They say you see what you want to see.Or , in this case, hear what you want to hear. I speak of the new Arnob album.May be I wanted to be overwhelmed. May be I wanted my heart to stop somewhere in there. May be I longed for that sigh that was held back for so long,to get out of my system.
I listened to the album few weeks prior to it being out on CD, in extremely bad quality via the cellphone service provider. I must emphasize if that was to be a clever marketing ploy, it was not clever at all. Not everyone is miserable(or curious) enough (like me) that they will go on to listen to the album after that horrible a preview. There. Its out Robi. Do what you must.
A friend got me a copy and admittedly the first listen was a bit of a downer. But then I picked up on Phagun Haway Haway... even though when it was raining outside, it was a great mood lifter. May be the bass was a bit too heavy, with the voice drowning out a little too much but the frivolity and the dreaminess did some real good work for me.
And that is really the great essence of the album. Most of the songs have captured the actual mood of the songs ( not like I know what they all should have been but hey). Not just that, they stir up this whole range of emotions, upto the limits of Tagore's words and music and at times beyond that too.
This write up cannot finish without the mention of Amar Din Phuralo. The haunting melody is captured beautifully within that enchanting voice that is Warda (hope I got the name right). The piano, of course does no less with the incredible solo about one and half minute into the song. The subtlety of the song makes it all the more prominent in teh album. It also makes you wish Arnob would make use of other voices in the album more.
Which then brings me to my next criticism which is the fact that Arnob's voice , a fan as I may be, does not often do justice to the songs. There are technical errors that are so obvious and so wrong that even the biggest fan has to shake her head in disapproval.Examples of such numbers could be Prochondo Gorjone( I shall also take this opportunity to promote another great rendition of this song by Banya in her album Laguk hawa) or Rakho Rakho Re.
But then there are songs that will remind you this man was trained in Rabindra sangeet. There is a beautiful rendition of Ami Kan Pete Roi that has none of the usual sense of woe that is so often associated this number. Au contraire, it is hopeful and makes one sit up with perhaps the same anticipation that Rabibabu wrote "কে সে মোর ... কেই বা জানে .. কিছু তার দেখি আভা ... কিছু পাই অনুমানে ..."( Who knows who he is to me?... I see some glimpses of Him... some I imagine)
PS: A great demo of Amar din Phuralo by Arnob : http://soundcloud.com/shayanchowdhury/amar-din-phuralo
A friend got me a copy and admittedly the first listen was a bit of a downer. But then I picked up on Phagun Haway Haway... even though when it was raining outside, it was a great mood lifter. May be the bass was a bit too heavy, with the voice drowning out a little too much but the frivolity and the dreaminess did some real good work for me.
And that is really the great essence of the album. Most of the songs have captured the actual mood of the songs ( not like I know what they all should have been but hey). Not just that, they stir up this whole range of emotions, upto the limits of Tagore's words and music and at times beyond that too.
This write up cannot finish without the mention of Amar Din Phuralo. The haunting melody is captured beautifully within that enchanting voice that is Warda (hope I got the name right). The piano, of course does no less with the incredible solo about one and half minute into the song. The subtlety of the song makes it all the more prominent in teh album. It also makes you wish Arnob would make use of other voices in the album more.
Which then brings me to my next criticism which is the fact that Arnob's voice , a fan as I may be, does not often do justice to the songs. There are technical errors that are so obvious and so wrong that even the biggest fan has to shake her head in disapproval.Examples of such numbers could be Prochondo Gorjone( I shall also take this opportunity to promote another great rendition of this song by Banya in her album Laguk hawa) or Rakho Rakho Re.
But then there are songs that will remind you this man was trained in Rabindra sangeet. There is a beautiful rendition of Ami Kan Pete Roi that has none of the usual sense of woe that is so often associated this number. Au contraire, it is hopeful and makes one sit up with perhaps the same anticipation that Rabibabu wrote "কে সে মোর ... কেই বা জানে .. কিছু তার দেখি আভা ... কিছু পাই অনুমানে ..."( Who knows who he is to me?... I see some glimpses of Him... some I imagine)
Listen. Buy. Listen. Admire.
PS: A great demo of Amar din Phuralo by Arnob : http://soundcloud.com/shayanchowdhury/amar-din-phuralo
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