Songs and complete musician credits at the end.
The short Maara Theme delivered by the movie’s main man Suriya has a bit of a Kalippu (Premam) feel about it, thanks to that combination of edaykka and guitars, and the actor’s aggressive delivery of Arivu’s lines. There is a sense of aggression in the funeral song – the first track in the movie – Mannurunda as well, where K Ekadesi’s lines start off about the pointlessness of accumulating riches in the context of death, before switching over to a rant against casteism in the second half, kind of foreshadowing the struggles the protagonist faces throughout the movie. The rendition here is of course much more musical compared to the first track, with a very competent Senthil Ganesh at the helm. There is a second koothu song in the album as well, along delivered by Senthil, but a much shorter one lasting just over 30 seconds, titled Sooravali. The song’s duration prevents it from rising above its functional aspect though. The doleful Naalu Nimisham sees Krishnaraj handle vocal duties, and the man carries the song through in fine fashion, as G V Prakash Kumar keeps the backdrop minimal, letting the singing voice shine through. I do wish Krishnaraj had sung the more elaborately arranged alternate version of the song titled Usurey as well, which is led by GVP instead. There is a very ARR-esque quality to this song, which is accentuated in this version with the spruced up arrangement (those beats take my mind back to Thoda Thoda Malarndhadhenna). GVP’s work on the orchestration is spectacular here – it is a pity to see his own vocals getting in the way of the song becoming one of the album’s best.
Which takes me to the songs which actually are the soundtrack’s best. My two favourites are the album’s two unconventional romantic tracks – one each for the male and the female protagonists. Both Veyyon Silli and Kaattu Payale carry the hinterland vibe that underlines almost the entire Soorarai Pottru soundtrack. The former has a smattering of rock elements in it as well, making for a heady combo, and it is only fitting that GVP chooses a rock-fusion man behind the mic – Harish Sivaramakrishnan. Harish is fab on his part, nailing the soaring portions as he usually does. Interesting lyrics from Vivek too, starting right with the title which, I understand, translates “a piece of the sun”. Composer gets Dhee to deliver the more upbeat Kaattu Payale, and once again the choice of singer is perfect for the kind of song it is (quite suits Aparna Balamurali’s onscreen persona as well, truth be told). Very imaginative melody from GVP here, playing smartly with the pacing of the words, the occasional switchover to a darker flavour et al. The Malayali-sounding elements doing a cameo in the second interlude is a bit of a mysterious inclusion though. In any case, the next track carries an even more prominent Malayali connection – the makers picking a song from Kerala band Thaikkudam Bridge’s brilliant debut album Navarasam titled Urumbu, a song that voices the struggles faced by ants (yes, the insects), and turning it into a battle cry (well-written by Arunraj Kamaraj) for Maara and friends as they set out to conquer the Aagasam. Splendid adaptation this – GVP’s modifications to the original melody and arrangements work like a charm, and he retains the original singers Christin Jos and Govind Vasantha who deliver it as neatly as they did Urumbu. The album’s final song is another solo act, this time by Saindhavi. And she too is immense form delivering the melancholic Kaiyilae Agasam where the composer once again tones down the backdrop, putting the spotlight on the singer for most part.
G V Prakash Kumar has been on a pretty productive composing run these past couple of years (Asuran last year being one particularly worth a mention), but in Soorarai Pottru he delivers his best soundtrack in a long time!
Music Aloud Rating: 4/5
Top Recos: Kaattu Payale, Veyyon Silli, Aagasam, Kaiyyilae Aagasam
Musician Credits
1. Mannurunda
Singer: Senthil Ganesh
Lyrics: K Ekadesi
Nadaswaram: Thirumurthy
Live Drums: Kumar
Trumpets: Thomas, Ben
Live percussion: Sundar, Vedha, Venkat, Ganapathy,Vikram , Kiran, Hariprasadh, Ranjit
Additional Programming: Ganesan Sekar
Trumpets & Rhythm produced by Kumaran Sivamani
Songs Mixed and Mastered by JehovahsonAalghar, Divine Labs
Trumpets & percussion recorded at AM Studio
2. Veyyon Silli
Singers: Harish Sivaramakrishnan
Lyrics: Vivek
3. Kaattu Payale
Singers: Dhee
Lyrics: Snehan
Programmers: Ganesan Sekar, K C Balasarangan. Raj Kumar Amal
Backing Vocals: K C Balasarangan, Ala B Bala
Recorded at Divine Labs Chennai
Mixed and Mastered by Jehovahson Alghar
4. Sooravali
Singer: Senthil Ganeshh
Lyrics – K Ekadesi
5. Naalu Nimisham
Singer: Krishnaraj
Lyrics: Maya Mahalingam
Recorded at Divine Labs Chennai
Mixed and Mastered by Jehovahson Alghar
Programmed by Raj Kumar Amal
6. Aagasam
Singers: Christin Jos, Govind Vasantha
Lyrics: Arunraja Kamaraj
7. Maara Theme
Singers: Suriya, G.V. Prakash Kumar
Lyrics: Arivu
8. Usurey
Singer: G V Prakash Kumar
Lyrics: Maya Mahalingam
Keyboard Programmer – K C Balasarangan
Backing Vocals: K C Balasarangan, Ala B Bala, Jhanavi, Pooja, Sushma, Padmalatha, Sinduri Vishal
Mixed and Mastered by: Jehovahson Alghar
Recorded at Divine Labs, Chennai
9. Kayilae Aagasam
Singer: Saindhavi
Lyrics: Yugabharathi
