The interview which appears below, was originally aired on Rahmania - Aaha FM in July 2008. Interview excerpt is written by V.R. Vithur from the A.R. Rahman Yahoo Fans Group. ©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.
Krishna Chetan’s father is a Thumba Player, by name Thumba Raja, and was a close friend and associate of A.R. Rahman.
I am Krishna Chetan. I do music programming and music production for A.R. Rahman. I have been working with him for the past three years. I did my five grades in music and solo piano. I learned from a teacher called Venkatesh, whose daughter was nicknamed “I Love You.”
It was my father’s decision that I got introduced to the keyboard. I learned the keyboard, and my younger brother learned the guitar. My father had three sons, so he wanted to split it up. My other brother is doing rhythms. Since my father was in the music field, he guided us to practice it in the proper way.
As we grow bigger and get associated with big people, we tend to imbibe their qualities.
I also play the drums, along with the keyboard. I used to play cricket. A.R. Rahman’s mother and sister used to feel that I, along with the group of kids at that time, were very naughty and used to play pranks to a great extent.
Music changes people. I think while learning the drums, you get some aggressiveness. You need to have a lot of energy. But for keyboard players, you need more peace. You need to have a mindset for doing your work.
When I started playing the keyboard, the top player at that time was Joshua Sridhar. “Boys” was released at that time, and he was working with A.R. Rahman. I also worked with Joshua for his music production. I have always been inspired by Rahman, right from my earlier days.
I was very excited to work with him, but then I understood that he is also a human being and that he is kind to everyone. He doesn’t have that big attitude at all. Then slowly, I found it easy to work with him. The first song that I worked on was “Vaaji Vaaji.” My second song was from Rang De Basanti. I have done a lot of work in Sakkarakatti and Azhagiya Tamizh Magan. In Sakkarakatti, for two to three songs, I think I have done major work, like emini, hip hop beat, and orchestrations. In Azhagiya Tamizh Magan, did the Ponmagal remix?
We wanted to take it to the next level. That was the only thing in our minds. We just saw the melody in that song and saw it as a fresh melody. We thought of orchestrating it as if it had been composed recently.
First of all, I am with Rahman from night to day all through. Sometimes, I do the beats in the groove for him to compose. When he is ready with the tune, we take it to the next level: the chords, the base, and the entire arrangements. Sometimes, we do it before recording the voice or sometimes after recording the voice. After the tune gets approved, we take it to the second stage, producing it more.
Most of the time, what I have done and what he wanted me to do sync well. Very rarely, things have gone the other way, where he has not approved my work.
The comfort level with Rahman is slowly increasing, and I am becoming more and more comfortable and confident. The main advantage is the time. You have all the time to do whatever you would want to. He won’t rush you or push you. Since being with him, you tend to travel a lot and meet the best musicians around the globe, like guitarists and flutists. We work with the best people. Every instrument and even voices. It always helps keep discovering something new.
Before joining Rahman, I used to spend most of my money on buying instruments and trying to discover something new, but now Sir sponsors everything. I work on his equipment. Even if someone gives you a laboratory, you need to know what is to be done. Do a lot of research and development to keep myself updated.
We make our own food when we travel abroad. We go out for shopping. Rahman knows how to make an omelet (told by Raihanaji). We do bread toast. He also taught me how to make an omelet. Once he took me to the kitchen, and he made that for me. It was very nice. He also said, “You know why I did this for you, so that from tomorrow, you would cook this for me.” So, I became the cook from the next day.
The song “Nee Maryln Monroe” from Azhagiya Tamizh Magan all happened in one night itself. This song was actually an example of a song that was supposed to be an ordinary one but reached a different level altogether.
The most difficult song was “Sahaana” (maybe). The chords were done by Sir. He did it in one feel, and we did the fill overs in the same feel. At one stage, you won’t be able to play normal chords. Your ear grows when you hear good music, and when you play something usual, you will not like it. You will not be satisfied until you get something right.
