My ramblings on technology, faith, music and life in general..

The Beyond Carlton movement has been in force for almost two years now, with the second anniversary of the fire tragedy coming up on Feb 23, 2012. This song is the theme song of the movement. It is a ‘trilingual’, with Hindi, English and a regional language that will help adapt it for various states/regions. We’ve started with Malayalam, with Rahul Soman wielding the pen, and Tamil and Kannada versions are under development.

Please visit and ‘like’ Beyond Carlton’s Facebook Page and express your solidarity with a cause that is as much yours as it is ours.

Music and English/Hindi lyrics: Nitin Dubey
Malayalam lyrics: Rahul Soman
English Vocals and harmonies: George Kuruvilla
Hindi and Malayalam vocals: KB Unnikrishnan
Electric lead and rhythm guitars: Sudeip Ghosh
Bass guitar, acoustic rhythm guitars, drum programming and piano: Nitin Dubey
Additional vocals: Navin Prabhakar and Arunaditya Basu
Special thanks: Sanour Sunny

I am pleased on post an original composition that I worked on in 2011. It is called Mere Dil Mein. The song and credits can be found at the link below. Do provide your feedback!

http://blogswara.in/bls/2012/01/01-mere-dil-mein-hindienglish/

For the past two years, I have only been posting my work on Muziboo, Facebook and Soundcloud. Going forward, my blog and facebook will be the primary source for all my music. I have a number of original compositions on the way, but to get things started, I thought I would post some of my most recent work. Enjoy!

You are My King (Chris Tomlin)

Dirty Diana (Michael Jackson)

Sau Gram Zindagi (Guzaarish)

Forbidden Colors (ryuichi sakamoto)

Everything (Michael Buble)

Earth Song (Michael Jackson)

Rocketeer (Far East Movement)

Many of you dont know that my wife sings as well. Three of her songs were recently featured on  a Pakistani Radio show, The SMS Show hosted by RJ Hasib Anwar. It was a pleasant surprise to us as the songs were featured on her Dad’s Birthday. He passed away last year and hence was a fitting tribute to him. I was informed by the RJ that they received rave reviews on her covers. The CEO of a UK based Radio show, Splash Radio was one of the listeners and he will be featuring her songs on Wednesday on Splash Radio. I want to take this opportunity to thank Hasib for featuring her songs and for promoting new talent!  I am very proud of her and hope this motivates her to sing more often. Below are the recordings from the show:

Dont Know Why – (Norah Jones Cover)

Here With Me (Dido Cover)

Angel (Sarah Mclachlan Cover)

As most of you may already know, I am part of a music community called Muziboo where amateur singers/composers/musicians post covers and original work. I always find it interesting to see how people sing covers and also how covers are critiqued. It seems that in general there are a two different schools of thought. There are those who believe that when a person sings a cover, he should try to reproduce the original as is. If he is not able to, then it shows his inability to do so and is seen as a flaw/shortcoming in the cover. There is also a second set of people who believe when a person sings a cover, he/she should be creative and add some originality to the interpretation. The basic structure and the essence of the original should still be maintained though.

I belong to the the second school of thought. I have always believed that an artist should let his/her imagination run wild when doing covers and try to bring in as much of their own individuality as possible. I dont want my cover to be known for being just like the original. I would be much happier if people remember my version of the song for its originality. The next time they hear the original, I want them to think of my version. Today I was listening to Kris Allen’s version of Aint No Sunshine, which is what prompted me to write this artice. When he sang this song on America Idol last year, I was lost for words. It was that authentic and creative.. So much so that a lot of people now remember his version first. I am posting the original by Bill Withers and also the cover version by Kris Allen. I think this is one of the best examples of an excellent cover – Keeps the essence of the original and yet stand out on its own!

Bill Withers Version of aint no Sunshine:

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Kris Allen’s Cover of Aint No Sunshine:

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For a few years now, its been a dream of mine to make a Gospel CD of sorts with all my favorite gospel songs. This dream has finally come true and I wanted to share my joy with you all. I hope this is a new beginning in my musical life and pray that God guides me in the right path and gives me opportunities to sing and use my talent to glorify his name.

You can play the tracks below and also download the individual tracks or the entire set. I have also included the lyrics.

Download the whole album here

Track Listing
1. Blessed Be Your Name –

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2. Another Day In Paradise –

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3. In Christ Alone –

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4. Who Am I –

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5. Jesus King of Angels –

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6. Here I Am To Worship –

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7. I Believe –

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8. I Surrender All –

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9. You Never Let Go –

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10. Give Me Jesus –

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A Merry Christmas to all of you in advance!

This is a continuation of my old post on Home Recording for newbies. The first part was very well received and a number of my friends asked me to post another short tutorial. I have tried to capture whatever I can into this tutorial. Would be happy to hear your feedback.

Audio Mixing Tutorial for Beginners – Part 2 from George Kuruvilla on Vimeo.

I decided to cover a hindi song for a change. Tara Balakrishnan bought me this track for my birthday and I’ve been procrastinating for a while. I love this song for its edgy vocals and lovely bass line. As always I’ve added some harmonies here n there. Hope this cover was worth your time.

Thanks for the track Tara!

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Its been a while since I sang anything bluesy. I love the progression of notes typically in blues and this song is no exception. Gary Moore has been on my daily playlist for about 10 years now and this is one of my favorite tracks of his. I’ve tried to capture the emotions as best as I can. Hope this takes you all to a special place.

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No matter how a day is or how stressed out I might be, this song always gives me peace. It takes me to a place I cannot describe. I felt the same when I sang this today. A sense of inner peace. This is a Sting classic from the album Ten Summoners Tales. I have added some harmonies and backing vocals, but other than that its pretty close to the original. I hope you feel the same way I do when you listen to this.

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