Ghibran is
undoubtedly a beacon of hope in Tamil film music. Immensely original. A fresh
voice. Muted and Modest. Not an Anirudh or even a Santosh Narayanan in popularity,
but was the composer for three consecutive Kamal Hasan films. Ghibran has been
quietly marching ahead with tenacity and focusing on composing well-rounded songs;
give him any mood or ask for any genre, he cooks a song with a clean and crisp
melody, rich and dense arrangements, and moreover, always, a dash of sparkling
newness. Nayyaandi Songs are a towering
testament to his wicked mastery.
Ghibran is
probably the first Tamil film composer, who had access to a full-length
symphony orchestra to record his debut film soundtrack (Vaagai Sooda Va). He studied film music in Singapore, and was
aspiring to work in Hans Zimmer’s team, but fortunately for us, he didn’t. With
his melodies soaked in Hindustani classical and his orchestration in western
classical, he doesn’t condescend on electronica. He always managed to strike a
fine balance between symphonic and synthesized music in his arrangements (he
call it Hybrid Orchestral). The heft of his melodies that lends it longevity is
cleverly camouflaged under the easy niceties to deliver instant pleasure.
Ghibran has
recently released a single, an instrumental track, called You in me, that corroborates my assertions on his music, his
influences, and his methods.
Amidst the
singles that are not much different from your typical Tamil film song, which
shows no promise of breaking the shackles of the barriers imposed by the music
made for the medium of Tamil cinema, an instrumental piece, even if it sticks
entirely to the idioms of a Tamil film score, is a welcome initiative. This
proves that the creator, though aware of the unpopularity of instrumental
music, is willing to create, for he loves to create, and genuinely hopes it
will eventually find its audience.
In You in Me, the motif is short, quiet
and melodic; ethereal and dreamy when it sparkles out of an acoustic piano; sounds
like a quintessential love theme in a Tamil film, especially when recapitulated
on an angelic female voice. Upon multiple recurrences in the span of the piece,
the melody does seem capable of evincing a neutral universality. The song soon
enters a meandering zone in the middle, where a distant woodwind plays a muted yearning
melody, against the occasionally rising brass tones and celestial atmospherics.
And piano quietly runs underneath in allegretto through the hazy jungle of
sounds. The theme is reprised electronically against techno beats, with
multiple layers of instruments fluttering away as accompaniments (a palette
Ghibran wonderfully put to use in
Enthaara song). I do enjoy moody, languorous soundscape pieces, however, with
a melody as malleable and potent as in this piece, I would have liked a few
more variegated orchestral versions of it neatly strung together within the piece.
Go forth and
conquer Ghibran! Looking forward to more in the Ghibran’s Orchestra Series.