music Aloud Rating: 7/10
