IlayaRaja's New Albums 2013-15 - Mahendran film/Thaarai thappattai/Mythri

[KV]

SureshM, KarlK, in case my rants've been the ire-trigger here, allow me to clarify... I've been referring to real/live/acoustic instruments and not live recording (or track recording, which doesn't bother me. As long as the sound quality is fine, anything works for me).
And I'm well aware that synth's been part of Raaja's work for quite sometime now, but somewhere along the way, something changed (maybe proportion of synth increased over the acoustic/real instruments), and it has been constantly evolving, with many hits and misses happening with the 'mix'. The biased being that I am, my rants/pointers have been on my desire for more free-flowing acoustic portions in his work. ambuttudhEn.

[KV]

btw, that 'BGM showcasing' in Dhoni audio launch... :this-too-much:

[KV]

Reg the guitaring in this song, are they two separate guitars playing, as in, a rhythm and a bass? To me it sounded like one acoustic guitar playing both the rhythm riffs and rounding them off with the bass notes (the bend notes). There's quite surely no electric bass guitar sound in the song from what I can hear. Whaddya guys think?

I think the bass is pizzicato from a double bass

B(k), it doesn't sound like pizzicato. Three-in-one song la palichchu nu kEkkumE, adhu dhaana neenga sollradhu?
From the audio launch concert, the bend notes seemed to have been played on the acoustic guitars (two of 'em), though there was an electric bass playing along (which I think is kinda audible only in some portions of the charanams).

[karlkalyan]

SureshM, KarlK, in case my rants've been the ire-trigger here, allow me to clarify... I've been referring to real/live/acoustic instruments and not live recording (or track recording, which doesn't bother me. As long as the sound quality is fine, anything works for me).
And I'm well aware that synth's been part of Raaja's work for quite sometime now, but somewhere along the way, something changed (maybe proportion of synth increased over the acoustic/real instruments), and it has been constantly evolving, with many hits and misses happening with the 'mix'. The biased being that I am, my rants/pointers have been on my desire for more free-flowing acoustic portions in his work. ambuttudhEn.

Hi KV, no issues, I fully understand where you are coming from. From the eighties, when the recording tech started evolving very fast, our man's problem has been just one thing-not giving importance to the technology of recording, mixing......and the quality of the final output.

In fact, the standard joke amongst the musicians of IR is "others dish out some thing but with excellent packaging....and score ...while we keep creating a quality stuff which gets in bad packaging........" very true, right?

During the peak eighties, do you know who did the final song mix for most no of movies? This man Uttam Singh...... Who is he, just an arranger/orchestrator from Bombay. period. But some how our man got impressed with him so much that he did so much work..... once in fifteen days he will come and spend a couple of days and mix for 4/5 movies....roughly about 30 songs....and push with a fat packet.

Even to this day, this sad state continues. Even though Prabhakar/Sekar are in charge of Prasad studios today and are experienced, our man interferes too much in their work. That is his whole problem. Of course, he also accepts that when he goes to Budapest, he can only give his opinion about the final output. Not touch the controls.

But then that is not his job right. When John William records, then Shawn Murphy takes care of the recording. He decides the mikes and their placements. And also the final output. Because for all his scores, John himself does the conducting. Of course, his music editor will also be there. All these three decide the best take. If any one of them says no, then they go for another take!

But then team work is some thing alien here....that is the sad irony.

[KV]

Oh, Suttham Singh has so much say in the proceedings?! Jeesh! Guess we'll just have to live with these like how we've done all these years.
I remember reading KR's name in Paa, credited for either sound engg or some sftwr thingy. Now, Paa's sound was superb, the sound engg seemed at par with the work of any other contemporary artist in India. What was different there? And how?

[sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar]

karlkalyan So you are one who is 'inside' ?! Ok, In live recording, this mixing and other stuff is not there right? I mena, like the old days, in one go, everything is recorded and once the song is finished playing, the Master tape is ready, right? Or else, adding effects takes place, even after live-recording the whole song?

If that is not the case, then this uttam singh guy no more has job rite? Oru veLai, ivara kazhatti vida thaan Raja antha live recording kku maarittaaro?!? Nallathu nadanthaa sari

[karlkalyan]

Oh, Suttham Singh has so much say in the proceedings?! Jeesh! Guess we'll just have to live with these like how we've done all these years.
I remember reading KR's name in Paa, credited for either sound engg or sftwr. Now, Paa's sound was superbly, the sound engg seemed at par with the work of any other contemporary artist in India. What was different there? And how?

No, that **** is no longer involved in the mixing part. That stopped long back. Now a days it is done either by these guys in Prasad rec or some outsiders. But in general, all of them pretty ordinary, to say the least. You see as a composer you should be concerned about your final output which goes out of your studio to the public domain. If you have that, then you will find out some one who is good at it, like Rahman did with H Sridhar. Or even Sivakumar who does the mixing at AM/KM studios today.

Paa's final mixing of audio was done by some guy who was incharge of Media Artist Rec Studios....sorry forgot his name, he gets main credit in the movie, who was asst to H Sridhar at Media Artists Recording studios.

[venkkiram]

No, that idiot is no longer involved in the mixing part.

KR meant for Karthik Raja? Surprised to read the word "idiot".

[wizzy]

^ Uttam Singh ->Suttam Singh

[KV]

Yaara saar idiottnu sollreenga? (RR tension aaidapOraaru ) US aa illa KR aa? yEn indha patta pEru?