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Solo, yet successful
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A choreographer-turned-singer tries his hand at Indipop
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MULTIFACETED MUSICIAN Vijay Athma
Vijay Athma is the music composer, singer and lyricist for his debut album. He is the choreographer and model in the video too. Talk about multi-faceted personalities!
Considering the fact that releasing an album of original non-film songs in India itself deserves more than a pat on the back — not too many artistes or music companies are willing to budge an inch from the remix formula — we cannot but appreciate the courage of a man who single-handedly creates an entire album and makes the video.
Training ground
Athma has a background in choreography since he is part of a dance training institute in Pune, Latino Dance Club, along with Shelly Arora. Athma teaches Salsa, Samba, Tango and other Latin American dance forms. Though there is no Latino flavour in his tracks, the videos feature some impressive twisting and turning.
Vijay Athma's album Let The Story Unfold (Times Music, CD, Rs. 195) seems a bit out of place in the so called Indipop scene, but Athma's efforts at sounding honest and straight has seen the album growing gradually in popularity. The skyrocketing popularity of the first single from the album, "Thoya Thoya", and its slow, steady journey up the charts is worthy of notice.
When you first hear "Thoya Thoya", it gives you a "I've heard this tune somewhere before" feeling. Hear it for the second time and you realise the song has a (hopefully unintentional) resemblance to "Gila Gila" from the soundtrack of the movie Aitraaz, Bollywood's reply to the Michael Douglas-Demi Moore starrer Disclosure. Hear it for the third time, and you realise Athma's track is a much better product. The innovative use of the flute and his smooth, husky vocals has made it a hummable, breezy number. The remix version of the track, which appears towards the end of the album, is hugely danceable.
Bubbly numbers
The naughty, bubbly side of the man comes alive in tracks such as "Nach Le" and "Mere Sanam", while the other tracks in the album range from moderately slow to pacy numbers, a common factor being a "don't worry, life is bindaas" attitude.
An impressive single-handed debut effort.
A. VISHNU
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