K.S. Chithra

K.S. Chithra
Reviewed by Sadie O., 3/15/12
South Indian female vocalist with some pretty odd songwriters (and an impossibly pure and expressive ultra-sonically high voice). Ranges from Bollywood to… I dunno what – complete strangeness. Definitely inventive mixtures of influences, Eastern and Western. If this stuff didn’t exist, you couldn’t make it up.
Pretty sure it’s all in Tamil. Doubt there’s FCCs…
1. 0:41 seems to start about 5 seconds late, all chimes. Pretty.
2. 4:29 ***syndrum intro, then uptempo funky 80’s-ish groove, high female vocals. Very upbeat, poppy… Goes swingy-Indian-trad periodically. Whew!
3. 4:38 *starts with Indian religious chanting and orchestral bit, midtempo swingy with swooping vocals. Pretty and mellow. Old-school Bollywood-y.
4. 4:24 ***odd hollow bonks intro, then downtempo march with flutes and electronics. Gets an odd loping groove with fake birds. Pretty profoundly odd!
5. 4:07 **pretty, trad flute intro, then midtempo Bollywood, lovely vocal duet, and some freaky instrument solos.
6. 4:40 ***processed vocals, then slinky funky pop with crazy bass, bouncy and groovy.
7. 4:59 **male wailing intro, pause for applause, then what seems to be a very fraught vocal battle with very dramatic cinematic music. There are certainly some serious vocal gymnastics on both sides…
8. 5:04 *romantic tinkly piano, then syncopated electronic beats… vocal duet, clearly romantic. Aw. Sweet. Would be pretty boring, frankly, but the musical composition is pretty unique. Ends with cackles (!?)
9. 4:24 ***upbeat and chirpy cross between 60’s pop and Indian trad folk. Yummy goodness. Super extreme grooviness, too.
10. 4:49 *****get down with the funky… violins? GNARLY. I mean to say….damn! I’m speechless.
11. 4:28 ****odd vocal and synth duet intro, bouncy spy movie romp with percussion and an odd mash of sweet and strange instrumental elements. Ends abruptly.
12. 5:11 **pretty flute and vocal chorus, midtempo, swingy and very relaxed. Closer to Indian folk/festival than Western pop. Mostly…
13. 4:17 *uptempo alt-pop with odd bass undertone, but mostly rather “normal” fimli music sound.
14. 4:32 **breathy solo vocal intro, then chimes and flute trills, downtempo relaxed loping groove with acoustic guitar and synth. And Indian handdrums. Another odd mashup – there’s a surprise!
15. 4:23 ****midtempo, slightly ominous (or jaunty?) electronic groove with lots of odd bits. Fine vocal duet, GREAT music sound.
16. 4:22 ***na na na vocal duet, midtempo sitar/synth pop mashup.
17. 4:33 ***lovely trad vocal intro, then midtempo pop/spy/groovy/funky something. Twangy something, sax – I give up, I can’t break down all the elements.