Sonu Niigaam Ready for his Release With Akon!

Nahida Chaudhry wroteon February 2, 2010 at 5:58am
Now to the Mumbai, Jamaica, London connection that I wrote about a few paragraphs ago. After having the world exclusive first play of Sonu Niigaam and Mr Vegas' "Gallis" and the exclusive of Amar's "Bombay Billionaire" featuring the very same Sonu Ji, it seemed only fitting that I got Sonu and Mr Vegas on the line.

Can you imagine how difficult it is to try and get these guys on two different continents to be out of a recording studio for long enough to do an interview with me? Sonu and Mr Vegas were in great form, even considering that it was 6am in Mumbai. Vegas was in a mischievous mood whereas Sonu Ji was contemplative and generous in the praise he heaped upon his Jamaican brother in song.

Mr Vegas said "The closest I've been to Indian music is with an Indian girl on YouTube. I'm always looking at this Indian music and the dance moves, it's always so sexy." I felt that it was appropriate to get Sonu Ji and Mr Vegas to give each other tips on how to survive in their respective countries. Sonu began by saying. "Indians are very informal people, they express their affection very truthfully.


He will love it." Mr Vegas was already thinking of getting Sonu in trouble when he touches down in Kingston: "I know where the Jamaican girls are and they are gonna be like "Mr Vegas is that you friend?" and when I tell them that he is one of the biggest stars from India their gonna say "Mmmmmm, I like him." Then I'm gonna be the tour guide and make sure the right girl is gonna take him around in his tour bus.


" I think we all need to holla’ at Mr Vegas whenever we head to Jamaica! Sonu also revealed that he has a track with Akon ready to go so it looks like even though he's so busy in India he won't be able to get to the U.S. until after March.

You can check out the conversation we had on Sonu's YouTube page sonuniigaamtube
http://www.desihits.com/news/view/dj-nihal-s-u-k-flex-sonu-niigaam-ready-for-his-release-with-akon-20100201

BICKRAM GHOSH ON HIS NEW ALBUM WITH SONU NIGAM

An album with Sonu Nigam, a music company to call his own and a project with Hollywood percussionist Greg Ellis — Bickram Ghosh tells about hitting out on a serious note.

What sparked this album with Sonu Nigam?

I met Sonubhai while recording the song Dhundo for Ashoke Viswanathan’s Gumshuda. There was a strong connection. He was looking at entering new territories and, career-wise, I find myself in the same mindspace I was seven years back when I was doing classical music and wanted to expand. After a few phone calls with Sonu, we started talking about an album. Both of us felt that the time we have as artistes has to be utilised. It’s not about success or having 12 films in the kitty but doing substantial work that’s not just for us but also for the cause of music.

What is the album about?

It’s a world music album. There are strains and ideas from almost every possible world music genre we do — Sufi, Latin, jazz. It’s ethnic sounds mingling with niche, semi-popular electronica elements. Sonu is doing the melodies and song compositions and I’m designing the rhythms. We’re trying to feature guest artistes on every track. Till now we have Greg Ellis as a guest rhythm player on his drum kit. He has been the main rhythm player for films like The Matrix series, Iron Man and The Wolfman. There’s also Viswamohan Bhatt on his Mohan Veena and Giuliano Modarelli playing Italian guitar. We’ve laid down the structure of four songs and are through with 30 per cent of the album. Most of the work is happening in parts in Mumbai.

How is it different from other world music projects?

My previous albums have primarily been driven by Indian sounds. This time I’m bringing in sounds and ideas I’ve gathered while hanging out with other musicians. World music albums don’t always feature songs and rhythms and are more often instrumental. Here we have songs that are in Hindi, English and even Gujarati. Sonu is trying to get on board some American rappers and African vocalists, too. And then there are floating vocals, minimal words and beats that one wouldn’t expect to drive a song. It’s not about loops but raw acoustic energy.

What about your solo projects?

I’m working on a solo experimental album called Tabla Sphere but my solo work is on the backburner at present. I need to expand as a musician and collaboration is the best way to do it. I started the process a few months ago with Remo and what I’m doing with Sonu or Greg Ellis is far deeper. Greg and I are working on a separate project called Rhythm Voyage. It has Zimbabwean musicians, Sufi and classical singers.

Sonu Niigaam - Voice of million hearts Part 1 & 2

Sonu Niigaam - Voice of million hearts
Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlKAyYaO9gI&feature=related
Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUoB2tb0e8M&feature=related

Sonu Niigaam Live In South Africa !!

Sonu Niigaam Live In South Africa 2010 To mark the 150th anniversary
Of the arrival of Indians in South Africa
- March 21 Johannesburg
- March 22 Cape Town
- March 26 Durban

Try to catch him!

Sonu Niigaam Sings For Appu and Pappu !!

The shooting went well beyond our expectations and the ape co-operated in every way.”
“We were jealous as there were six trainers, two doctors and two managers to look after the ape. Although, initially we were afraid to touch the orang-utan, we felt sad later to bid farewell to this companion,” he said.

Director Anantha Raju described the journey as a thrilling experience and appreciated child artiste Snehith. “While veteran actors were afraid to act with the huge ape, Snehith became a friend of the orang-utan in no time,” said the director. “The film is not just for children, everyone should see it,” he said.
Actor Abbas, who is back in Sandalwood with the film, said, “When I went through the script, it sounded good, and I became part of it.

I enjoyed each and every moment on the set as well as off it.” Hamsalekha, who scored music for the film, said, “I have composed five melodious songs, exclusively for the film, and Sonu Niigaam and Shankar Mahadevan have crooned a song each in their rich voice.”
The story revolves around a boy and the orang-utan. Producer Soundarya Jagadish’s son Master Snehith is playing the lead role. The film also features Rekha, Komal Kumar, Madhuri, Jennifer Kotwal, Rangarayan Raghu and others. Sixty per cent of the movie was shot in Cambodia and the remaining 40 per cent will be done in Bangalore. The film will be released in May 2010.


Read more: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/55798/days-orang-utan.html