Very few music directors know how to use a deep timbred female voice. There seems to be some rule which states all female playback voices have to sing in C or thereabouts to match the male vocal comfort zone. What about good voices which have other ranges. Simple, they are made to feel that since they can't reach the dizzying heights in which the tune was composed, they are no good as singers. Unless they can sing cheap raunchy numbers. Then it's alright to have "other" than dulcet tones!
L R Eswari was a voice like that, today, since the heroine also doubles up as vamp, you have Anoushka, Anuradha Sriram (when she sings in a low pleasant pitch), Chinmayi in her Guru song (Rahman always experimented and elbowed himself some room to try out new musical ideas) and Sunidhi Chauhan. You get to hear a pleasant range of voices. But Kannada films still have to get to that understanding. More than that, everyone needs to understand that a Diana Krall is not a "bad girl" voice. Then we might get more hits like "Vaseegara" by Bombay Jayshri!
Talking of pitch, the great Indian spinner B S Chandrashekhar dropped in at the studio. His wife, Sandhya is recording some bhave geethes at The Music Mint, but he wasn't able to make it up the stairs. Since his accident, he's had many operations, I was told. Sandhya Chandrashekhar said she was enjoying her first experience at recording!
We did two Sankranti musicals for radio as well as loads of jingles. We chatted up with two Indian musicians, Srikant and Gautham, now in the States. They want to work on their first album with us.
Well, more in a while!