1

May 2021

I have too many responsibilities

and principles. There's no time
for 'guilty' pleasures.
- A.R.Rahman
To know more about his life,
DO YOU KNOW MUSIC HAS
turn to pg no 6.
INFLUENCE ON YOUR MENTAL
HEALTH?

Music
NO??? THEN TURN TO PAGE NO 2.

Fluence
People haven't always been there
for me but music always has
R.Hemadhanya D.Madhumitha K.Manju Shree - TAYLOR SWIFT
2018504536 2018504552 2018504556
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01 02
1

06
Letter From
The Editor
Music and
Mental health
A.R. Rahman, -
the composer who broke the
standard narratives:
Letter From The Editor
Table Of contents
Hello readers!

10
This edition of MUSIC FLUENCE is another product of hard work,

13 17
extensive research & team work. We have curated the best content
that matches your taste & preferences. Even in the year 2021, we
can still give you an overview of how music streaming media is
changing the world one at a time. We also want to give you an in-
side look on how a song is written.
This magazine will talk about KPOP culture and our INDIAN music.
The effects of music on our mental health especially during this
ONLINE CON-
WHY KPOP IS pandemic period. We thank you for your support.
99 SONGS MOVIE CERTS
SO POPULAR?
REVIEW
Happy reading!
Sincerely yours,
R.Hemadhanya-2018504536
D.Madhumitha-2018504552
K.Manjushree-2018504556
3
2 3
MUSIC AND
MENTAL HEALTH
D.Madhumitha, Writer
Music has the ability to make us
dance like no one is watching,
sing until your throat is sore and
uncontrollably tap your feet. Be-
cause there is so much music out
there, different music affects eve-
rybody uniquely. From rock and
folk to electronic and pop and
everything in between, there’s
endless variety of music to listen
to and finding the songs that
speak to you is important. Re-
searchers from the MARCS Insti-
tute for Brain, Behaviour and De-
velopment have found that music
increases memory and retention
as well as maximises learning ca-
pabilities. Our brains trigger par-
ticular emotions, memories and
thoughts, which often leads to
more positive effects toward
mental health.
Elevate your mood and moti-
vation:
A strong mental wellbeing is
closely aligned with optimistic
and positive feelings. So, when
you’re having a bad day,
there’s nothing better than
playing an uplifting and joyous
song as loud as you can. The
bright musical tones and lyrics
will change or elevate your
mood and empower you for
the day ahead. Slow start to
the morning? Need to get
through a long day of week?
No motivation to go for a run?
Up-tempo, fast-paced music
gets your brain and body mov-
ing, making you amped up and
motivated to enjoy what’s
ahead. In fact, researchers
have claimed classical and am-
bient music have the best
mood-boosting benefits, while
metal and hard electronic mu-
sic were considered to have
the opposite effect.
4
4 5
Reduce stress:
Music’s ability to be a stress re-
liever should not be downplayed.
Whether playing in the back-
ground or you’re giving it your
full attention, certain genres of
music have the innate ability to
reduce stress.
Soft, ambient music provides
calming stimulation for the mind.
In this case, best avoid loud rock
or metal to moderate your stress.
If you’re looking to wash away
some stress, search for playlists
that contain a lot of ambient and
quiet music.
Improve focus:
One of many great benefits of
music is that it can used while
you perform your everyday activi-
ties.
Trying to stay focussed and con-
centrate on an activity—whether
that be studying, working or
cleaning—can be difficult for
some.
Certain types of music are known
to boost focus, so it’s important
to know which music is right for
improving focus.
We recommend listening to in-
strumental, classical or ambient
music.
Help relalxation:
Everyone enjoys relaxing and
switching off their mind at the
end of a long day.
Playing music is a simple way
of promoting relaxation as it
releases tension in your mus-
cles, carrying away any stress
or anxiety.
When your muscles are loose,
so is your mind.
Listening to music as you drift
off to sleep is also an effective
way of relaxing and reducing
stress as it can help slow your
breathing and calm your mind.
Reduce anxiety and depres-
sion:
Understanding how music af-
fects your emotions goes a
long way to help ease anxious
and depressive thoughts.
Music Therapy has become a
popular form of treating anxie-
ty and depression.
It’s an exercise in listening and
composing therapeutic music
to promote physical and men-
tal rehabilitation.
In fact, a recent study by Dr.
David Lewis-Hodgson
of Mindlab International has
shown instrumental, classical
or ambient music can help re-
duce anxiety by up to 65%.
5
A.R. Rahman, the composer
who broke the standard narra-
tives:
www.wetune.com Shop now!
K,Manjushree, Writer
It is 25 years since the Hindi
film Rangeela released. It also marks 25
years of composer A.R. Rahman’s associ-
ation with the Hindi film industry. Bolly-
wood, known for its pomp and show, was
stumped by this quiet and diminutive
composer, who worked out of a small and
unpretentious studio in Chennai.
He hardly spoke, and unlike most other
debutant composers, made no grand
presentation of his tunes. In fact, by his
own admission he watched too much tele-
vision and even missed the deadline to
turn in his songs. He was unusual in more
ways than one.
Asha meets Rahman
Recollecting her first meeting with Rah-
man during the recording of the
‘Rangeela’ song, veteran singer Asha
Bhosle says: “In that dark, small studio,
the lyrics were handed to me and the
composer sang the tune. I decided not to
disappoint the youngster. So, I dressed up
the tune and we recorded the song. There
was no objection to any of the improvisa-
tions I made. He thanked me, and I left.”
Months later, when Ashaji listened to the
song, “I couldn’t believe my ears. What
he had done with it was stunning. I
thought here was a composer who could
imagine a song not just musically, but al-
so technologically.”
6
AR Rahman on why he embraced Islam
but wouldn’t want to impose it on any-
one else
AR Rahman changed his name from Dileep
Kumar after embracing Islam just days before
the release of his first major project, Roja. On
his birthday
AR Rahman was born Dileep Kumar, but embraced Is-
lam, along with his family, some time after the death of
his father, music composer RK Shekhar, and some time
before the release of his first major project, Roja. His
friend Trilok Nair had told Krishna Trilok in his author-
ised biography, Notes of a Dream, that Rahman’s mother
Kareema Begum had insisted on changing his name in
the film’s credits at the last minute. He said, “It was a
pretty big request to make so late in the day, but she was
particular about it. She said it really, really mattered to
her personally. In fact, she would’ve rather not had his
name appear at all, than not have his new name appear
on the credits.”
Rahman doesn’t believe in imposing
his religious beliefs on others. He
once told Hindustan Times Brunch in
an interview, “You can’t impose any-
thing. You can’t ask your son or
daughter to not take history ‘coz it’s
boring, and to take economics instead,
or science. It’s a personal choice.”
The Roja moment
The late S.P. Balasubrahmanyam
felt the same after the recording
of ‘Kadhal Rojave,’ the song
from Rahman’s first independent
assignment, the Tamil
film Roja (1992). “How can a cin-
ematic song be produced in this
6
A.R. Rahman, the composer
who broke the standard narra-
tives (contd):
www.wetune.com Shop now!
in this studio?” SPB had wondered on
seeing the cubicle-like space. Like Asha,
he eventually admitted that this composer
could transform the very sound of a song.
In the early part of 1995, the dubbed Hin-
di versions of Roja and Bombay had al-
ready set the stage for Rahman,
but Rangeela defined him in a big way.
He radicalised an industry that had quite
definitively fixed its aural idiom. He
yoked seemingly opposing musical syn-
taxes, different styles and worldviews,
clearly establishing himself as unique
from the beginning. Rahman defied cate-
gories of pathos, joy and romance and
wove multiple moods into a song.
Having worked in the southern film in-
dustry for several years, he was aware of
the film music tradition, but was under no
compulsion to stick to convention. In-
stead of catering to the market, he created
a new one.
Rangeela is clearly among Rahman’s best
even after 25 years. The sheer variety of
compositions is remarkable. Rahman’s
strategy was wonderful: to rope in all the
top singers — Asha Bhosle, Kavitha
Krishnamurthy, Suresh Wadkar, Chitra,
Udit Narayan and Hariharan.
Just as what he had done with ‘Chinna
Chinna Aasai’ (Roja) with the singer
Minmini, he introduced relatively lesser-
known voices like that of Shweta Shetty
and Swarnalatha. He also broke standard
narratives. If you listen carefully to the
introductory passage of ‘Mangta Hai
8
Kya ” you will recognise it is to-
nally different from the rest of the
song.
In fact, the song works in differ-
ent scales, registers and styles,
giving us a glimpse of what Rah-
man would do in the future. The
rap bit popped in as a surprise in
the peppy ‘Rangeela’ song. Rah-
man packed such unanticipated
moments into every song of the
film.
Striking a balance
Rahman was clearly carving out
his space, but he did not dissoci-
ate himself from the melodic tra-
dition. For instance, in ‘Tanha
Tanha’ (Asha Bhosle), a song
with a new age tune, he suddenly
introduces a Carnatic grace. The
operatic style of violins contrast-
ed with the flute and violin over-
lays before the first antara; or the
lush violin passages before the
second, are clear indications of
Rahman placing himself in the
tradition. He does something sim-
ilar with ‘Hai Rama’ (Hariharan
and Swarnalatha) — the song
opens to the tanpura drone, with
faint strains of the Purya
Dhanashri bandish, ‘Payaliya
Jhankar’. Drawing intensity from
both the bandish and the raga,
Rahman gives a sensual texture to
7

9 10

: to the song. ‘Pyaar ye jaane kaisa hai’ (Kavitha Krishna-

murthy and Suresh Wadkar) strikes you for its absence of
rhythm. It has a seamlessly flowing melody with brilliant so-
lo violin passages. The sitar and wistful alaap juxtapositions
are unforgettable. But just as one gets familiar with his style,
Rahman departs from it and throws in a surprise.
Striking a balance between innovation and tradi-
tion, Rangeela sets the stage for everything that in the later
years came to be known as quintessential Rahman. He over-
whelmed you with style and sound, and captured the aspira-
tion of India’s new music audience. It is another story how
this avant garde musician changed not only how music was
conceived, but also its practices. Two years af-
ter Rangeela came Rahman’s independent album, Vande
Mataram. In its techno-pop avatar, Rahman fuelled the idea
of a modern India, global in its ambition.

99 songs movie re-

view :
K.Manjushree, writer
8
Synopsis:
A budding musician takes up the chal-
lenge to compose one song that can change the world, to
unite with his girlfriend.
STORY:
When a young musician embarks on a journey to make
the song that can reunite him with the love of his life and
also change the world, things don’t go quite as planned.
As he hits rock-bottom, will music come to the rescue?
MUSIC FLUENCE
12
Jai (Ehan Bhat) has only two priorities in life – his music and his girl-
friend Sophie (Edilsy Vargas). While he hasn’t hit big on the music sce-
ne yet, his rich girlfriend’s father Sanjay Singhania (Ranjit Barot) chal-
lenges him to compose a 100 songs before he can think of marrying So-
phie. And thus begins Jai’s arduous journey that takes him to the beauti-
ful and picturesque rolling hills of Shillong, where he has his task cut
out.
AR Rahman’s musical attempt is crafted with love and passion for his
art and that is the one thing that is constant throughout. This is definitely
a plus, but the film’s overall soundtrack is high on quantity and much
lower on the quality that one would expect from a musical genius like
Rahman. That said, there is more to 99 songs than just its music and
some of it sure works, in parts.
For starters, Debutant Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy navigates sensitively
through the subject, telling us a story that keeps its focus on music. The
execution and cinematography (Tanay Satam and James Cowley) is de-
cidedly dark and sometimes feels overbearing, but many portions stand
out for their vivid and imaginative visual treatment. The treatment is
what gives this film, a deeply emotional touch that sadly isn’t so strong
in the writing itself. The writing could have been more convincing.
Ehan Bhat looks every bit the brooding musician, deeply in love and his
portrayal is honest. The role gives him enough space to showcase his
emotional scale and for his first film, Bhat has done a decent job. Debu-
tante Edilsy Vargas had a more difficult role to only emote without being
able to talk. She looks glamorous and intense as Sophie, but her trans-
formation isn’t very convincing. Also, we wish thetwo young actors had
more scenes between them to show off their chemistry, which is crucial
for a love story like this one. Manisha Koirala and Lisa Ray are very
well-cast in their respective roles. Tenzing Dalha as Jai’s best friend
tries too hard to be cool and casual, but a more seasoned character actor
here would have done wonders.
Overall, '99 Songs' has all the elements of an emotional love story with
music at its core. With better songs and more conviction in its execution,
this one had all the potential to become a chart-topper. After all, as Man-
isha Koirala’s character says, “Music is the last surviving magic in the
world.”
MUSIC FLUENCE
9
13
Wondering
Why K Pop is
So Popular?
R.Hemadhanya,EDITOR
1. Costumes And Color Theo-
ry:
One of the things K Pop does
so well is creative use of cos-
tumes and color in music vid-
eos. Hundreds of years ago,
when North America was
barely being industrialized,
Asia already had a burgeoning
art and graphics scene.
So, it should come as no sur-
prise that Asian pop culture in
general, including music vide-
os, is often heavily refined
and well thought. Use of ef-
fects, make up, outfits, and
everything else, are always in
service to a greater theme and
vision.
2. Storytelling
Another way that K Pop keeps
amassing fans is by utilizing
strong storytelling in many
songs and music videos. A per-
fect example is this song
by Kim Wan-Sun.
3. Personality
K Pop is also well known for its
unique, extravagant, and eye-
popping personalities. K Pop
stars, or “idols” as they are
usually known in Asia, have a
knack for truly standing out
from the crowd and taking self
expression to a new level.
4. Fashion
Similarly, K pop stars bring a
whole new meaning to fashion.
Their real life outfits and styles
often far surpass western stars’
in intensity and originality. K
11
K pop idols never shy away from mak-
ing a splash, and have a decidedly 6. Choreography
unique way of interpreting current
Choreography is another area
trends.
where K pop artists completely
Take, for example, G-Dragon, a well
dominate. Groups not only sing
know member of boy group Big Bang
and dance, they perform routines
and an accomplished solo artist. Not
only is he known for his superior mu-
so complicated and challenging,
they would usually require truly
sical talent, G- Dragon is a frequent
professional dancers.
trendsetter and overall fashion icon
Not only does this take an insane
amount of hard work, practice, and
skill, but K pop artists are well-
5. Addicting Melodies
known for performing these rou-
Pop music would be nothing without tines live – proving they are truly
catchy hooks and sing-along lyrics. K skilled, not just well edited in their
pop is no different, making use of mel- music videos.
odies that are instantly stuck in your
head.
Boy and girl groups alike have appeal- 7. Training
ing song writing down to a science,
Unlike young western pop stars
which makes their music appealing to
who often grow famous in a short
fans no matter what language they
speak.
10

15 11

short period of time, K pop artists

are usually groomed and men-
tored by managers or agents for
years at a time before recording
their first song.
Intensive training, never less than
a year, make these young artists
seasoned performers by the time
they debut. It’s no wonder even
young kids are expected to go
through this rigorous schooling,
since their dance routines and
schedules become so insanely de-
manding.

8. Diverse Talent
Additionally, K pop artists almost
always act as well as sing. While
you can certainly find stars who
don’t act very well, usually a true
K pop idol is just as skilled as an
actor as they are as a singer and
dancer.
Far from the thin marketing ploy
that combination singing and act-
ing acts in North America and Eu-
rope often are, these kids are ut-
terly talented.
Not only that, K Pop idols who
take on major roles in many dif-
ferent tv shows and movies are
common. Of course, these acting
gigs are all concurrent to their
regular musical career. For exam-
ple, Daesung from boy band Big
Bang made many appearances in
the tv show “What’s Up?”
9. Multilingual
Not only are K Pop artists uber
talented, incredibly hard work-
ers, and star in perfectly exe-
cuted music videos, they often
mix other cultures into their
songs. Since most students in
many Asian countries are re-
quired to learn English from an
early age, singers frequently
mix in English sayings with
their lyrics.
Not only does this appeal to
fans throughout Asia, it makes
K Pop artists more accessible
to fans in the Western world.
Case in point, this mega hit
from Big Bang: “Fantastic Ba-
by.
to give a group’s very existence
10. High Concept Groups a bigger vision makes K Pop
standout against other genres.
Finally, K pop has a tendency to A truly unique approach to
put forward highly talented pop music, Exo is a perfect ex-
groups with an original concept. ample of the unique approach-
For example, Exo is an unbelieva- es coming out of K Pop today
bly successful boy band based in
asia.
The band is made up of two
groups – Exo K and Exo M. Exo
K performs and promotes the
band’s music in Korean, while
Exo M does the same for in Man-
darin. By recording every song in
two different languages, this boy
band multiplies the band’s poten-
tial audience immeasurably.
Unsurprisingly, Exo is the high-
est charting Korean male act on
the Billboard 200. This tendency
11

17 |

How virtual concerts became

the new normal in 2020 ??
R,Hemadhanya, editor

Artists have responded to the crisis by going online, in an at-

tempt to keep fans engaged and find new ways to monetize heir
work. In the early days of the pandemic, these efforts were
small and ad hoc. Artists would go live on Instagram and
YouTube, with song performances interspersed with banter and
the invocation of “good vibes”. But as it became obvious that
the pandemic and social distancing were here to stay, the mu-
sic industry was forced to look seriously at online concerts and
live-streaming as a way to stay afloat.

How SMTOWN LIVE Online Concert Draws

Record-Breaking 35.8 Million Viewers From
All Over The Globe?
Millions of viewers tuned in to watch SM Entertainment’s
SMTOWN LIVE “Culture Humanity” online concert yesterday!
On January 1, SM Entertainment held a star-studded free online
concert featuring performances by many of their artists, includ-
ing aespa, Red Velvet, NCT DREAM, NCT 127, NCT U,
WayV, EXO’s Baekhyun, EXO’s Kai, SHINee’s Taemin, Girls’ Gen-
eration’s Taeyeon, SuperM, Super Junior, TVXQ, and H.O.T.’s
Kangta.
A staggering number of viewers streamed the free event, which
recorded an impressive total of approximately 35.83 million
streams from 186 different countries—setting a new record for
12
the highest number of viewers ever
achieved by a Korean online concert.
Explaining why they had chosen to
make the concert available for free,
SM Entertainment co-CEOs Lee
Sung Soo and Tak Young Joon re-
marked, “K-pop is not just music, but
also a part of people’s lives and a
medium through which we communi- the hopes of bringing them bright en-
cate and share our emotions. As we ergy and hope for a better future.”
say goodbye to 2020, which was a
difficult year because of the COVID-
19 pandemic, we wanted to cheer on
the K-pop fans all over the world who
went through hard times [this year],
so we prepared this free concert in
13

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