The interview which appears below, was originally published on PTI in March 2015. ©The rights to this material are reserved to the owner. If you have any concerns or comments, please send an email to info@rahmaniac.com.
Classical singer Ila Paliwal, who will soon come up with her debut album “Navaratna”, produced by A.R. Rahman, says it is difficult to match the thought process and creativity of the Oscar-winning composer. “Rahman’s humbleness, his brilliance and the ability to bring out the best in a person sets him apart from others. It is difficult to match his thought process and creativity.
He understands music like nobody else,” Ila told PTI.
“His involvement at every stage of the album was crucial as it added value in creating a masterpiece. He would listen to each song and we would together make multiple iterations. In fact, the Eid song in the album is his composition completely,” she said.
The album is conceptualised and sung by Ila, musically arranged by Ranjit Barot and produced by A.R. Rahman. The concept of the album, comprising nine songs, is based on thousands of year’s old Indian classical raagas which resonate with happiness and celebrations during nine major Indian festivals.
The nine tracks highlight the Indian festivals like Pongal, Holi, Baisakhi, Eid, Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Puja, Diwali and Christmas.
“Until now, Indian classical music has raagas and compositions about various Gods, Hindu festivals, seasons etc. A dedicated album which would define India’s diverse culture was lacking. We as a country celebrate festivals all round the year, this was the key for conceptualising Navaratna,” the New York-based vocalist said.
For Ila, the biggest challenge was to coordinate and work with multiple technicians and musicians from around the globe. “Coordinating their (technicians and musicians) schedules and working in common time zones with all them was a mammoth task,” she added.
Ila recently performed in Mumbai, said she was very excited to perform in the city as this is where the team recorded most of the songs.
“I believe a little bit of positive nervousness (for the performance) is always good because, it keeps you humble,” she said.
