Connoisseurs of music will vouch for the freshness of the songs of ‘Malarvaady Arts Club’. The numbers brim with energy and bubble with the zest for life. Much like their composer Shaan Rahman. In an interview with ‘Expresso’, the music-maker with the Midas touch takes you on a walk from his childhood in Ras Al Khaimah, the corridors of film music and to the making of his new band, the ‘Malarvaady Orkestra.’
Await the ‘Malarvaady Orkestra’
That’s the name of the band Shaan is setting up with Vineeth Sreenivasan and team. And he promises this one is going to be different. “We’ll play more of alternative rock and country music filmi numbers. Our concept is novel - there will be no emcee and the music sessions will be interactive. Besides Vineeth and myself, singers Rakesh Krishna (‘Idea Star Singer’-fame who has sung in ‘Malarvaady Arts Club’), Sachin Warrier (who has crooned for ‘Ee Pattanathil Bhootham’ and ‘Coffee@MG Road’) and Divya S Menon (Channel WE’s ‘Ganamela’ fame) are on board. Take my word, you’ll love the way we transcend from ‘Kya Surat Hai’ to ‘Thangabhasma kuriyitta thamburatti’ and more!”
The excitement is quite palpable as Shaan puts forth his plans for the band that will be launched at the Al Nasr Leisureland, Dubai, on December 24. “As of now, we have made the band only for stage shows. After our launch, we’ll look into other options.”
A walk down the memory lane
Shaan completed his schooling in Ras Al Khaimah and remembers himself as a kid “who wanted to dabble in everything and let go half way through”. A broad smile lights up his face as he recollects attending karate classes. “I joined after pestering my dad endlessly, but gave up when I got thoroughly bashed up by an Arabic kid. And then my interest shifted to the music classes nearby.” He fancied attending the classes and learning to play musical instruments.
“My dad put me there and bought me a keyboard hoping that it would retain my interest. But, in keeping with my tradition, I gave up attending the classes soon enough.” But he listened to songs of all genres and played them on the keyboard. And when he played ‘Lambada’ on the keyboard at the school’s annual day and won thunderous applause, he decided to take music along.
When music became his destiny
Shaan’s entry into the world of films reads like the script of a blockbuster movie. The youngster who used to download and research into software after his BCom days enrolled for a course in audio visual engineering at his mother’s hometown Thalassery “just for the heck of it.” And found that his knowledge of the curriculum was better off! “They took me as a faculty,” Shaan says with a grin.
As the head of the sounds team, his job included giving sound effects to ads. “Mamas (who later directed ‘Pappy Appacha’) headed the animation team and we bonded well. We toyed with the idea of making a boy band and thus was born ‘Desi Noise’. Two of Mamas’ friends, Deepu and Siju, joined us and we made an album called ‘Revolution’ with eight songs.”
The first stage show and...
The songs on YouTube fetched the band an invitation to perform at the Gulf Malayali Music Awards (GMMA). “We never knew it was a star-studded event until we reached the airport and saw the star singers of the day with whom we’d be sharing the stage!”
Shaan recounts their first performance at the two-day show. “It was received with hoots and catcalls. A total disaster.”
When the band members sat in the green room “contemplating committing suicide in the Arabian Sea”, Vineeth Sreenivasan walked in and said, ‘Cheer up, guys. My first stage show was worse. Prove your mettle tomorrow.’
“The pep talk worked. And we rocked with a techno remix of the 80s hit ‘Oru madhurakkinavin’. All those who had turned their backs on us the previous day complimented us. The biggest compliment came from Das Sir (Yesudas) himself.”
‘Coffee@MG Road’ and filmdom
Shaan and Vineeth bonded big time and the latter’s first solo album, ‘Coffee@MG Road’ had Shaan as composer. “The songs, especially ‘Palavattam kaathu ninnu njaan’ helped me establish myself.”
He then composed the trailer music of Johny Antony’s ‘Cycle’ and went on to do the songs of the Mammootty-starrer ‘Ee Pattanathil Bhootham.’ “My idea of freshness in music is to bring out fresh voices,” says Shaan, who introduced five new singers in his second film ‘Malarvaady Arts Club’.
“Now we have filmmakers who dare to take up new subjects and let composers like me have this ‘Just do your thing’ attitude. Otherwise, music will go stale.”
Shaan, who sang ‘Kaathu kaathu’ in ‘Malarvaady’, recently crooned for Deepak Dev in the upcoming release ‘Urumi’ directed by Santosh Sivan. He is also making the songs of Bipin Prabhakar’s ‘The Metro’.
The composer who’s passionate about three Cs - “cars, cellphones and chicken” - is awaiting an addition to the family. “Yes, Zaira and I are looking forward to the arrival of our first baby.” And another C. Guess what? A Chevrolet Cruze.
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