Grooves unlimited

The rabab is his core instrument,but Chintoo Singh is also an accomplished composer and vocalist. He is out now with his new album,Urban Grooves Project - Punjab.

The rabab is his core instrument,but Chintoo Singh is also an accomplished composer and vocalist. He is out now with his new album,Urban Grooves Project 8211; Punjab.

Guitarist,rabab and tambur player,arran-ger and vocalist 8211; Chintoo Singh,whose track-record includes playing with and arranging songs for Jagjit Singh,Sonu Niigaam,Kailash Kher,Lucky Ali and Ghulam Ali,made his singing debut when he recorded some tracks for Great Works Of The Bhakti Era some years back and the singer he had chosen,Hans Raj Hans,insisted he retain his voice.

In his latest album,where Punjab,his home state has been chosen as the latest province in EMIs Urban Grooves Project series,Chin2 Singh as he likes to call himself has done a mix of original compositions and re-creations of traditional songs from Punjab.

The arrangements are all new, he says,with characteristic excitement in his voice. I have presented,for example,the Heer in my style. But there are original songs too. Like Lokien suttey nien and Chal chal phataphat,which make up the first track,and the sixth one,which is made up of Ankhiyaan pandiyaan and Kamli yaar di,are old folk lyrics thar date back as far as the 12th century.

The ambience created aurally is of songs sung around a bonfire with the tambur,a string instrument that originated in Iran,rather than with the harmonium. I have also sung Jagga,a track that is actually about dakus and their heists, says Singh who has tried presenting a complete spectrum of Punjabi folk in this album. There are wedding songs Kala shakala and Gora rang,Chhalla,an ode to unrequited love,Jind maahi,a traditional folk number,Meri daachi and Tappe,both love songs again,and the tragic songs Mirza and Sindh bhairavi.

Singh is grateful about this chance for showing diverse skills in one album 8211; after all,as the son of music director Mohinderjeet Singh who started learning at the age of 10,it is a chance to exhibit his range of skills. Singh has learnt the violin,mandolin and guitar as well. In films now,I only play the guitar, he adds quirkily.

17 years ago,when Singh was himself just 17,he first played the guitar on R.D. Burmans 1942 8211; A Love Story,but soon an exposure to the rabab enslaved him for good to this multi-string 12th century instrument usually associated with Afghanistan and Kashmir and best represented in Pathan-based songs like Yaari hain imaan Zanjeer and Tu na jaa mere badshah Khuda Gawah. His solo rabab shows became a rage,but he soon realised that there was limited scope in Hindi films for them,where he soon became an arranger. He also composed music for albums like Mumbai On The Move that was released in each metro with that particular name! and television serials like Saturday Suspense. Singh continues to work on films 8211; his latest is Yamla Pagla Deewana in which he has played on the popular song Chadhaa de rang.

Story continues below this ad

What next? There is a Sufi album on Bullehshah. And I am composing the background score for a songless film by a very big banner. We are waiting.