It is an ode to friendship that created a song ‘Here we go again…’, one of the promos for Up And DownMukalil Oruaalundu , T.K. Rajeevkumar’s latest film that will reach theatres next week. For listeners who came in late, here is the background to this number that has been sung by Dubai-based musician Jeremiah John and his band, Jeremiah & The Lucky Strike.
“Veteran ad professional Sathyan Nair and Rajeev are good friends. Sathyan gave Rajeev two of his poems as a birthday gift. Enchanted by the rich verses, I rewrote one of the poems in a mixture of English and Malayalam and requested my friend Jeremiah to turn it into a song. When I heard his song, I took Rajeev’s permission to use it as the promo of the film,” narrates Latha Rajeev Kurien, Rajeev's wife. The film has been produced by Latha’s and Rajeev’s production house, Blue Mermaid Pictures, which had produced the award-winning Jalamarmaram and Sneham .
Latha says the lyrics and the music have made the song a winner. The composer also agrees with her. Jeremiah says he was so attracted by the depth of the lines that he got in touch with his producer Joshua F. Williams and drummer Kiran Tauro to work on the song.
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“I found the lines to be very philosophical. Both Latha and Joshua wanted me to connect to the song and its lyrics. So I locked myself in a room for a day, picked up my guitar and started making music. That is the song. Nothing has been changed,” says Jeremiah. He says he felt a deep spiritual connect with the words ‘Mukalil Oraalundu’ (There is a person up there). For the singer, it became a reminder of the power that is above all of us. This number marks his entry into Mollywood and the singer says he is looking forward to more work in cinema. The video has been shot by Mickey Issac Thomas. Latha and Jeremiah have also worked on another number ‘Monk’, which he performed in Dubai on Wednesday.
Latha, who wears many caps, has come up with an innovative idea that she calls ‘Arsenal of words’. “I enjoy both poetry and music and this new concept is a blend of both. It is a collection of words that best describes a moment or a mood. The music remains the same but anyone anywhere should be able to put in the words that describe their feelings and be able to flow it with the music. I would not call it rap, but the lyrics would essentially be a group of words.” Jeremiah admits it would be a challenge to compose the music for ‘Arsenal…’ He plans to score a tune that connects with youth. But prior to that, it looks like Jeremiah will be making more ‘filmi’ music that connects with Kerala.