Sony MIX, a Hindi music and entertainment channel from Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) recently unveiled seven renditions of their channel’s signature ident, with some of the country’s most popular singers and musicians. These renditions are an expression of what the channel stands for and seamlessly ties back to its tagline – ‘Dekho, Suno, Gungunao’. The music idents for Sony MIX have been created by renowned musicians like Sonu Nigam, Javed Ali, Jonita Gandhi, Nandini Shankar, Rakesh Chaurasia, Rhythm Shaw and Purbayan Chatterjee. These idents are a reflection of the channel’s refreshed look that was launched earlier this month, marking the completion of its six glorious years in India.
Comments:
Neeraj Vyas, Senior EVP & Business Head – Max Cluster & Sony Mix, Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN):
“Being leaders in the music and entertainment industry, we are proud to come up with a unique concept of creating channel idents. This is the first time any music channel has come up with a signature tune and created their renditions. The singers and musicians have done utmost justice to the idents by lending their voices to it and we are confident that our music-loving audiences will be humming these idents as they go about the daily affairs.”
Below are the details to each rendition of the ident:
Rendition #1: Javed Ali
Video Link:
https://youtu.be/fQEP_6JdhcE
For his rendition, Javed Ali wanted to experiment with a combination of Indian classical music and Sufi music. Sufi music is derived from the works of Sufi poets with a huge influence of a percussion instrument and a single vocalist. Beginning with the ‘Thaan’ and ending with a beautifully composed ‘Alaap’, Javed Ali’s voice and his singing style is an amazing catalyst that creates magic in this tune. Commenting on the rendition, Javed Ali says, “There is always magic created when the team that you work with has complete faith in you. The journey of creating this rendition started off when I met a very able music composer, Mr. Raju Singh. When I heard the tune, I knew that this will strike that emotional chord with the viewers.”
Rendition #2: Rakesh Chaurasia
Video Link:
https://youtu.be/t1m9xCpLSCI
The renowned flutist Rakesh Chaurasia’s rendition to the MIX signature tune lends itself to a symphony with the Tabla. He has added a few key flute techniques like fluttering and the sound of Shakuhachi as catalysts to this beautiful rendition.
“I had worked with Raju Singh ji on the original version of the MIX signature tune a few years ago and it was an honor to work with him again for MIX. This time the concept was very interesting as we focused on one instrument at a time for the same tune. It was a great experience as I had to give this tune my touch and technique with the bamboo flute. We thought this would take time, but the composition was so good that it hardly took us a couple of hours to come up with the rendition,” says Rakesh.
Rendition #3: Jonita Gandhi
Video Link:
https://youtu.be/h–olWEiNRg
Having entered the Hindi music industry recently, Jonita’s mellow voice, gives the MIX signature tune a very jazzy and lounge expression. Given her background in music, the magical touch that she adds is the western pop influence to this rendition. Talking about her experience shooting the video, Jonita says, “Shot in the expanse of the green paddy fields, this rendition is set to relax the audience.”
Rendition #4: Purbayan Chatterjee – Sitar
Video Link:
https://youtu.be/lHmYiLl1dcY
Purbayan Chatterjee’s rendition of the tune starts with a soulful touch of sitar with an ‘Alaap’, and ends with a ‘Thihaai’ to showcase the magic of the sitar with double strumming and the Kritan technique. To keep the music vibrant and youthful, the trumpet adds groove to the tune. Talking about his rendition of the ident, Purbayan says, “This is a great initiative by the Sony Mix team and the very talented composer, Raju Singh. The idea was to associate a Hindi music channel with an instrument like a Sitar that plays a very important part in India’s rich cultural heritage in music.”
Rendition #5: Rhythm Shaw – Guitar
Video Link:
https://youtu.be/yjY4DTO3Hnw
Rhythm Shaw’s guitar rendition to the tune is in the rock genre heavily influenced by an electric guitar. Rhythm’s expertise in the guitar rendition is impressive and connects well the audiences as he has incorporated a few of his techniques like Legato, Vibrato and the distortion tone. “The main idea behind my rendition was to make it edgy and fresh as it was targeted to the younger audience. Sony MIX has taken a great initiative by creating these idents targeted at each segment of audiences,” says Rhythm Shaw.
Rendition #6: Nandini Shankar – Violin
Video Link:
https://youtu.be/rA0RO4q_ino
Being the granddaughter of the renowned Padmabhushan Dr. N. Rajam, Nandini has been brought up in a musical environment. Improvisation with the violin comes very naturally to her. Her rendition begins with soulful melody which then builds to a crescendo. Talking about her rendition, Nandini Shankar says, “The key idea of each of these renditions were to maintain the essence of the composition and blend it in every artists unique style. This brings soulfulness in the music that invokes a pleasant emotion among the viewers.”
Rendition #7: Sonu Nigam
Video Link:
https://youtu.be/t4L6pafXwq8
Sonu Nigam, one of the renowned singers of the county, lent his sensational voice for one of the renditions of Sony MIX. Shot amidst a beautiful terrain, Sonu’s magical voice gives this rendition a vibrant expression.
