CHENNAI: A balmy evening at the Chennai Press Club saw the launch of the album Fusion Rocks, a collection of compositions by RN Ramkumar, featuring several renowned musicians. The album, Ramkumar’s second in two years, comprises five songs, each set to a particular raga with the intention of creating a specific mood. The album was launched by chief guest and music director for over 75 films, Kalaimamani Bharadwaj, and the first copy was presented to classical musician, Kalaimamani Embar Kannan. Ramkumar, whose first album was called Fusion Captivated, attributed the successful completion of his new project to team work, thanking the well-known musicians who have contributed to it, including Embar Kannan on the violin, Rajesh Vaidya on the veena and singer Ananthu, who was one of the dignitaries present.The first song in the album, High Voltage in raga Mayamalavagoula portrays the zeal of the youth in today’s world. The second song is Sweet Memories, meant to evoke melancholy memories, and set to raga Shivaranjini. Another piece, Lullaby in Mohanam is an exploration of the how music can transport a restless child to the deepest slumber. The final song is titled Four-In-One, a unique experiment of sorts, where only four notes are used to represent the joys of a four-membered family. The song, a mélange of the genres of Hindustani, Carnatic and Jazz, proved to be a challenging project for the musicians involved. As Embar Kannan remarked, “Having to create music within the boundaries of four notes was restricting, but interesting.”Bharadwaj commended both the choice of master musicians and the fact that Fusion Rocks seeks to convey various sentiments through the compositions. True to its name, the album has incorporated a variety of instruments such as the flute, trombone, bass guitar, table and keyboard, and is a mix of several musical styles, though predominantly Carnatic.Ramkumar, who began playing the mridangam at the age of six and has been trained by ghatam stalwart Vikku Vinayakaram, composed his first fusion programme at the age of 14. He says, “I hope to be able to sustain the glory of Carnatic music through fusion,” he said. (Fusion Rocks is priced at `100. CDs are available at all leading outlets.)
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