Inspired by pilot Abhinandan, Bengaluru-based music group releases patrotic song
BENGALURU: Inspired by the incident surrounding pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, Bengaluru-based music group From Mug to Mike released a patriotic song Ae Watan, which, according to Sunil Koshy – music director and founder of the creative startup – is a tribute to the nation.
The song was composed and recorded in two days. “I was travelling to Mumbai for a workshop. While I was about to go to sleep, I thought of this idea of composing a small dedication to our country. I immediately called lyricist Sahil Sultanpuri, who also writes a lot of songs for Hariharan, to help with the lyrics of the song. I immediately sent him the tune and he worked on the lyrics overnight,” he says. As soon as he landed in Mumbai, he went to Hariharan’s studio to work on the project. “The song was almost ready. We just made a track and did the recording within 30 minutes and later, shot a video,” says Koshy. The song was recorded, mixed and mastered by Saibu Simon, chief engineer at In The Mix Studios (Hariharan’s Studio) in Powai, Mumbai and the music was programmed by Rijosh. He adds, “Hariharan also saw our video and wished us all the best.”
Calling it a completely unplanned project, he says, “Usually, we work on a song for a month or two but this song happened all of a sudden. It was a pretty tense situation when Abhinandan was captured. Everyone was worried if he was being ill-treated and if he would ever return. Even when I was travelling to and from the airport, I heard everyone talking about the case. Being a musician, I thought I should do a song as I believe music has more impact.”
He said it was quite challenging to compose the song. “Getting musicians, technicians and a studio on such short notice isn’t easy. Studios are usually filled due to film recordings but somehow, everyone managed to squeeze in time for the project,” he explains. Koshy’s song has received hundreds of views. “The studio engineer who has been working with Hariharan for several years said it’s a good song. I wanted the first two lines in a high pitch to create the patriotic mood and it worked,” he says.
He also had his workshop participants attend the recording so that they could have a first-hand experience and learn how a song is recorded.