LIFE EXPLODES INTO MUSIC
9/11. The crumbling twin towers raised into the smokeladen air a startling awareness of the awesomeness of terrorism. It's like a disgruntled volcano impatient to push its angry face through the "safe" surface we like to live on. Vijayan Almeida a young goan musician, echoed the horror of global terrorism in his single 9/11 which is still rocking the airwaves on AIR's FM Rainbow station. The song hits our consciousness with a distortion guitar riff. The ghumat(goan) and the Kanjira(carnatic) layer the pulsating grumbling melodic line with exotic percussive thrusts creating an uncommon sound with an Arabic feel and a Goan beat. The lead singer sounds posessed, his intense voice charged with passion, gripped by the sincerety of his comment on global terrorism.
The song has the backbone to probe the root cause of terrorism with a question mar stretching across a vast spectrum. The world is pushed into deep soul searching of the monster nurtured by myopic vision which has led us to a self dug grave, followed by the warning that ,"if u don't slay the devil within we're all gonna lose". But Vijayan sees grim reality with a vision of hope," its time for us to rise above political convenience and realise that our lives are entwined with the lives of others, we've got to think about this global family...." The lyrics, the melody, the ear enchanting percussive effects, the goan arabic rock fusion coupled with the soon to be released music video are sure to make this song a blast.
Kismet's first album Manthan will feature 9/11 and nine other tracks. Butterfly combines a lilting flute melody with the spoken voice of a friend b who calls herself Butterfly, encouraging Vijayan during a period of depression.
His inventiveness is exciting, Georgett LaBreche, a Rhode Island based jazz vocalist with two albums to her credit will record a carnatic - western jazz fusion song entitled A mother's Love with KISMET. Originally Vijayan's guitar burst out the rush of changing feelings of a mother-child relationship through the child's journey through life. Now Georgette's glorious voice will wrap the lyrics with a rich tonality and emotion drawn from her own experience of the trials and joys of motherhood.
Well known Goan Journalist Ethel da Costa, makes her debut as a rapper in the song "The end of Innocence" which strikes at tourism related pedophilia in Goa, asking those hard questions that are often swept under the carpet. "we're guilty of a crime we shrug away/hypocrisy and pretence/while our children are birds of prey/little spirits bound with chains of sand/it doesn't matter as long as the pound buys their greed." The Chorus written by VIjayan reiterates the message,"It's time for us to open our eyes, stop pretending we cannot see, don't let the dollar make you blind, its time to wake up to reality." The Goan rythms of the dhol and taaso join forces with hip-hop, folk, and rock music to carry the message.
KISMET has something special for us to enjoy. Their sonic adventures know no bounds.
By LES MENEZES.