Album: New Day: The love album Artistes: Shaa'ir/Func Available on: Counter Culture Record
This is the debut album of the duo who call themselves Shaa'ir + Func. It is a sound that covers dance to chillout to even a little rock and roll. Shaa'ir hails from New York City Broadway Stage background, born to immigrant parents from Jammu/Kashmir. Func (Randolph Correia) is a producer and guitarist for the Indian rock band, Pentagram. Together they make, Shaa'ir + Func.
The concept album packs 18 diverse tracks. The record is divided into two sections, nine AM and nine PM, offering versions of the same songs suiting morning moods or evening moods. Government is an anthem for those who feel neglected by the system they are a part of and wish to roam free. New Day is a song about loving one’s self in spite of the inevitability of human drama; Secret (a confession song); It's Probably That (a song about denial and succumbing to one’s desires).
Michael Patrao
Title: No Smoking Artistes: various Available on: Eros International
Obeying the title, the music of 'No Smoking' revolves around the world of ciggies and associations tailgating it. Ash tray is a sombre track about reliving memories over a puff, finely rendered by newcomer Deva Sen Gupta.
Jab bhi by Sunidhi Chauhan is a trance number with electronic sounds. Adnan Sami provides a jazz translation to it, the song picturised atypically over Jesse Randhawa. Kash Laga combines the voices of Vishal Bhardwaj, Sukhwinder Singh and Daler Mehndi with sufi music.
Phook de by Rekha Bhardwaj makes for a beautiful club-lounge number that has ‘hit’ written all over it. Sukhwinder provides a pensive version of the same.
Vishal Bhardwaj's music is nonconformist and it is bound to be beautiful which ever form it appears in. Add to this lyrics by Gulzar, and you have nothing stopping it from being creative and truly remarkable. The music of No Smoking is surely worth your time.
