Why do we have repetitive themes in music?

October 10, 2015 by Soumya Radhakrishnan

As music lovers, we would have noticed that any kind of music pretty much revolves around a set of fixed themes. Many of the themes include but not limited to happiness, sadness, melancholy, romance, lust, depression, loneliness, inspirational, propaganda and so on. Broadly speaking, the themes talk a lot about human states of mind a.k.a. humanity. So, why do these themes keep repeating in most of the songs? Here's a possible reason.
The humanities and social sciences deal particularly with the study of human psyche. Unlike science and technology, our psyches don't dramatically evolve every day. We pretty much feed our souls with the same truths again and again. Since music is a field of study in the humanities area, this aspect of repeating themes is quite evident irrespective of the genre.
Therefore, even though the deliverance of music has changed and evolved with the help of technology the content has not changed much.

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Recommendations - Latest Malayalam songs

October 03, 2015 by Soumya Radhakrishnan

I don't normally do music recommendations on my blog but, I had to make an exception this time. I have been listening to some recent Malayalam releases in the movie industry and I loved what I heard. Some of these latest numbers took me back to that golden era of Malayalam music we had during the 80-90s.
So, here you go.
1. Hemanthamen from Kohinoor - Rahul Raj's non-linear melodic composition sung by Vijay Yesudas in his mellifluous voice is one that I have been listening to over and over for the last few days. This one has got what it takes to be called 'Malayalathanimayulla Paattu' a.k.a. quintessential Malayalam song.

The Melodious 'Hemanthamen" From "Kohinoor" - an Upcoming Malayalam Movie Starring Asif Ali, Indrajith Sukumaran, Aju Varghese, Aparna Vinod, Vinay Fort Among Others, Directed by Vinay Govind & Produced By Adam's World Of Imagination...

2. Kanal Album - Ouseppachan made a beautiful album this time as well. Maya Nagarame in Shubhapanthuvaraali raagam by Sharreth and Magar Tum by Ustad Fayaz Khan are my picks. Neha Nair did a decent job in Pathukke Entho, probably after Neeyo in 22 Female Kottayam. Magar Tum's first two lines is a direct lift from 'Oru Poovine Nilashalabham' though.

Kanal is an Upcoming Malayalam Movie Starring The Complete Actor Mohanlal, Anoop Menon, Atul Kulkarni, Honey Rose, Nikita Thukral, Among Others, Directed By M.Padmakumar & Produced By Abraham Mathew and Music Composed by Ouseppachan & Vinu Thomas Track Details : Song 1 - Pathukke Entho Music - Ouseppachan Lyrics -

3. Kaliyachan Album - Bijibal scores this melody in one of my favorites, Karna Ranjani raaga called Harinakshi. Do listen to all the songs in this bite-sized album. This would also fit into the quintessential Malayalam category.
4. Ennu Ninte Moideen Album - Mukkathe Pennu tops the list as it captures the essence of the movie, story, and emotions. Gopi Sundar did manage to hit the sweet spot this time. Priyamullavane by Madhuvanti is another lovely melody that starts off in Kaapi raaga and later progresses to another non-linear melody in charanam.

Newton Movies Presents "Ennu Ninte Moideen " Written & Directed by R.S.Vimal Song - MUKKATHE PENNE Music - Gopi Sundar... Singers - Mohammad Maqbool Mansoor, Gopi Sundar... Lyrics - Mohammad Maqbool Mansoor... Video song Editor: Christy Sebastian... Produced by : Suresh Raj , Binoy Shankarath , Ragy Thomas...

Newton Movies Presents "Ennu Ninte Moideen " Written & Directed by R.S.Vimal Song - Priyamullavane Singers - Madhushree Narayan Music - Ramesh Narayan Lyrics - Rafeeq Ahammed Produced by : Suresh Raj , Binoy Shankarath , Ragy Thomas... Starring : Prithviraj Sukumaran, Parvathy, Bala, Lena Cinematography : Jomon.T.John Music : M.

5. Swapaanam Album - This is not a recent one but, probably goes into the Evergreen Malayalam category. Sreevalsan J Menon is a musical genius and I have always loved his compositions and singing. Similar to Kaliyachan, this album is also more of a textbook for students of Carnatic classical music as all the songs are raaga-based.

Well, that's all for now. I will probably consider doing more recommendations as and when I come across something that positively strikes a chord.

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Importance of choosing good exemplars to learn music

September 26, 2015 by Soumya Radhakrishnan

There is no doubt that we need good exemplars and role models to help us develop into better people and better artists.
In case of music, one of the best exemplars when it comes to learning would be classical music. Therefore, if one has to learn and understand Indian music, learning Carnatic or Hindustani music can be immensely helpful and here's why.
Studies suggest that "the richer the store of exemplars we acquire (through exposure to a broad range of case studies) we may be cognitively better equipped to recognize patterns suggestive of new opportunities." What this means is the more we expose ourselves to the right exemplars of a particular discipline, the more well-developed prototypes we may have relevant to that particular discipline (Baron 2006). This brings back to the blog post I mentioned earlier as to why pursuing classical music would probably result in a secured musical career for a long time.
To find good exemplars, we need to look for them in the right places.
Sou's Voice attempts to bring good models of Indian music both in terms of audio-visual-textual content and also, in terms of singing better.
Do follow Sou's Voice on SoundCloud, where you can listen to and learn about singing some great compositions in Indian music.

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The wisdom of Shubhapanthuvaraali Raagam

September 19, 2015 by Soumya Radhakrishnan

Particular incidents at some parts of the world for the past few days prompted me to write this blog post. I believe this post is a timely one.
At its core, Shubhapanthuvaraali raagam expresses the emotion of ultimate sorrow, although this raagam could signify other emotions as well. Ultimate sadness can be associated with the loss of someone to death or seeing our dear ones suffer. We probably experience tragedy the most in these two situations.

This raagam reminds us of how short life is and teaches us how to make each moment count. In other words, the wisdom that this melodic mode offers is fragility of life a.k.a. 'Memento Mori'.
Malayalam movies have gifted us so many songs in this raagam that reminds us of pain and loss due to several tragic incidents in life. Here are a few examples:
1. Parayoo Nin Hamsagaanam - Unexpected loss of the lady of the household.
2. Raamakadha - Unexpected loss of the man of the household.
3. Yamuna Veruthe, covered by Sou's Voice - Helplessness or desperation of a woman that led her to flex her values.

Cover version of the song from the movie 'Ore Kadal' (2007). Composed in Shubha Panthuvarali Ragam. Recorded way back in 2007 :) Youtube URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgJDJbwfJDw&feature=youtu.be Original Song Credits: Music: Ouseppachan Singer: Swetha Mohan Ashwin Cover Pic Courtesy: Nowrunning.com Cover Version: Vocals: Soumya Radhakrishnan Mixing: Anil C J

4. Meghangal by The Cocoknot Theori - Tragedy making a man revengeful by making him forget his sanity.

Meghangal (Malayalam OST) is composed as a preview for the short film, Path to Forgiveness, produced by Alternate Dimension.

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What is common between good music & good books?

September 12, 2015 by Soumya Radhakrishnan

In a world of worries and chaos, often we are so weighed down by negativity, emotions and desires that we seldom make use of our intellect to live well. That's when good books come to our rescue. Great books not only contain insights packaged in the form of wisdom but also, are commercialized well. They can inspire us to do wonderful things by motivating us and soothe us to accept things by providing a therapeutic effect.
Similarly, good music offers a therapeutic effect by making us feel less lonely. It can also, inspire us to think beyond ourselves - music is a proof that the human race is greater than it knows. We tend to bottle and preserve both books and music so that we can access when we need them.
However, there is an urgent need to dig up insights from music. That is insights on how music can help us understand and make sense of the world around us. I guess there is an urgent need for more thinkers and interpreters of music, who can come up with their best on what music actually mean to their lives and how music can guide us to live well.
The thematic music series at Sou's Voice is an attempt to package good music in a way that is comforting. Similarly, the articles at Sou's Voice is an attempt to unwind a few insights on music that may also, be relevant to leading a great life.