Songs and credits at the end.
In a soundtrack marked by its rich instrumentation and vocal harmonies, Hope (Merku Karaiyil) – I really like how each song’s main title is a reference to the situation it represents, Power Paandi earlier this year had its songs titled similarly – is the most sparsely arranged track; composers Vedanth Bharadwaj and Bindhumalini Narayanaswamy crooning a gentle melody with just a banjo backing them for most part, played (by Vedanth) almost like an iktara. It is only towards the end that Mano Thangamani makes his entry with some beautiful sarangi. Baby Song (Kukkotti Kunaatti) is understandably about a child’s perspective, and the bit that is actually sung by a child (a lovely sounding Pranita Praveen Kumar with a playful ditty) is ensconced between some brilliantly harmonised portions layered with violins and ukulele, and the composers themselves delivering some of Kutti Revathi’s lines. The humming portions that open the song get developed into an entirely fresh sequence in Aruvi Theme (Moods of Aruvi) – one that Bindhumalini renders to a breezy setting, before passing the baton to the strings section in the second half to deliver the same piece even more effectively.
Though there are multiple lyricists credited for Aruvi, a lot of the soundtrack’s choicest portions are wordless. And the best instance of that is in Teen Track which Bindhumalini kicks off with a brief rendition of Oothakkaadu Venkata Subbaiyer’s simhendramadhyamam raga based Asaindhaadum Mayil before things turn jazzy with Naveen Nabeer Kumar’s bass (played almost like an upright bass – brilliant!), Fedrick Rosario’s accordion and the trumpet – both Balu’s actual one and Bindhumalini’s vocal imitation of one. More of the genre and vocal scatting follows in the gypsy swing styled Liberty Song (Cement Kaadu) – the singing of the lyrical portions here (Bindhumalini, Aditi Balan) is iffy at times, but the overall joie de vivre more than makes up for it. Ideally this is the song that should have been tagged Party Song. What is actually given that alternate title – Uchcham Thodum Anbin Kodi – is in fact a more sobre composition, more along inspirational lines. Here too the composers’ orchestration is exquisite, fusing rock flavour with world elements. Once again it is Bindhumalini leading the proceedings with a confident effort; I am guessing Vasu Dixit has been credited for those outlandish high-pitched bits towards the end. Watch out for Federick Rosario’s mad accordion improvisations from the 2:34 mark!
Aruvi. Brilliantly experimental composing debut from Vedanth Bharadwaj and Bindhumalini Narayanaswamy. And that’s two more indie musicians making a fine entry into the movie world.
Music Aloud Rating: 4/5
Top Recos: All songs!
Musician Credits
1. Baby Track (Kukkotti Kunaatti)
Singers: Vedant Bharadwaj, Bindhumalini & Praniti
Lyricist: Kutti Revathi
Musicians:
Ukelele Vedant Bharadwaj
Conductor B. Yanchoni
Violins M. Kalyan & Sasi
Violas Hemanth &Chandran
Cello V.R. Sekar
2. Teen Track (Asaindhadum Mayil)
Singer: Bindhumalini
Lyricist: Oothakkaadu Venkata Subbaiyer
Musicians:
Trumpet Balu
Accordian Fedrick Rosario
Bass Guitar Naveen Nabeer Kumar
Percussions Krishna Kishore
3. Liberty song (Cement Kaadu)
Singer: Bindhumalini
Lyricist: Kutti Revathi & Arun Prabu Purushothaman
Musicians:
Violin Niranjan
Bass Naveen Nabeer Kumar
Drums Joraj Stanley George
Trumpets Balu
Rhythm Guitar Vedant Bharadwaj
Lead Guitar Vedant Bharadwaj
Programming Support Prashant Techno
4. Party song (Uchcham thodum Anbin Kodi)
Singers: Bindhumalini, Vasu Dixit
Lyricist: Kutti Revathi
Musicians:
Acoustic Guitar Vedant Bharadwaj
Percussions Krishna Kishore
Drums Joeraj Stanley George
Accordian Fedrick Rosario
Banjo Vedant Bharadwaj
Programming Support Prashant Techno
5. Hope (Merku Karaiyil)
Singers: Bindhumalini, Vedant Bharadwaj
Lyricist: Arun Prabu Purushothaman
Musicians
Banjo Vedant Bharadwaj
Sarangi Mano Thangamani
6. Aruvi theme (Moods of Aruvi)
Singer: Bindhumalini
Musicians:
Acoustic Guitar Vedant Bharadwaj
Bass Naveen Nabeer Kumar
Conductor B. Yanchoni
Violins Hemanth & Chandran
Cello V. R. Sekar
Music Mixing and Mastering
Navneet Balachandran
Prashant Techno
Sindhu Ramji
Music Recording Studios
Voice and Vision
Sa ma
