Electronic Music Technology - Deep Dive 3

EMT has advanced further in the 21st century and most of the significant advances have been in the world of software. Today, all MIDI hardware and sequencing software together is called a digital audio workstation and no composer can afford not to own one. Sequencing software such as Finale , Sibelius , Pro Tools , Logic Pro  or Cubase  are popular software packages. 


Let’s learn some quick terminology of the EMT world.


A music sequencer (or just sequencer) is an application or a device designed to play back musical notation. The original kind of sequencer is now known as a step sequencer to distinguish it from the modern kind, which records a musician playing notes.


Step sequencers


The first sequencers were primitive devices that played rigid patterns of notes using a grid of (usually) 16 buttons, or steps, each step being 1/16th of a measure. These patterns of notes are then chained together to form longer compositions. Step sequencers are monophonic by nature, although some are multi-timbral, meaning they can control several different instruments but only play one note on each of those instruments. Step sequencers are mostly used in drum machines and grooveboxes.


Modern sequencers


With the advent of MIDI and in particular the Atari ST, programmers were able to write software which could record and play back the notes played by a musician. These sequencers didn't play mechanical sounding notes of exactly equal length, but rather recorded and played back expressive performances by real musicians. These were typically used to control external synthesizers, especially rackmounted sound modules as it was no longer necessary for each synthesizer to have its own keyboard. Even in live performances, if you observe closely, the musician selects the sequence by way of pushing a few buttons and moves on to his keyboard to play his part – the sequencer plays the pre-sequenced music that makes the unassuming listener/observer think that he/she is listening to live music amidst all those colorful crazy laser beams!


Tracker is the generic term for a class of music sequencer software which, in its purest form, allow the user to arrange sound samples stepwise on a timeline across several monophonic channels. A tracker's interface is primarily numeric; notes are entered via the alphanumeric keys of the computer keyboard, while parameters, effects and so forth are entered in hexadecimal. A complete song consists of several small multi-channel patterns chained together via a master list.


An effect is a special function applied to a particular note. These effects are then applied during playback through either hardware or software. Common tracker effects include volume, portamento, vibrato, retrigger, and arpeggio.


A track (or channel) is a space where one sample is played back at a time. Whereas the original Amiga trackers only provided four tracks, the hardware limit, modern trackers can mix a virtually unlimited number of channels into one sound stream through software mixing. Tracks have a fixed number of "rows" on which notes and effects can be placed (most trackers lay out tracks in a vertical fashion). Tracks typically contain 64 rows and 16 beats, although the beats and tempo can be increased or decreased to the composer's taste.
A basic drum set could thus be arranged by putting a bass drum at rows 0, 4, 8, 12 etc. of one track and putting some hihat at rows 2, 6, 10, 14 etc. of a second track. Of course, bass and hats could be interleaved on the same track, if the samples are short enough. If not, the previous sample is usually stopped when the next one begins. Some modern trackers simulate polyphony in a single track by setting the "new note action" of each instrument to cut, continue,fade out, or release, opening new mixing channels as necessary.


Tracker music is typically stored in module files where the song data and samples are encapsulated in a single file. Several module file formats are supported by popular music player programs such as Winamp or XMMS. Well-known formats include MOD, MED, S3M, XM and IT


Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices, often sequencers or computer programs, to generate music. Programming is used in nearly all forms of electronic music and in most hip hop music since the 1990s. It is also frequently used in modern pop and rock music from various regions of the world, and sometimes in contemporary jazz and contemporary classical music, recently, programming has been incorporated into various styles of hardcore and metalcore music. Now you know what musicians mean when they say – “I am into programming and work in this studio” and none of these guys know Visual Basic!

Courtesy Wikipedia for some technical definitions

Electronic Music Technology - Deep Dive 4

The latest and greatest in the world of EMT (circa 2010) is the technology of Virtual Studio Technology (VST). Steinberg played a big role in introducing this technology that created a virtual studio by way of software on a computer. Originally designed to integrate MIDI inputs and add sequencing touches, it has now become the mainstay of music composition throughout the world. Cubase, the software from Steinberg was the first one to showcase this technology and today, there are many such packages that arrive with fresher function feature set every year with a number of effects, loops, samples thrown in as a teaser. 


Steinberg's Virtual Studio Technology (VST) is an interface for integrating software audio synthesizer and effect plugins with audio editors and hard-disk recording systems. VST and similar technologies use Digital Signal Processing to simulate traditional recording studio hardware with software. Thousands of plugins exist, both commercial and freeware, and VST is supported by a large number of audio applications. The technology can be licensed from its creator,Steinberg.


VST plugins are generally run within a Digital Audio Workstation, providing the host application with additional functionality. Most VST plugins can be classified as either instruments (VSTi) or effects, although other categories exist. VST plugins generally provide a custom GUI, displaying controls similar to the physical switches and knobs on audio hardware. Some (often older) plugins rely on the host application for their UI.


VST instruments include software simulation/emulations of well-known hardware synthesizer devices and samplers, emulating the look of the original equipment and its sonic characteristics. This enables VSTi users to use virtual versions of devices that may be otherwise difficult to obtain.


VST instruments require notes to be sent via MIDI in order to output audio, while effect plugins process audio data (some effect plugins do require a MIDI input too though, for example they might use MIDI sync to modulate the effect in sync with the tempo). MIDI messages can often also be used to control parameters of both instrument and effect plugins. Most host applications allow the audio output from one VST to be routed to the audio input of another VST (known as chaining). For example, output of a VST synthesizer can be sent to a VST reverb effect for further processing.


VST instruments generate audio. They are generally either virtual synthesizers or samplers. One of the first VST instruments was the Neon VSTi which was included in Steinberg's Cubase. Some, such as Native Instruments' Pro-53, specifically recreate the look and sound of famous synthesizers from years past (in this case, the Prophet-5).


VST effects, such as reverb and phaser effects, process audio input. Other monitoring effects provide visual feedback of the input signal without processing the audio. Most hosts allow multiple effects to be chained.


VST MIDI effects process MIDI messages prior to routing the MIDI data to other VST instruments or hardware devices; for example, to transpose or create arpeggios.


A VST host is a software application or hardware device that allows VST plugins to be loaded and controlled. The host application is responsible for handling the routing of digital audio and MIDI to and from the VST plug-ins.


There are a wide range of VST-compatible hosts available; some of the more popular include Ableton Live, Ardour, Audacity, AV Music Morpher Gold, Cubase, FL Studio, Mixcraft, REAPER, Sonar, and Sony Acid Pro/ Music Studio. Other VST hosts include AudioMulch, Bidule, Max MSP, and Renoise.


There are also stand-alone "dedicated hosts" whose sole purpose is to serve as a host for the VST plug-ins rather than as an extension of their sequencing or audio capabilities. These are usually optimized for live performance use, with features like fast song configuration switching. Examples of popular dedicated VST host software include Cantabile, Brainspawn Forte, Tobybear MiniHost, Deckadance, Chainer, VSTHost, and SAVIHost.


VST plugins can be hosted in incompatible environments using a translation layer, or shim. For example, FL Studio fundamentally supports only its own internal plugin architecture, but a native "wrapper" plugin exists that can, in turn, load VST plugins, among others. As another example, FXpansion offers a VST to RTAS (Real Time AudioSuite) wrapper (allowing VST plugins to be hosted in the popular Pro Tools digital audio workstation), and a VST to Audio Units wrapper (allowing VST plugins to be hosted in Apple Logic Pro Digital Audio Workstation).


The VST plugin standard is the audio plugin standard created by Steinberg to allow any third party developers to create VST plugins for use within VST host applications. VST requires separate installations for Windows/Mac/Linux. The majority of VST plugins are available for Windows due to both Apple's proprietary Audio Unit software for OS X and the lack of information and patent encumbrances that make development difficult for Linux platforms.


SoundFont is a brand name that collectively refers to a file format and associated technology designed to bridge the gap between recorded and synthesized audio, especially for the purposes of computer music composition. SoundFont is also a registered trademark of E-mu Systems, Inc., and the exclusive license for re-formatting and managing historical SoundFont content has been acquired by Digital Sound Factory.


SoundFont technology is akin to software sampling. A SoundFont file, or SoundFont 'bank', contains one or more sampled audio waveforms (or 'samples'), which can be re-synthesized at different pitches and dynamic levels. Each sampled waveform may be associated with one or more ranges of pitches and dynamics. Generally speaking, the quality of a SoundFont bank is a function of the quality of the digital samples and the intelligent association of samples with their appropriate pitch ranges. Quality is also dependent on the number of samples taken for a given range of pitches.


SoundFont banks are tightly integrated with MIDI devices and can be seamlessly used in place of General MIDI (GM) patches in many computer music sequencers. The sound quality of SoundFont banks is generally regarded as superior to standard GM banks, and many SoundFont banks have been created specifically to replace GM banks with samples of each corresponding musical instrument.


That’s one hellua list of technology that musicians have access today. No wonder, you have a number of composers who come and go, experiment and fail with a number of these tools. Suddenly, music programmers are in great demand. The studio folks are spending a lot of time playing with software, digging through manuals and browsing discussion boards on the internet for new samples, loops, ideas!


Next, we will take a deeper look at some of the specific Techno world terminology and techniques.

Courtesy Wikipedia for some technical definitions.

Electronic Music Technology – Deep Dive 1

Disclaimer: This is a high level introduction to Electronic Music Technology and is by no means authoritative. There are several books and other resources available that can give you a better and deeper understanding of EMT. This introduction in 6 parts is provided so that readers can appreciate some techniques from the world of EMT that Raja uses in his music that can be appreciated better.


Music and electronics are so close that music cannot exist without electronics. Without a microphone or an amplifier, there is no music possible that can be widely distributed, not to mention recording technologies. Every violinist has to use the electronic pickup for his/her notes to be heard by a large group of audience. Even the most conventional of classical musicians use an electronic sruthi box. So, what’s the fuss of electronic music technology that you hear loud voices about how much we miss live music today?


While electronic music is as old as the early 80s, attempts have been made even earlier to reproduce musical notes electronically. Surprisingly, most of techno music has its origin with the early Atari computing world in the early 80s. Room sized pianos were the initial target. Though pianos produced great sound, they were bulky and required annual tune up and a lot of TLC. Like wine, the older pianos have a charm. Electronic keyboards tried to mimic the piano is a crude way in the late 80s. They lacked depth and at this time and a critical invention of the MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) standard came to the rescue of the digital instrument. While expert musicians play great tunes from sheet music, most others get it right only sometimes. The MIDI allowed a well played song to be transferred as digital signals to a computer or stored in the electronic instrument. Playing the stored MIDI file will reproduce that perfect play of notes that you achieved in one of your many trials. That’s how the world started getting hooked to electronic digital music. After all, you do not have to call piano movers every time, you wanted to go to the next studio! Soon, every electronic instrument had a MIDI interface making it easy to coordinate different instruments.


Raja used to play the combo organ before he became a composer, an early electronic keyboard that produced some sounds that were hard to produce otherwise. These organs gave way to synthesizers which soon became an important part of any film musician’s arsenal. More than the film song, they were a great attraction for background music creation as they gave a wider choice to the composer.  The synthesizers of the 80s were bulky and got more powerful with each successive release. They started off with the ability to play piano tunes – slowly, they morphed to producing sounds of violins, flutes, trumpets, sax and other instruments, though they sounded quite artificial. All keyboards/synthesizers of the 80s had percussion capability, though no one took it seriously. They sounded with almost no bass and musicians quickly dismissed it. Korg, Yamaha and Rolland became the main professional vendors with Casio like companies serving the low end.


Towards the end of the 80s, the synthesizers started taking advantage of the microprocessor technology and soon ASIC became affordable that electronic music instrument companies started researching digital signal processing algorithms and creating their own proprietary version of sounds. The synthesizers not only came with a huge tone bank, they also enabled clever programmability. If you recall ‘Punnagai Mannan’ title track, it is a good example of early programmable digital music. You will notice that the sounds are pretty standard and sounded a bit mechanical compared to what you hear today. 

Electronic Music Technology – Deep Dive 2

The 1990s was the defining decade of the EMT. The musical instruments started taking advantage of not just advances in electronic hardware but also with computer software. It is in this decade that the last bastion of manual music was broken – replacement of the drum kit. The rhythm pad was a great advancement that did the job similar to what the synthesizer did to the piano – replace the bulky drum kit. Multi-track recording technology advanced significantly from the 80s and the standard studio format was 24-track recording. Recording technology advanced further with digital mixers and ability to handle multiple MIDI inputs. 


Both Apple and Microsoft allowed computers to interface digitally with instruments using the MIDI interface (Musical Instrument Digital Interface). However, the software available at this time was early versions, full of bugs. With several MIDI inputs, it became important to understand how to balance them and also sequence them. 


Another major advance was the creation of rack modules taking advantage of improvements in both hardware and software technologies. The synthesizer not only became smaller, it started becoming smarter and more configurable. You can start with a base module and keep adding additional modules. The synthesizers could generate great flute, trumpet, sax, guitar, sitar, trambone and other instrument sounds. In short, a few synthesizers and a rhythm pad could replace an entire orchestra. The string sections did not sound like before, but no one cared. This was fine to create low shelf life music, which most movies demanded. 


From a film music composition perspective, the melody now got played on an electronic keyboard instead of the harmonium which was portable and required no electric power. It was in a way better than the harmonium – once the tune is approved, it can be retrieved from the keyboard’s memory instead of relying on a knowledgeable assistant who took down the notes.


For music composers, it became economical to hire an expert keyboardist, who could play a huge variety of instruments. Studios also started getting smaller and many conventional instrument players lost their lustre. With multi-track digital recording techniques, the keyboardist could record all tracks including the main melody with ‘an’ instrument and have it all sequenced for the main singer to sing over. 


The rhythm pad took care of replacing most percussion instruments, though they could not reproduce the tabla’s intricate patterns. Composers started shying away from tabla too, as a result. It soon became apparent that ability to assemble electronic sound was equally important as knowledge of music compositional techniques. 


We need to also consider the position of a director who approves the tune eventually. While the number of musicians who contributed to the final cut went down drastically, the complexity of assembling ‘sounds’ did not. It became impossible for directors to get a sense of the final output as the electronic embellishment can even change the mood of the song.  There were so many layers of sound effects that got added to the approved melody, that it got extremely hard to figure out the way the song got constructed. As more and more ‘technicans’ started doing music work who were not expert musicians, the situation got worse. They were more driven by the limitations of their electronic gear and very few could rise above the electronic din. Most of the 90s and early 21st century composers rose and fell due to their electronic gear. Most listeners were disturbed by the inappropriate rhythm, dischordant interludes and the general lack of soul in the music that was being produced.


Electronic music technology created new teams and destroyed old ones. The ‘tech savvy’ music teams survived more than the old world team sport of creating manual orchestral music. Even today, we do hear about the lack of team spirit as a result of EMT. 


In the 90s, due to advances in the software world, most synthesizers, sequencers, rhythm pads and other digital instruments became more and more programmable. Vendors started offering a number of ‘sound fonts’ and other facilities such as ‘loops’ and ‘patches’ that could be integrated easily into most digital equipment, thanks to MIDI.  Vendors and third parties also started shipping equipment which had a huge variety of standard sounds, loops and other facilities built in. It became apparaent that ‘integrating sound’ was the key activity around film music studios.


It also became clear that EMT will dominate music production, whether you like it or not. It was time for composers with very strong musical sense to work towards a balance of electronic and manual instruments. Some of EMTs capabilities such as ‘samples’, ‘loops’, ‘patches’ provided by vendors was a good beginning (though some composers used them as is) and the only way you could survive is to embrace them in some form. 


Unlike most composers, Raja seems to have spent quite a bit of time figuring out the mindset behind some of the EMT gear and extension providers. While the culture that is hidden behind the extensions (patches, loops, samples) may not be compatible to Indian music making, he has the mind that allows him to cherry pick the right sounds that go with his style of compositions. Some of his experiments in the 90s were quite early and sounded not compatible with his style. However, in the last 10 years, he seems to have figured out a method better than his competition on making peace with EMT.


Towards the end of this section, I will elaborate some of the standard EMT ideas he has started incorporating into his still ‘soulful’ music. It is one thing to flash these EMT gadgetry when you are a new kid composer versus assimilating the technology and ‘internalizing’ the EMT function/features that augument your style and huge reputation. 

Techno Baroque – a melody perspective

Raja has been very successful with melodies in the 21st century as he was in the previous century. Most listeners do not pay enough attention to his very nice synth work. In reality not much has changed from a melody perspective other than usage of fewer instruments due to the trend in the industry. Raja has been using synthesizers for a very long time. Most of the flute and violin ludes from the 80s and 90s were accompanied by their synth cousins. The traditional instruments have become cousins to the synth mainstream. Other than this switch, all is good in the melody world. He has experimented this all along the 90s and now has the right mix that makes his tracks so attractive and hard to replicate. There is an increased emphasis riding on his melody composition abilities. 


Let’s start with some examples. Oru Chiri Kandaal – Ponmudipuzhayorathu (2005 Malayalam) is an outstanding melody. The prelude is based on a synth violins. The rhythm is based on a simple techno 4/4. The pallavi is backed by synth violins. Observe the synth rhythms – it has the typical sustainance that is typical of techno (reverb). Observe the pallavi – apart from the usual Raja bass, there is also synth bass – another technique from the Techno world.


The first interlude – starts off with synth violins in counterpoint with bells. Nice synth violin work follows – the interlude is shorter than a 80s interlude. All regular strings are replaced with synth throughout the charanam. This is not just a mechanical 4/4 – it has all the Raja embellishments and the bass guitar is as prominent as ever. As with the pallavi, the bass guitar now has its synth cousin accompanying it. 


The second interlude starts off with a beautiful guitar and veena in counterpoint mode. Control is given back to the synth violins and flute – again a short interlude. The final transition to the charanam 2 is done beautifully by a synth flute. Raja chooses the real veena as opposed to the synth cousin that we hear constantly these days. The second charanam is orchestrated the same way as the first. This track is as good as any of Raja’s top 80s/90s melody track.


Let's hear this wonderful melody...





Shwashathin Thalam from Achuvinte Amma (2005 - Malayalam) is another outstanding melody.  The prelude is fully written with synthesized music. This would have been typically done with violins by the 80s Raja. The pallavi is backed by keyboard as well as synth violins. 
Observe the pallavi’s synth backing. Think for a moment that these are played by a string section of about 8 violins. You can hear clearly a lead violin and the sort of hiss that accompanies it to generate the feeling of many strings playing together. This is called ‘noise’ filter addition in the techno world. There are several forms of noise filters available with most VST (Virtual Studio Technology) software packages and they have to be used carefully. The techno artists use it to get some crazy funky effects with their heavy drum loops. Raja uses it for his purpose. Nothing goes thru the Raja shop and emerges the same way!


The interlude 1 is very interesting – it starts off with nice flute work in counter with synth violins. Reminds you of the Raja’s 80s. But he embellishes it further with keyboard!  This is followed by his signature synth violins. The track is fully backed by synth pad based rhythm. Pay attention to the synth pad rhythm closely. This is not played the same way as you hear in most TV shows. The rhythm is further enhanced with VST effects that sound like a bubble at the end of the beat cycle. 


The second interlude is starts off with keyboard work followed by a call and response arrangement between synth violins and keyboard. The final handoff to charanam 2 is done the Raja way – brief bursts of synth violins with brief rests. Throughout the track, the synthesizers create a hiss that was there with Cheeni Kum tracks as well. 





The charanams are backed by synth violin and some synth sounds that appear like the old wah wah pedal for the guitar. The synthpad rhythm is accompanied by finger snaps that are machine generated. Pay attention to the last 2 seconds of the charanam to the pallavi transition – this bass line cannot be played with a regular guitar – you get the sense of a note that is literally slipping rapidly down a valley – this is done by playing with delays and filtering – you hear these as funny slip beats in the techno world. Raja uses it for transition between a charanam and a pallavi – very innovative use of a VST technique for Indian music. He leaves his own stamp behind in his usual majestic way. This track was done in 2005. There are several Bollywood songs which are still using techno as such and they sound so foreign! 






Mandarapoo Mooli from Vinodha Yatra (2007 – Malayalam) is another outstanding melody (set to Kalyani) fully set to synth rhythm. The prelude is fully synth play with flute. The bass guitar work in this track is outstanding. Again observe the use of selective noise filters as in the ‘Swashanthin Thaalam’ song in the prelude.


The pallavi is backed by the synth rhythm along with the rhythm pad. Notice, that this is not the standard 4x4 of the techno world. Raja uses the time signature he requires for his Indian melody. 


The handoff from the pallavi to the interlude has the usual Raja stamp written all over it. He uses the synth rhytm to bridge both of them so seamlessly. I cannot think of a better application of the synth rhythm for Indian music – even some of his old tabla based melodies show deliberate transition management. The first interlude is starts off with synth and bells. This is followed by further synth work and followed by guitar. Briefly, you can notice that for about 3 seconds or so, Raja cuts out all synth rhythm to show how the synth pad alone would sound. 


The second interlude starts off with rhythm and flute. This is followed by flute and synth again and ends up with some further work with synth. In the 80s/90s all the synth was done with a whole bank of violins. This track can easily make it to Raja’s top 100 melodies.


Also, please note between 0:08 and 0:20 seconds, in the interlude clip, the flute and the synth playing in good old fugue mode – what else to call it other than Techno baroque?


Let's hear the ludes of Mandarapoo Mooli ...







The charanam is backed by synth fully. Notice the use of synth flanging – another techno trick - when Swetha hums   Notice the last bar when Swetha descends to the pallavi – Raja does not use his old techniques – 1) cut out all strings 2) Use of percussive time management or 3) use choir to back the falling notes. Instead, he uses beautiful synth notes with a big delay to ascend opposite to Swetha’s singing.  Even if this was a patch, it is very innovative application to an Indian melody.    


Let's hear the 1st charanam and second pallavi of Mandarapoo Mooli ...







Mella Oornthu Oornthu from Nandhalala (2010 - Tamil) uses a lot of guitar and keyboard throughout the track. The prelude starts off with some great guitar and keyboard work. The keyboard and guitar are used to back the pallavi also (no violins). Observe the use of a brush and the kick drum in the pallavi and has no synth bass accompaniment. He uses very nice female choir to back the pallavi – this is rare in his 21st century compositions.


Interlude 1 starts off with the keyboard and bass guitar followed by chorus. Notice that the synth cousin is playing along with the real bass guitar. Charanam 1 is backed by synth violins and keyboard. The only thing that is a bit ordinary is the use of synth violins to back Raja in the charanams – it definitely does not make you sit up and take notice.


Interlude 2 has some very nice guitar and keyboard counterpoint to start. This is followed by a short keyboard work before transferring control to the charanam 2.


This track is like the old guitar melodies of Raja such as Alli Thantha Vanam from Nandu (1981) or Poonthalir Aada from Paneer Pushpangal (1981). This time around, he keeps traditional violins out and gives importance to keyboard. This is perhaps the least techno track in this section!


Let's hear the ludes of Mella Oornthu Oornthu...







In the same film (Nandhalala), Raja has created another outstanding melody – Kai Veesi Nadakura. This track starts off with some nice keyboard prelude followed by nice flute work.  The pallavi is fully supported by keyboard. This is a different melody with several singers. Notice that the vocal melody rides on top of the synth melody which plays in a loop. Notice  the last two bars. There is an additional synth melody the composer throws on the left channel while the synth melody continues on the right channel. This is Raja – unlike his competitors who look for the multi-layered electronic music (more on this later) to create a single effect, Raja layers multiple melodies on top of each other to create a multi-effect musical experience. He finds ways within the electronic music world to create his musical imagery and not let the electronic world control him. Once you understand the musical imagery of Raja, you can appreciate any genre he touches – it is a kaleidoscope of ideas drawn from several musical schools, but the imagery is not coming out of a random shake but clearly designed pattern of ideas.


Interlude 1 is interesting. It has synth violins, flute and keyboard in total synth! This is followed by flutes that turn control over to the charanam. 


Interlude 2 is different. It starts off with synth flute. This is followed by the synchronized synth violins, keyboard and flute. The second charanam is orchestrated similar to the first one. 


Let's hear the ludes of Kai Veesi Nadakura...







The entire charanam is backed by the synchronized synth violins, flutes and keyboard. There are at least 4 synthesizers (or rack modules) in action in my guess. The first 4 bars are backed by a combo of synth violins. Flutes, bass and piano. The middle 4 bars have only the synth bass and keyboard. The last 4 bars are supported by two synth keyboards playing on the left and right channels. Notice that the melody played by the two synth keyboards (perhaps two rack modules) are different. Notice the pitch and tempo of both these melodies. Say hello to Bach in the background! Who will think of this, other than Raja? Who said Bach and baroque is forgotten in the Techno world?


Let's hear the first charanam and second pallavi of Kai Veesi Nadakura... Pay particular attention to the last 4 bars...






Thendralum Maruthu from Valmiki (2009 – Tamil) is another nice melody track fully set to synth rhythm. The prelude is a nice synth melody – throughout the track, there is very nice solo violin usage.


The pallavi is nicely backed by keyboard and flute. The bass guitar is in full play. Interlude 1 is interesting – a solo violin plays along with synth violins. A couple of bars is played with two solo violins taking turns so nicely (I call one as foreground and another as background) with the synth violins. Stunning work of real and electronic strings - 17th century and 21st century beautifully coexist!  (24 secs to 52 secs in the clip) The transition to the charanam is brilliant with very nice play of solo violin and the synth keyboard playing exactly the same melody. One of the finest interludes of 2009! The charanam is backed by synth bass and keyboard.


The second interlude starts off with keyboard work and some complex rhythm work. The second charanam is orchestrated the same way as the first.


Let's hear the ludes of Thendralum Maruthu...







Shrungara from Prem Kahani (2009 – Kannada) is another interesting melody. It starts off with some nice keyboard work and supported by synth rhythm. The synth rhythm that Raja uses in this track is becoming more common – there is a keyboard-like sound accompanying every beat on the synthpad. More on this in the next section. There is no need to back the main melody with any other instrument as a result. Did you observe that the first 18 seconds of this track is a wonderful cell phone ring tone, second to none?


The first interlude starts off with a synth followed by some nice synth violins in counterpoint with synth! The second interlude starts off with only the rhythm part followed by some synth work. Finally, the keyboard based veena play is interesting and some nice synth flute work.


Let's hear the ludes of Shrungara...







Let’s analyze the charanam next. With the exception of the bass guitar, no other instrument accompanies the singer which is typical of Raja tracks – no detailed string sections backing the melody. However, the bass guitar sings its own melody, as it with most Raja compositions! Notice the note at which the bass guitar leaves the charanam – does it not remind you of ‘Naan Yerikarai Melirukka’ from Chinna Thai?


Let's hear the first charanam and second pallavi of Shrungara... Pay attention to the transition with the synth bass...







All these demonstrate that Raja’s focus is more on his ability to compose melodies. The interludes are smaller than before and most of it is synthesized computer generated music. All the seven tracks discussed in this section are great melodies, and have heavy use of synthesizers and synthpads. Though interludes are smaller than before, but are still catchy. Baroque is not forgotten. There are several counterpoints, fugue techniques in only the tracks listed. This is not layered studio music created with Fruit Loop Studio. 


Please do not interpret my commentary and conclude that Raja has put away his traditional violins and other strings to the back burner. He is very selective about its usage. Here are two examples from the last 9 years, where he has extensively used real violins and cellos in his compositions: 1) Thoorigai Indri from Ajantha (2007) is a wonderful orchestration treat using real violins with the synthesized ones with cellos and double basses  2) Enge Nee Sendralum from Kannukkulle (2009) uses solo, regular violins, synth violins and cellos.


In essence, Raja sounds pleasantly different! His bass lines, his baroque is all intact (that’s the way the man is wired). His tabla has disappeared and he uses violins, double basses and cellos very selectively. His shehnai, veena, sitar have been replaced with the synthesizer.


In order to appreciate Techno music, it is important to get a good understanding of the world of electronic music technology. We will next take a deep dive to understand the components of electronic music technology. 


After that, we will return to analyzing the Raja’s rhythm shift in the Techno world.

A simple introduction to Techno Baroque

As with polyphony and other WCM ideas, we will go from the known to the unknown. We have all heard Raja’s great conventional baroque compositions from the 80s. Let’s look at some his earlier works and also its newer techno baroque versions to understand the difference.


Ananda Ragam from Paneer Pushpangal (1981) – this is a classic Raja composition from the 80s, where he used a whole bank of violins in harmony and created this track which is still difficult to reproduce. Set to Carnatic ragam of Simmendramadhyamam, this has been one of those all time favorite for most Raja fans. 


Let’s hear the original composition…





Let’s hear En Nenjin Ragam from Udhayam (2006) – this carefully avoids use of tabla that was extensively used in the original composition. The prelude uses the violins as in the original composition. However, the violins backing Shreya’s voice through the pallavi are all synthesized ones. The first interlude has synthesizers backing traditional violins everywhere and the flute work remains as in the original composition.  The second interlude is done mostly with synthesizer supporting the original composition (the second and first interlude were done with traditional violins only in the 80s composition). Throughout both the charanams the violins backing the singers are synthesized violins. Raja had used bells extensively in the original composition and this remains the same in the 2006 rebirth. Also, Raja avoids the shehnai (he replaces them with santoor) that was used in the first interlude in the 80s composition.


Let's hear the 21st century version...





Let’s hear Jyotheyale from Geetha (1980) – one of the famous melodies of Raja from the 80s.  This is a nice duet fully written with guitar, violins, bells and flute. The pallavis are fully backed by conventional violins. The first interlude is a great example of harmony of violins and uses vocal humming. There is some synth and bells along with the violins. The track uses drums throughout for rhythm. The second interlude starts off with sliding violins and has some nice bells work and some great violin and flute harmony.


Let’s hear the original composition…







Now, let’s hear Jaane Do Naa from Cheeni Kum (2007). This has the same melody as Jyotheyale and uses keyboards extensively in the piano mode. The rhythm arrangement is with synth pads and is completely different from the Jyotheyale and the tempo is a little faster. The first interlude uses all synthesized violins and keyboard, preserving the harmony elements. The charanams have synth violins backing Shreya’s voice. The second interlude is structured differently from the original and uses synthesized violins throughout. 


Let's hear the 21st century version...





Next, let’s look at the track – Kulzhaloothum Kannanukku from Mella Thiranthadhu Kadhavu (1986).  The prelude is famous for its flute work. The first interlude is a simple one by Raja standards, which has simple orchestration. The charanams are backed by regular violins. The second interlude starts off with a violin/flute counterpoint and has some synth play followed by violins and bells. The rhythm is traditional conga drums for the pallavi and tabla for the charanams.


Let’s hear the original composition…





Baatein Hawa from Cheeni Kum (2007) has the same melody as Kuzhaloothum. Notice the strings are fully replaced by synthesized violins. Also, the congas are replaced by a 4/4 synth pad. The bass guitar does its usual work as in all Raja compositions. The first interlude works off two synth violins in counterpoint, This is followed by a synthesized violins in counter to the synth violins. The charanam is fully backed by synth violins. The charanam also is backed by a 4/4 synthpad rhythm. The second interlude has the rock guitar and synth performing some wonderful harmony, followed by some nice jazz play with the sax. Finally control is transferred to the charanam by some great piano style keyboard play. In the earlier Raja compositions, the piano was always suppressed by his majestic violins – not anymore in the techno baroque world.


Let's hear the 21st century version...





Some of you may be thinking – this is cheating! Here is a Raja fan trying to pass his recycling of old tunes as a new genre!


This is just an introduction and we will see in the next few sections, the workings of this new genre on tracks that have no precedent. No recycling – just new genre! 


In summary, this is what we have seen in our introduction:

 

1. Raja replaces his rhythm with simple 4/4 synthpad based rhythms
2. Raja replaces elaborate violin sections with synth violins
3. He switches to synth flute where appropriate
4. He maintains strict harmony and does his usual counterpoint work
5. He throws an occasional new genre into the mix (most of Raja’s Jazz sax work in Cheeni Kum is a good example)
6. He keeps his bass lines intact
7. He keeps his bells intact
8. Some of his usual guitar work is replaced by keyboards
9. Piano style keyboard work is given more prominence.

Techno Baroque - A Raja genre

There is an old joke with orchestration:

When ain’t baroque, don’t fix it.

The opposite is quite true with Raja. He brings in Baroque style composition regardless of the era he operates. Raja has been criticized by both his fans and detractors for his excessive use of synthesized music in the last 10 years or so. There have also been allegations that his music has become outdated and his new experiments are not working. In this blog, I have maintained that he is as modern as ever and have always provided examples from his entire career span.

If you look at the criticism on the surface, it may appear to make sense. A few scratches and the underlying reality shines. When the biggest banners and directors have deserted Raja, how is he able to survive with small time directors? In 2009, he completed about 18 films in all major Indian languages – Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi. This counts only films that were released. There is only so much your past reputation can buy. There must be some truth to what’s driving one of the most prolific composers of 2009 – few film music composers have such a track record to show after almost 34 years in the competitive film industry. The truth is he is indeed very modern and is set to compete with everyone including composers the age of his grandson!

As usual, we will argue about his new technique that is making him successful in a different way. Here is a musical genius who is reborn in his own lifetime. This series of discussions will speak to his new tools and approach to music making in the 21st century.

Raja in the 80s composed songs making Bach proud (he considers Bach as his mental guru). He started moving away from just guitar, violins and flute to the modern electronic sound with the Roland/Korg synthesizers. Without exception, his compositions between 1985 and 1995 feature a lot of synthesizer, bells. Despite all the modernity, he still wrote meticulously the bass lines and stuck to his short score format – it was four part nevertheless. He continued to make Bach and Hendel proud. Little would have Bach imagined that a villager from Asia will apply his ideas 300 years later using modern electronics six ways to Sunday.

After 1995, he started using a lot of synth drums and sequencers as part of his composition but still stuck to his baroque fundamentals. Slowly, as he replaced some of his violins, tabla, shehnai with his synth sounds, most listeners were unable to keep pace. The criticisms are very loud and were similar to the ridicule he went through in his early days as a composer. His earlier attempts with fusing CCM and WCM were criticized even more than his synth sounds of today. We did not hear the decibel levels of those noises, as the amplifier of noises – internet, was absent. At least, some of today’s critics blunt their criticism as they give his long career of success due credit. In the late 70s, he had no track record to defend as a composer – he faced fireworks from both the CCM and WCM world. Now, he sounds very Techno and jarring to the 90s and early 21 century listeners. Also, in this time period, assembling large string ensembles became hard as most musicians switched to the new electronic sound. This makes life difficult for someone who is used to writing scores for large string/brass/wind ensembles. Any other composer would have packed his bags and left. Raja seems to have experimented and found a new direction to his music. His experiments in Malayalam films with synth sound has turned out to be great and in the last nine years or so, (2001 onwards), he has settled into a new genre of music I call Techno Baroque.

How can you have Techno and Baroque together?

That must be a crazy concoction! There is no genre with that name, but I use it to describe what Raja has been doing in the last 9 years (as of 2010) or so with some of his music. We all understand the Baroque style of music composition and Raja has been doing this for a few decades. We have also described it in great detail in the section ‘What’s the fuss about harmony – Part 1’. Now, what’s this Techno genre of music?

Techno features an abundance of percussive, synthetic sounds, studio effects used as principal instrumentation, and, usually, a regular, 4/4 beat usually in the 130 - 140 bpm range, sometimes faster, but rarely slower. Some techno compositions have strong melodies and bass lines, but these features are not as essential to techno as they are to other dance genres, and it is not uncommon for techno compositions to deemphasize or omit them.

There are many ways to make techno, but a typical techno production is created using a compositional technique that developed to suit the genre's sequencer-driven, electronic instrumentation. While this technique is rooted in a Western music framework (as far as scales, rhythm and meter, and the general role played by each type of instrument), it does not typically employ traditional approaches to composition such as reliance on the playing of notes, the use of overt tonality and melody, or the generation of accompaniment for vocals. Some of the most effective techno music consists of little more than cleverly programmed drum patterns that interplay with different types of reverb and frequency filtering, mixed in such a way that it's not clear where the instrument's timbres end and the added effects begin.

We have a big problem – please note the two statements that can cause a lot of grief in this definition:

• it does not typically employ traditional approaches to composition such as reliance on the playing of notes
• a regular, 4/4 beat usually in the 130 - 140 bpm range

That does not cut it with Raja. He needs to have his Baroque style notes written for music at any time – so he will employ a traditional approach. The techno musicians were weak in writing score sheets – instead, they improvised, sticking to some convenient limitations. Rhythms – 4/4 is too simplistic for Raja – throw that out of the mix. 130-140 bpm range does not suit Indian film music that well as it can get monotonous and pretty hard with lyrics. And throw traditional melody composition on top of all this drawn from CCM, WCM and folk – now, you got the new genre – Techno Baroque.

Notice two more important ideas from the Techno world that has left most of his fans and detractors equally confused:

• A little more than cleverly programmed drum patterns that interplay with different types of reverb and frequency filtering
• It's not clear where the instrument's timbres end and the added effects begin

There is a lot of confusion about some of the rhythm patterns and instrument timbres that Raja uses recently (2009/10) as a result it gets very hard to take apart some of his recent compositions. It’s pretty hard to analyze tracks of Pazhassi Raja (2009) or Kadha Thodharunnu (2010). Analyzing some of the karaoke tracks of Kadha Thodarannu clearly shows how he is easily able to mix genres and blend them easily – the song ‘Aaro Padunnu’ has the rhythm set to techno, the keyboard set to modern electronic Jazz and the melody is still Indian! It takes a lot of experimentation to get to where Raja has got. In my view, he has not only taken a wild beast called Techno and domesticated it, but also trained it to coexist with his other farm animals! To put it otherwise, here is the new bar he has set for all Indian composers! Baroque style music by itself is quite boring beyond a point unless you embellish it with other melody elements such as CCM, folk techniques. Techno by itself is quite monotonous and not so pleasant to the average Indian film music listener. An appropriate mix of these two schools of music – one from the 17th century and another from the 20th century is something only an ultra modern musical genius can think of. Welcome to the new Raja!