Wowwwwwwwwwwww! This is really superb. --- In arrahmanfans@yahoogroups.com, Vithur <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Wonderful Interview of Krishna chetan with Nazeef Bhai.... Krishna Chetan is > a very simple person, and in fact, if I can add, I was very happy to take > him with us in our car to the Sakkarakatti Audio Launch. he was so simple, > with no signs of being a Music Programmer, or a techie person, and above > all, a person with ARR all throughout. > > I thank Nazeef for giving me that opportunity though.... God Bless. Thanks > > On Wed, Jul 30, 2008 at 3:52 PM, naztitude <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>wrote: > > > When AR Rahman himself entered the home and heart of every Indian > > through > > Roja-he just kept them wondering as to where this "talent" was hiding all > > the days that they had never heard of the man, while it seemed like it > > was the > > starting of another decade to hear the older composers all over.-Rahman > > had > > changed the order of the music charts and for once a youngster was there > > making waves. > > > > And not just did AR Rahman stop with Roja-with super hits till today's > > ADA-Rahman kept finding new talents from everywhere and gave them breaks > > that never made them look back. Musicians to singers to technicians, he > > finds the best and gets the best out of them. His latest find being Kabhi > > kabhi Aditi's voice-Rashid Ali. Quite easily he's been the talk of the music > > town now. Apart from bringing to us great and outstanding peices of > > music,discovering new talent and giving them opportunities has been one of > > the greater qualities of AR Rahman. > > > > It was the at the recently concluded audio launch of the latest AR magic > > called Sakarakatti, I met this musician, who is doing wonders with Rahman > > right now. Quiet and always on work-he seemed to have got this quality > > working with AR Rahman. when I got to know him further he surely proved to > > be important in the making of the music of ARR!! > > > > > > > > > > It all started with his name. "Excuse me, I've seen you for quite > > sometime here, Im Nazeef, a huge fan of ARR-how about you?" > > With a smile-Krishna Chetan replied!! "You dont have to be so formal daa!!" > > It was Krishna Chetan indeed-and to be called ARR's music assistant is to > > have climbed the highest in the musical ladder-I felt so personally. Right > > from preparing the Beats and Grooves to giving the final touches on > > Rahman's command, Chetan shares the strongest "Musical" bond with our hero. > > And to talk more about him, behind almost every new release of AR Rahman, > > his name has been credited. And now he has proved to be quite a rage with > > his super remixes. He has always been the quiet man, like I said almost a > > reflection of his Boss himself, but he plays a very integral part in the > > making of ARR's music. > > > > > > > > > > > > The singers and others somehow get to be in the limelight with the first > > song they work with ARR -but it took Ponmagal Vandal for Krishna Chetan to > > get slightly noticed. I took this to be my Golden chance to expose a little > > more of ARR's " music assistant" Krishna Chetan!! > > > > *First things First, how did you meet AR Rahman?* > > > > :) My Dad is a musician. He had worked with ARR from his first > > movie and has played an important role in his rhythm arrangements in > > his early albums. After he felt that I have grown up to a level, after > > working with several other music directors, one fine day he spoke with > > ARR and joined me in his team. > > > > *What did you talk with him on your first meeting?* > > > > Not much!! He gave me work through his engineer. It was the vaaji vaaji > > song from Shivaji and at that same time RDB song mixing > > was happening on the other side. I programmed the song and waited for him, > > he suddenly appeared heard it, made a few corrections and gave his feel > > of the song and left. Our first few meetings had always been about work. > > It took me RDB background score to actually see more of Rahman and his > > work. > > > > *Could you enlighten us on your journey before meeting ARR?* > > > > **I was working as a freelance keyboard programmer for many music > > directors like > > SA, Raj Kumar, Mani Sharma, Srikanth deva, T Rajender etc. Before that, > > I completed five grades of music theory and solo piano from Trinity > > College London, soon after I did a diploma in sound engineering from SAE > > technology college. > > > > *So on a normal day in the studios, what exactly is your work like?* > > > > **It depends on what work is happening that day, whether it is > > composing or recording or music production or background score. Each > > of it requires a different mind set, and I play different roles in > > each. But ultimately as a person who knows both music and technology, > > my main job is to put everything together and take the product close > > to the finish point and make sure work does not stop. :) > > > > *What exactly does a programmer do? In this case you..* > > > > In short a good programmer who knows Music and Music production can > > finish and give you a final product whether it is a song or a background > > score piece. All he needs is the melody from the composer. I work on > > all our songs, but how much work depends on what song it is. I will have a > > lot of programming work when it comes to peppy and western numbers, > > Sir loves to do his melody songs by himself and so I will have less work > > on them. > > > > *Now coming to what popularised you instantly, tell us about the making of > > Ponmagal Vandal..* > > > > **When we were working on ATM, Sir had a very busy schedule (LOTR) and he > > had to deliver the final two songs of the ATM album. One is the remix of > > Ponmagal and the other one is the hero introducton song. So he asked me > > to start working on the remix. I asked him what exactly should be done. He > > said "Anything. It should be young and innovative". I said "okay" and he > > left > > the place. > > > > In the next few hours I came up with the beat, the bass and the whole grove > > and arranged the song. I was working only with the old voice at that > > time. And Sir suddenly came in and said "hey! Its nice and exciting-don't > > change a thing. Lets finish this fast we will record new voice and may > > be some Rap too. I said "okay", he suggested Aslam for the lead voice and > > Ember, the rapper from UK was in town that time. He asked me to use him > > too.Ok here is the exciting part. He left the place for few minutes and > > came > > back and said "Chetan I am thinking of giving you the credits for this". > > With a smile he said we will put "Remix by Chetan". I just shook my > > head :) and gave a smile, I did not realize how big it was at that > > time. > > > > I sincerely thank Sir for giving me the official credits for the > > remix, it shows his big heart and the way he encourages the people who > > work hard for him. > > > > *So what exactly was your role in the song? It became quite a > > controversial > > thought as to who actually remixed, we would love it if you could throw > > some > > light on the song.* > > > > I played the role of Keyboard Programmer, Music Producer and Vocal > > producer in the Ponmagal remix. I think the song was credited to > > me for a reason, ARR is not a person who gives credits away easily to > > anybody. I did a lot of work from building the Beat and music from > > scratch to recording vocals and Rap and producing the song to a stage where > > sir can play with it. He must have felt right to give me the credits. > > > > *What was ARR's role in the song? (Ponmagal Vandal)* > > > > **Well he is the captain of the ship. He always inspects his work at > > crucial stages, in ponmagal Sir did 3 major things, he recorded rap in a > > melodies way (diamond girl phrase), he re recorded aslam voice at places > > where i messed up in tamil pronunciation, and he edited the song from 5 > > minutes to 3 min > > something. He junked one charanam and few music interludes to make it short > > and exciting. I really thank him for that because that made all the > > difference. > > > > *What was it like working for Ember?* > > > > **Ember is a good friend of mine, we met in London when he came for > > auditions to ARR. He is actually a talented RnB composer, singer and > > rapper. Even I was excited to work with him for Ponmagal, I explained > > him the situation of the song in the movie and he wrote the lyrics in > > 10 minutes in front of me. He finished recording in twenty minutes. ;) > > > > *Pappu cant dance seems to be entering charts. How was it remixing an > > original ARR track?* > > > > It was challenging, because even the original song was a peppy > > number, to make a remix which is more exiting than the original was the > > challenge. I did not keep in mind that this is a song by Sir. I just took > > the vocals from the original and had fun with it. Pappu remix was completely > > done by me. > > > > *To us, remixes is all about raising the tempo and adding the beats. Do u > > have > > a formula when you remix? How do you actually remix?* > > > > I don't have any formula, and remix is not about raising tempo > > and adding beats, Nowadays a remix is a fresh approach to a existing > > melody, and presenting it in an all new way, It is your point of view > > or your feel for the melody. How you present it and the > > quality of your presentation is all that matters. > > When I remix, I first see the potential in the melody or the source > > and I think how can I present it new, and then I execute what I feel. :) > > > > *Ponmagal was completely different. Besides taken from a yesteryear movie > > everything else was new. So how was it called a remix?* > > > > **Yes, it is actually a modern re arrangement of an old song, But > > there is no other term which you can use to express it and make a common > > man understand. > > > > *On the other hand, Pappu is a typical remix where the original tune is > > retained > > and you remixed the rest. How contrasting was pappu and ponmagal remixing? > > * > > > > **Well in Ponmagal I was free to explore any genre of music, but in > > pappu we wanted to do a typical club mix. I thank Abbas Tyrewala, the > > director for giving me this opportunity. We had good fun working on both > > the remix and original. since we wanted to do a club mix i had to put in > > some usual elements and sounds to make it that way, but i did my best to > > keep it fresh and exiting. I also thank ARR for giving me the time to do > > this remix, in his busy schedule. > > > > *Does ARR give you inputs/suggestions on the remixing ?* > > > > **Yes, ARR thinks a lot before giving suggestions, it sometimes get really > > tough to execute them, but it always works. > > > > *ARR is conventionally known to be against remixes-how does he handle the > > whole remix scene?* > > > > :) Yes!! He hates anything that is dance or club music, because > > musically there is nothing which excites him in them and he needs to be > > in a different mind set to compose his music. But when you come out with > > something that excites him, then he jumps in. > > > > *Did u try at remixing ADA**? It's an open event!* > > > > No, I had enough fun working on the originals. > > > > *What pleases ARR the most in your remixing? Or his dislikes, if any?* > > > > By working with him for past three years, I learnt his likes and > > dislikes, and eventually tend to share it naturally. So my remix will > > always have a pleasant and smooth feel, you can hear it again and again > > without hurting your ears. So far I have not done any presentation which he > > has disliked. > > > > *You were also assigned to score the BGM for ATM. Again something debated. > > * > > > > Well, I work on all the BGM's, but I did a lot of work in ATM BGM, it > > was exciting till the last moment. > > > > *Your ARR's music assistant-how tough is carrying the name? The > > responsibilities?* > > > > It is very exciting, I constantly have to keep myself updated and running. > > ARR has different vision for each project and he has to constantly do better > > than before. So there is a constant pressure on us too. We have to > > understand his visions and him to work with him. > > > > *Amazing knowing so much! May god bless you and hope you have a great > > future! > > *Thanks.. > > > > Interviewed by* **Nazeef Mohammed* > > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > regards, > Vithur > > ARR -- The Sweet Cube always >
