Mahaleela by A. Sivamani : if music knew no barriers…
Introduction:
Siva – the creator!…. Creates magic with just about anything from his conventional cymbals to the timbale to the batajon to the vastly unconventional shells and conches and “Biryani Kadai”.
Siva’s style is deceptive for the uninitiated. Deeply profound and mysterious at one moment; tantalizing and exuberant at the next. However, augmenting the brute power, are his rhythmic style and harmony, which surrounds the discerning listener with warmth, joy and bliss.
Looking at the heritage and the training that has gone behind this rare phenomenon in the world of rhythm… is the exposure at home with his father S M Ananan, a well-known drummer in the South Indian Film Industry. Siva was adept with his drumsticks even at the tender age of 7 and went on to give his first stage performance at the age of 12. His first studio break was playing for South Indian Master Creator K V Mahadevan. By age of 13 he had a professional music career with recordings under the watchful eyes of Carnatic & light music legend S P Balasubramaniam. He was later inspired by the compositions and styles of international masters Noel Grant and Billy Cobham with whom he later went on to share the stage at Rang Bhavan Mumbai.
Siva’s earliest experiments has been with Carnatic Maestros, Kunnaikudi Vaidyanathan, T V Gopalakrishnan as well as thavil masters Valayapatti Subramaniam and Pazhanivel and L. Shankar. His dream came true when he was invited to share the stage with Ustad Zakir Hussain along with Trilok Gurtu at Mumbai’s famed Rang Bhavan – opening up myriad musical possibilities. He was later exposed to the great rhythm masters Vikku Vinayakram (Ghatam), T K Murthy (mridangam) and Late Nagarajan (Kanjira) and even started taking lessons from them.
A sought after performer both on Live – shows and recordings, Siva is widely recognized as one of India’s best drummers. One of the best pair of hands in the world of percussion, Ustaad Zakir Hussain in a live show presented him as a phenomenon that walks the planet but once or twice in a century. South Indian geniuses Illayaraja and A R Rehman and other Bollywood music directors all regularly engage his variety of percussion. He features along with legendary masters such as Billy Cobham, Vikku Vinayakram, Freddy Santiago, Terry Bozzio, Wil Calhoun, Myanta, Ranjit Barot, T K Murthy, Rikki Ray and Dr. L. Subramaniam commanding the respect of a true Master Percussionist.
(Acknowledgement: www.sivamani.in)
Sivamani. Prodigy. The last word in percussion. The storm behind that huge ensemble, churning one magical spell after the other. The man we love to see on stage, in shows, as he pulls up surprises on us, between the songs we have heard before.
Percussion is chartering limitless territories as far as musical exploration is concerned. You have a world to choose from. But yes, not everything available is gold like Sivamani. I have had some exposure to some good percussion music. Few records I can think of are Rhydhun, the Taufiq Qureishi album featuring his family along with some other vocal artists. I used to love that album, back in 2003. It had everything – global beats, folk jams, pure classical renditions, and a world class sound quality.
I then moved on to the regular world music suspects – Nitin Sawhney, Talvin Singh, Trilok Gurtu, Karsh Kale, Karunesh, James Asher, Midival Punditz, Ranjit Barot, Indian Ocean and keep revisiting them on my playlist, and it is always some discovery or the other, some vocal hook that catches my attention(Sawhney plays a lot with them) sometimes, or some simple beat on an insane loop(Talvin) or Gurtu’s classically rich sounds. However I have always wanted to get and hear more of L Subramaniam.
I also got happily and proudly inducted in the Shakti fan club recently, and it is still a journey, exploring Shakti, Mahavishnu Orchestra, John Mclaughlin, and the likes.
Sandeep Chowta is another guy with great sense of world music and fusion. His Mitti was groundbreaking work, and did miss the public eye to a large extent, in spite of a brilliant video for Heer/Sona sajan ghar aaya(Sukhwinder-Mahesh Mathai). I have always wanted to write about it, so many brilliantly produced tracks in it – Kesariya Balam, Call of the lover(sun charkhe di), My sweet lord(Sonu Nigam’s own take on the Harrison classic), Freedom ’47 etc. He did show the same eclectic finesse in the Boom tracks he did. We never tire of talking about that album here.
So that is pretty much the background, and times couldn’t be any better for Sivamani to come up with his own album. About time.
He calls this one MAHALEELA – my journey through life, and it is essentially a collage of all his collaborative works with a world of musical greats. I was going through his website, www.sivamani.in and bumped into this mindblowing 15 mins video of his band with Niladri Kumar and Louiz Banks – Asia Electrik . I wish to get hold of their work soon. Niladri Kumar in particular blew my head off with some of the best guitaring I have seen,albeit on a sitar.
Coming to the album, I heard it on streaming a month ago, and have been looking for a copy ever since, and thanks to the great music distribution system we have in here I couldn’t find the CD, found it through a friend in Calcutta. Great music as expected, but I was a little wary if I would listen it on repeat. Not any more. A day into it and I am convinced that not only this is great sounds, this is a complete and a great sounding album too.
Sivamani does the tough job of producing an album incorporating the elements that work, possible. He goes a step beyond his already elevated stature that of a prodigy at the drums and gives us a musical treat in form of MAHALEELA.
It took me longer than expected in this one. Thanks to the hypnotic effect, I could not watch a single film for last 3 days, as all I would do is stare at the speakers on my either sides whenever I put it on to ‘write’ on it. I simply couldn’t, it felt like I am being laughed at. I wouldn’t normally share this, but I have to here, here is presenting MAHALEELA.
1. Dancing on the Moon – a speciality solo from Sivamani’s tom
Alma Ferovic(Bosnia), Thanvi, Krishna Chettan, A. Premkumar, A. Sivamani
An infectious female Shanti Shanti chant opens the track and the album in a grand way, lots of bassy sounds at the background. An auspicious and sacred beginning to the long journey that would follow.
ACTIVATED
Welcome Sivamani Sir!
The drum rolls are very much there, along with a dance floor friendly beat, and if you think that is all, what d’ya know, he can only get better from here.
Many layers to the song, Siva builds it from different angles – beats, vocals, chants. But in the end, it is all just a warm up!
Riot, explosion, demonic, storms its entry, phenomenal shit, Shiva The Destroyer, it is like how the world will sound if Lord Shiva himself prowl over the destruction….
2. Kriya – continuous striving in the journey of success
Louiz Banks, Niladri Kumar, Naveen Kumar, Steven, A. Sivamani
Birds chirping, prayer type aalaaps, mystical sounds, rattle snake type images invoked, transferred to some magical realm…sadness-invoking string instrument…beautiful composition rich in the feelings it brings out.
Post-apocalyptic chants, OM NAMAH SHIVAAY, a haunted emotion hangs loose in the air, mid-sky, temple bells, a cattle is being tied somewhere, smoke in the jungle throne, definitive, the sound of perfection, as the scary ambiance saturates a sitar gently kicks in, almost commenting on the remnants of the beat that was and the chants that were…
After an all-absorbing sonata, heady and heavy in its outlook, the Sitar slowly amps up to a hypnotic electric effect. Like it can’t take it anymore. Exposition. Conclusion. Revelation.
One of the challenges of any musician is restraint. And this track exemplifies the brilliance of Asia Electrik with the same restraint. Experience the song with lights turned down, and much better if you are depressed and have a drink with you.
3. Abbaji- a tribute to a great soul
Ustad Allah Rakha, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Naveen Kumar, Krishna Chettan, A. Sivamani
1,2,3, jam session, commentaries, ting-ting sharp chime, tak-tak-tak chant is cool, flute is nice on the ears, two people performing together, full of energy and emotion which builds up throughout the song. something wonderful to dance to like the Sridevi dance in Lamhe when you have lots of tension built up in you and need to let it all out.
“Sir, one more thing sir, I want to dedicate this piece to all the masters”
And so begins the legendary ‘Rhy in you’, human percussion with the minimum of flute albeit with its own individualistic soul. Ta-ki-ta-ta-dhoom-ta-dhoom-ta-dhoom. Flute flows further as we move to a structure. The flute has this know-it-all feel to it, a laughter is heard in the studio. From then on, it is a shift of genre, bigger drums, tribal types, open your eyes, western rap, African moods, call of the wild, back to the dik-dhaam-takat-dhoom, mix that with some violent tabla and you got yourself 7 minutes of divinity.
4. Infinity- the mother’s beat, the daughter’s cry meaning that there is no end
Voice of Osho, Subhangi Bose, Pandaram Selvam, Kavitha & Group, Ustad Liyakat Ali Khan, Varshika Sivamani, A. Sivamani
Inception of the Rhythm as a stimulus of life, of birth, of growth, of evolution.
Lullaby, claps, the melody of a mother’s voice, a crow counts the sounds that time fails to catch, the visits to the village temple, someone croons the songs of the soil far away to reach yet close enough to catch the grief, windy roads, loose change, the years that pass like sand. The color green in abundance. Maroon too, when the sun shines bright. Finally it’s the Sarangi that sums it all up.
5. Santushti- a feeling of fulfillment and satisfaction
A. Sivamani & Rupert
Tribal sounds follow an English narration; comes a full circle.
Water – drumbeat, love, oceanic tide, drum beat again, compassion in humanity. A drumbeat for truth God man and creation. War.peace.creation. knowledge is wisdom. Cosmic dance.
And so begins the heavy and high bass beats, moves along the lines of tradition, rituals, cults, dance of passion, dance of darkness, it takes pleasure in the abstraction, and becomes sleek the very next moment. Like a costume change. And when we all weren’t thinking of the world, some horses enter the studio, and it becomes a battlefield.
6. Basin Bridge- being the place where he was born which was actually his life bridge
Mandolin U. Shrinivas, Sonia Sehgal, Thumba Raja, Harmit, A. Sivamani
Airport announcement, departure, separation, Mandolin(mystic and intimate as ever), its like the string sounds enter a procession and soon there is a Raajyabhishek of the new member, carnivalesque. Becomes intimate again, and just so you come back to the real world, there is a western chorus, dance floor et al.
This one is a Mandolin celebration all the way!
7. Mother’s Land-his love for it
T.H. Vikku Vinayakram, Rangbir, Tanvi, Naveen Kumar, R. Parthasarthy, Harmit, A. Sivamani
Buddha, flute, which teases first then takes the center stage. The genius of T.H. Vikku Vinayakram on display, with able support from a more classical and conventional Veena.
It is a mellow mood with the Sitar, as the flute takes precedence and leads. And for one, the song does not take many meanders, it follows the flute theme religiously for good.
8. Vasi Vasi-actually meaning play, Siva has continuously played with life
Shankar Mahadevan, Nomojin, Steven, A. Sivamani
Female vocals at beginning, classical male vocals towards end, lots of ups and downs to the composition, interesting, bells at the end, classical-aalaap male outburst that is full of pain perhaps…
A play it is indeed. The instrument here is Shankar Mahadevan, a voice that has almost become a presence of its own in fusion compositions, it has its own attributes, just like any instrument. Sivamani celebrates this voice with minimum percussion, and brings in some awesome western pipe effect to fill the interludes, it lends a classic charm and elevates the fusion quality. Shankar almost plays with the pitch of his voice as it plays lukka-chhuppi with the ensemble, a teekhi yet pyaar-bhari nok-jhonk of sorts.
Towards the later parts, mantras’ rendition add a devotional touch, and Shankar yet again fuels it up, with the varied expressions and harkats, to prove yet again he is the best at the game.
A song that refuses to fall in any trap and loves the conflicting scenarios. And it couldn’t get any better. This is one quality I find missing from his(SEL) film albums, the free flowing instrumentally-rich voice, it can seldom fit in the commercial parameters of a film. And it is all the more reason to celebrate works like these.
9. S M Anandan-his first mentor, his father, his expression filled with happiness
Janette Harris, V. Selvaganesh, A. Sivamani
What a joyous tribute! Starts from lightening sounds, a signature intro of sorts, out open wide spaces, cloudy ambiance. And a wild drum breaks in. Siva paints this one with his soul, shankhnaad included. It is sheer celebration on percussion; he teases you with the different rolls and then finally confronts you head-on in his characteristic style.
10. Aadhaar-kindling the very depth of soul
Niladri Kumar, Steven, A. Sivamani
The Sitar, starts off reminiscent of Devdas’s instrumental scores (the SLB version), can totally imagine it in a Devdas/Pakeezah setting, really well-composed.
This is another of Niladri Kumar’s softer avatars, and no one is complaining, he is as miraculous here as he is in his wilder version. A soft track, it creates so much with minimal effects and tinkering. Siva plays it soft and lets the Sitar do the talking. And that is the sign of an evolving musician. I hope Sivamani produces many more such albums, he deserves to be called a true composer and producer of the best fusion music there is in the contemporary scene.
11. Jam Packed- a fusion of many forms of music
Hariharan, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Raja, Tala, Harmit, A. Sivamani
Different instruments introduced throughout the song, love the classical sargam chanting, sounds like Hariharan! Really cool!
This track explores another living legend – Hariharan. Where Shankar Mahadevan is the equivalent of an instrument, Hariharan is the sound of pathos, if there ever was one. He need not speel it out for you, yet you will grasp the emotion. That is his beauty. Hear him out in this one make slow love to a traditional sax, and a jazzy beat, lovely combination. And it is tough not to get distracted by the voice, you simply revel in its transitions, and the snare complements the mellow timbre.
This took me back to the Kaash days, another timeless album which brought together Sivamani & Hariharan. Check it out and get a copy if you haven’t. It is an ESSENTIAL.
Here is THE jam track of the album for you!
12. Thank You- a personal gratitude to all involved in the making of this album
BlaaZe, John Antony, Thomas, Janardhan, A. Sivamani
Trust Sivamani to do things his way and pull up a surprise on you each time, as BlaaZe does the needful in the background(a Thank You loop), Sivamani says his thank-yous, and the reverence reflects in his heartfelt words.
For love of percussion….
Acknowledgement:
Amanda Sodhi
www.sivamani.in
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Is it on itunes or available as a digital download anywhere ?
hi tushar, gr8 post bro. am a sivamani fan too, since i first saw him performing live wid arr, many many years ago. he is undoubtedly – The Lord of the Drums.
enjoy the livewire genius of sivamani here: http://chitramala.com/audio-songs/a-sivamani-mahaleela-album-songs-1341.html
One of my favs, Dheem ta da re dhaani, from the film thakshak, has the sivamani signature all over it… this is just amazing…
Nice review, Tushar. You appreciation for the album comes across clearly in the post
There have been some pretty cool private albums in recent times like Connections, Lagi Lagan and now we can add Mahaleela to that list, as well. Some of my favorite compositions from Mahaleela would be Kriya, Abbaji, Mother’s Land, Aadhaar & Jam-Packed. I dunno why, but for some reason I felt some of the commentary in the compositions was unnecessary at times…
Thanks guys.
@Mitch, yes it is. google it.
@Magik, thanks for spreading the word around.
@Amanda, thanks. I forgot mentioning about Lagi Lagan, it deserves to be talked about. As for the commentaries in the album, even I had similar feeling earlier on, but as I probed deeper, I took it as attending a party in honour of someone who has come a long way, and you do like some speakers and don’t some others. These must be of some value to Sivamani. Weird logic I know.
Read an interview of sivmani. he says “when i m performing solo, its like shiva performing taandav. I am in the zone.” now dats a statement.
good review. I am loving the album, and it is currently playing on my G1!
Thanks Keshav.
Have been on Mahaleela all day and came across this post when I googled, a perfect tribute to a gem of an album. Great write-up, the way youve mentioned the songs itself shows how involved you were in Mahaleela. I myself wanted to write a post on Sivamani, infact that was my next. I am sure I could not have given credit, makes me feel when I read yours. Anyways, Im learning…
My favorite is ‘Vasi…Vasi’…and when Shankar Mahadevan sings ‘arindum ariyamalum…terindum teriyamalamum…’ WOW!!! AMAZING!!!
An awesome percussionist and a awesome person – Sivamani!
Back to Mahaleela…
@Sridhar, just when I thought this album will go the same forgotten path, you brought it alive again! I revisited it last week with a small jam, and it was fun as ever!
Thanks again man. Keep enjoying the heavenly dance, the percussion miracle, the God on drums. :-)
hai sivamani sir,
I am s.balaji your famous fan.