The Most “Unsung” Tamil Music of the Decade!
The decade has been phenomenal, with the kind of genres, instruments, harmonies, acapellas and the experimentation done with Tamil cinema music. It saw the advent of “auto-tune”, viral lyrical videos, singles, making videos of songs, celebrated new musical directors, accoladed independent music and saw the immense reach of music through paid music streaming applications and the like. As this amazing decade reaches its close, I sat down to curate this list, which would highlight the most interesting, experimented or heartwrenching music of the year, which probably didn’t garner the kind of attention they deserved, or which needed to be cherished and rhapsodized more.
- Ennadi Maayavi Nee — Vada Chennai (2018)
A brilliantly composed song with some glorious use of instruments and orchestration, that tugs your heartstrings, makes you nostalgic, self-introspect and is the kind of song you would love to listen, sipping a cup of chai and looking out of the window as it rains. A completely surreal experience elevated to a higher level by Sid Sriram’s soulful rendition!
2. Parandhu Sella Va — OK Kanmani (2015)
What happens when two vocalists sit one lazy afternoon, jamming on a loopy app, experimenting with different genres, moods and instruments and trying to create something romantic in the process, is this wonderful piece of music! An absolutely casual, quirky, feet tapping yet a superbly romantic number, by Karthik and Sashaa, still brings a smile on my face, even when i listen to it almost four years later! Genius!
3. Vizhigalil Oru Vaanavil — Deiva Thirumagal (2011)
Singer Saindhavi has been quite an under-utilised talent whose superlative musical abilities have always been best brought out by husband G.V. Prakash. One such gem with cutesy, whisperish kind of singing, with earnest simplicity and elevated by a mild background score and nature based sounds is this cherubic song that proves that classical intricacies need not always be key to a successful number, but just the right bit of elegance, simplicity and emotions would just do!
4. Mella Sirithai – Kalyana Samayal Saadham (2013)
A breezy, romantic number that worked for me due to the completely effortless rendition of Chinmayi and Haricharan, the feel-good vibe inherent throughout the song and partly due to its innovative picturization which when watched brings a smile to my face even today. Totally recommended for newly engaged couples!
5. Oru Murai – Uyir Mozhi (2016)
A beautifully rendered masterpiece by Pradeep Kumar and a brilliant composition by Santosh Narayanan, grows on you as a listener, with its intricate highs and lows and scintillating sangathis weaved in smoothly, during the course of the song. An absolutely strong contender for a competitive performance!
6. Life of Ram – 96 (2018)
This is from an album that completely dominated my playlist, even months after the release of the movie due to its serene mood, stupendous usage of instruments and wonderful rendition by its lead vocalists. Life of Ram, is again, a Pradeep Kumar signature song that probably got sidelined with Kaathale Kaathale and other songs topping musical charts. This is a number that you must listen to, in silence, may be when you are self-introspective, or when you lack motivation, when you need to push back in life. A song that indeed, brings the rejuvenation that you require, after all!
7. Aye Mr Minor – Kaaviyathalaivan (2014)
A song that had to sound like it was sung in the 80s, by professional drama artistes, playful in love and yet with a mild classical touch and how ARR, Shweta Mohan and Haricharan ace this with grace and elegance! Quirky sangathis that fall smoothly in place in a vibrant Raga just make this number a must hear!
8. Kaarkuzhal kadaivaiye – Vada Chennai (2018)
Another extremely amazing song that could be listened to in solitude, while walking, in the gym or randomly while at work, but is sure to give you goosebumps every single time! A superb chorus and a high octane bridge, that bring in a certain spark and positivity whenever I listen to it! Mellifluously tendered by Sriram Parthasarathy, Pradeep Kumar amongst others, this one should be a sure shot on your playlist, right away!
9. Maadhare- Bigil (2019)
While verithanam and singa penne topped charts this year, Maathare went almost unnoticed but is the most interestingly made song in the album. A song that needs to bring in motivation, bring out the feminist in you, sound like an anthem, show a bit of anger and bring back the zest to excel. And ARR does this effortlessly again, with such a well coordinated and harmonised rendition by the lead singers. The song has a Baahubali-esque feel but nevertheless, is for the feminist in you!
10. Poo avizhum Pozhuthil – Enakkul Oruvan (2015)
I saved this for the end, and is the best pick of this list! I stumbled upon this song just couple of months ago and felt ashamed I didn’t listen to this earlier, despite being a music enthusiast. Another powerhouse rendition by Pradeep so mellifluously composed by Santosh Narayanan, an immensely beautiful chorus in an absolutely beautiful Raga, with some clever instrumentals, this needs to be the song you need to listen to, with eyes closed and the serenity it gives you is unimaginable.
The decade has indeed, given us some fine music that we would cherish in the years to come and let’s hope more experimentation, independent, soul stirring and innovative music hits us in the decade to come!
