Beloved ‘Get pleasure from Enjaami’ and the tracks from ‘Karnan’? It’s the results of a number of hours put in by sound engineer Sai Shravanam whose newest undertaking is a tribute to India’s rivers
Sai Shravanam is taking part in an aalaap from his latest musical undertaking ‘Rivers of India’ at his state-of-the-art recording studio Resound India in Adyar, a spot he calls “my temple”.
He toggles between laptop displays and a large recording console to play two tracks — one authentic and the opposite he has labored on — and factors out the musical distinction. “I wished this portion of the monitor to be ethereal and the voice to be God-like. Sound engineering is extremely vital to convey the perfect out of a musician,” he says.
And he ought to know; Sai is the person behind the wealthy sound of a number of main musicians in movies and classical music universe. Lately, he acquired the Kalaimamani award from the Tamil Nadu Authorities, turning into the primary sound recordist to take action. His latest works embrace the viral hit ‘Get pleasure from Enjaami’ and tracks from Dhanush’s Karnan, however Sai is pumped on the response for ‘Rivers of India’.
“The track is a tribute to valuable water sources within the nation and stresses on the necessity to defend them,” he says.
Conceived by Kanniks Kannikeswaran, ‘Rivers of India’ not solely includes a never-before-seen collaboration between Bombay Jayashri, Kaushiki Chakraborty, Rishith Desikan and Amrit Ramnath, but additionally has a refrain part by the worldwide IIT alumni. “He [Kanniks] has labored laborious for spreading Indian choral music within the US; he referred to as me about this undertaking for IIT-Madras,” remembers Sai.
The duo realised that there was not a single track that carries the names of all the foremost rivers in India, and determined to weave them right into a track. “Tasks like these give me immense happiness because it helps me discover my thirst as a musician and producer. Rivers are one thing that a number of generations witness; so we roped in two mother-son duos (Bombay Jayashri and Amrit, and Kaushiki Chakraborty and Rishith Desikan),” he provides.
Bombay Jayashri and Amrit Ramnath
A unique beat
Sai believes sound is valuable and that he has earned the sobriquet ‘the person with the golden ear’ as a result of he doesn’t distinguish between genres. “The day I see music as various things, reminiscent of classical, movies and others, I might be completed. Sound and music are my best inspiration no matter who the artiste is.”
His personal musicality too performs an enormous position when he’s mixing and mastering songs. “I’m not a technician who modifications plug-ins. I find yourself involving myself lots with the work,” says Sai. His different position is that of a tabla participant; he has been taking part in frequently for AR Rahman and has had many memorable experiences. ‘Tum Ko Paa Hello Liya’ in Rockstar was one. “I used to be referred to as and I performed simply as soon as, and was then requested to go away. There have been no retakes. I assumed that Rahman sir had not favored what I performed, however after I heard the track, the complete portion I performed was retained. Once I requested him about it, he mentioned, ‘What comes first comes from God. What comes subsequent comes from you’. That profound assertion modified the best way I have a look at life,” he provides.
Kaushiki Chakraborty and Rishith Desikan
Script and sound
Sai has a novel manner of working with songs; he sequences them so as in his recording console, very like how a storyboard artist would do with a script. “Sequencing is vital as a result of I consider that storytelling is an integral a part of music,” says Sai, whose upcoming tasks together with songs with composer C Sathya and singer-composer Sean Roldan.
He’s very a lot a behind-the-scenes technician who contributes to the ultimate musical output. “Sound engineering shouldn’t be merely tweaking a number of knobs. It’s a lifetime dedication in direction of music as a result of it could actually make or break a track,” he says.
Sai often works greater than 15 hours a day, cocooned in his air-conditioned studio and dealing on numerous genres of music which are dished out by composers. “It would sound like a pleasant job however it comes with challenges; as a sound engineer, we now have to maintain listening to numerous variations of a single line a number of instances and in numerous frequencies to see which works and which doesn’t. Provided that there’s ardour and a love for music can one try this. In at the moment’s films, there’s stress for achievement. There may be at all times an expectation on it to turn out to be hits. However views don’t outline music, intent defines it,” he provides.