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Unique albums
WITH THE onslaught of film music and Indipop albums, the market for international music in the country has been stagnant, of late. Music companies, these days, are only happy to put their money on compilation albums. They don't have to pay for new releases. And customers are happy to get music from a handful of artistes in one album, which would cost much more to buy as individual products of each artiste. This trend can be seen in the number of `Max', `Now', `This is Trance', `DJ Files' and other compilation series which are released almost every six months. With increasing competition, music companies come up with unique, imaginative ideas to rope in customers. This week, we feature two such albums which have off-beat themes.
The first album is a collection of 18 handpicked songs, which are meant to make you feel happy. Surprised? Don't be. `Instant happiness', no less, is what the album guarantees you. The Feel Good Album (Sony Music; Cassette; Rs. 135) is no doubt, a collection of songs, which have a light flavour running through them. But then, they are not slow at all. I'll be There For You by The Rembrandts (From the Friends TV Series), Turn Off The Light by Nelly Furtado, Getting' Jiggy With It by `rap guru' Will Smith, Survivor by Destiny's Child are the major ones on side A.
The flip side begins with tracks like Dreams by Gabrielle and Crush by Jenifer Paige but picks up tempo with You'll Be Mine and then takes you on a wild ride with Rapture by IIO and Shiny Disco Balls by Who Da Funk, finally ending with Heaven by DJ Sammy - all of which are dance-floor favourites.
A unique theme, indeed. And yes, it does live up to its claims, once you have listened to it a few times.
Another album with a similar theme, is called Around The World - A Musical Trip (Sony Music; Cassette; Rs. 135). It features 16 tracks, which contain musical influences from around the world. In other words, each of the songs feature musical styles of one particular country. Most of the songs featured have been commercially successful in the popular music segment.
The very popular Sweet Lullaby by Deep Forest representing France, Safri Duo's Played-A-Live representing Denmark, Gurus of Peace by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and A.R. Rahman (from Rahman's Vande Mataram) representing India and Pakistan are few of the tracks featured in this unique album. Though some of the artistes may not be popular names, their work has been successful in reflecting the music from the countries where they hail from. The inlay cover of the album gives a detailed description of World music, and more precisely what the album offersBritain, Egypt, China and Germany are a few other countries, which have been represented musically in the album. A very mature and innovative concept.
A. VISHNU
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