Rustic, fresh and unconventional is what the three songs and six character theme tracks of the much-acclaimed Amal Neerad’s Iyobinte Pusthakam will sound to listeners. And Yakzan Gary Pereira is on cloud nine for the warm reception he is garnering for the tracks that he composed along with singer Neha S Nair. “In fact, it was not my individual effort. Neha helped mould a perfect music mix for the audience. I was hooked to western music genre for long, but my association with Neha helped me improvise some of the best carnatic classical compositions. For instance, some of the raga based compositions in Iyobinte Pusthakam were the contributions from Neha as she is a trained carnatic singer,” says Yakzan.
The opportunity to work with Amal Neerad for Iyobinte Pusthakam came Yakzan’s way when he was busy performing live shows across the state through his music band ‘Vidwan’. Vidwan rose to fame with the song Elelo (end credit song for the movie Romans). “It was an year ago when Amal sir asked us to compose the songs for his period drama. The offer came as a real surprise because I knew as a newcomer, I was sure that it would be a breakthrough in my film career. It took an year for me and Neha to furnish all the tracks into the groove,” he says.
All the three songs in the movie struck the right chord with people. Raave, the mellifluous duet sung by Neha and Haricharan brought a breezy melody, while Maane, a folkish vibrato and modern rock music fusion captivated one with its freshness. The third song, Theeyattam is no exception with its refreshing rhythm. But, the six character-based tracks played a pivotal role in the movie. All the tracks were perfectly moulded with the mood and personalities of the characters.
Rahel’s theme, with its vintage mood of western music and a perfect voice blend of Usha Uthup, is already a sensation among the youth. The track has been downloaded by thousands and set as ringtones and hellotunes. “Amal sir gave us ample freedom and time for the composition to bring out a myriad package,” says the 26-year-old.
Yakzan’s musical journey began at the age of 13. He began as a keyboard player for the church choir. “It was my father who prompted me to learn music at an early age. I was rather hesitant to sit before a musical instrument and press the ‘black and white’ buttons. Though he left me at an early age, he laid a strong foundation of music in me,” Yakzan reminisces.
Later in 2001, Yakzan was asked to play the keyboard in a choir group by his teacher Louie. “I could recollect those days when I had begun to adopt the anatomy of music into my blood. Louie sir was my first patron who taught me that musicians should listen and feel the music with their heart and soul rather than through ears,” he says.
It was through his all-time buddy and music director-guitarist of Avial band Rex Vijayan, that Yakzan got his first ever entry into the tinsel town. “My association with Rex started when I was a keyboard player with Daksha dance company. He called me to assist him in the film Chappa Kurishu,” says Yakzan.
In fact it was also the beginning of his tryst with the ‘new-gen’ directors of Mollywood. He was introduced by director Anwar Rasheed through his film Ami, one of the segments in the love anthology Anchu Sundarikal released in 2013. Impressed by the refreshing tunes, Shyju Khalid, the cinematographer-turned-director, gave him the opportunity to compose for his directorial debut Sethulakshmi of the same movie. Mantharakkatte in Sethulakshmi was one of the hit numbers at the time of film’s release.
Speaking about his future projects, an optimistic Yakzan says that the best is yet to come. “Though some offers are coming his way, it is too early to divulge the details. However, my association with Neha in music composition will go on. Apart from films, our band Vidwan has also plans to launch new albums,” Yakzan signs off.