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 Music
Today and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd in association
with Taj Connemara unveiled 'Into the Light', a world music
extravaganza, by well-known mandolin player, U Rajesh. This
presentation showcases the maestro's ease to adapt Carnatic
classical melodies and fusing them into an Indo-Western
platform. The launch was followed by a performance by Rajesh,
accompanied by Anil Srinivasan (piano), Murugaboopathy (mridangam)
and Muralikrishnan (drums).
The album presents a mystifying musical
journey from the heart of darkness to light, that particular
stage in life when one attains enlightenment.
"Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, a
Fortune 500 company, is happy to be associated with the launch
concert of 'Into The Light' by U Rajesh," said B Gururajan,
general manager, retail, HPCL.
"It is a pleasure for us to be associated
with one of India's leading mandolin artistes, U Rajesh, a star
who always believes in creating music with a deeper
philosophical meaning. 'Into the Light' is a unique work of art
that displays the artiste's amazing fusion of Indo-Western
sounds," said Music Today Business Director Gurmeet Singh.
Mandolin U Rajesh is one of the most sought
after classical artistes currently in India, having played with
nearly all of the top musical stars in both north and south
India, and has recorded a dozen or more albums. The brother of
the legendary Mandolin U Shrinivas, U Rajesh, has given concerts
in Australia, the Middle-East, America and Europe.
He was the youngest participant of the Magic
Mandolin Festival in Germany in the '80s and is credited with a
performance at the Lincoln Center. His recent performance in New
York in the summer of 2006 was voted among the best concerts of
the year by the 'New Yorker' magazine. Rajesh was specially
honoured by the President ofIndia in April 2007.
Anil Srinivasan is a classical pianist having
studied both in India and in the US. He has performed in the US
and in India, and has worked with many Carnatic musicians,
including Mandolin Shrinivas, U Rajesh and Aruna Sairam. He has
been featured on live collaborative albums with Indian
musicians, including the critically acclaimed 'Madbirakshi' with
Sikkil Gurucharan. Anil was awarded the Rachel Morgan Prize for
tbe best pianist in the Commonwealth in the early 1990, when he
was just 14 years old.
Rajesh and Anil have worked together since
2001. Their second collaborative effort,'Spirits' (also released
by Music Today), which also featured Bikram Ghosh, John Gwasky,
Pele Lockett Keith Peters and Umashankar, has received critical
acclaim.
The Beginning - Into The Light
The album was born from the need and desire
to create a unique piece of art. The concept of 'Light' has
multiple meanings - the opening up of a new window to
contemporary sound; the deeper philosophical medium to gel
closer to God; and an open expression of sounds and rhythms.
At one level, the music describes a sense of
lightness and peace while at another level, it seems to capture
the essence of the concept of "Devi", "Devi" denotes "(she) who
gives light".
Each piece in this album is a humble
dedication to the Goddess. Some of them are well-known melodies,
such as 'Annapoorne' by Muthuswamy Dikshitar while others have
been composed by the artistes themselves.
The first two tracks 'Shadows' and 'Sunrise'
are fast-paced compositions that emulate the sound of a breaking
dawn.
The album also explores various moods that a
person undergoes from dawn to dusk - a plaintive thinker walking
in the rain (Rainwalk), a gush of memories in 'Reflections', and
the feeling of spiritual upliftment in tracks such as 'Sacred
Fires' and 'Devi', one of'which is based on the popular Carnatic
song 'Venkatachala Nilayam' set to raga Sindhubhairavi.
In the track 'Saraswati', the artistes have
experimented with rhythmic structures where the normal 16-cOunt
pattern becomes a more peculiar 6-6-4 structure, This is an
exemplary feat in itself as beat structures are often
complicated - the artiste has achieved this with great
virtuosity.
U Rajesh has not only captured a new breath
of melody in his fantastic new compositions, but has also
carefully re-defined some of the traditional Carnatic songs by
giving them a contemporary and more broad-based feel.
Rajesh and Anil said the album was an
accident. They happened to meet at the British Council a few
years ago, and while Rajesh played something on the mandalin,
Anil played along on the piano, and fortunately a friend made a
recording. After listening to it later, the two thought they
could actually bring out an album, and that is how the concept
took roots, they added.
Among those who took part in the launch
function were Mandolin Shrinivas and actress Meera Jasmine.
R Rangaraj
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