Renowned musician and actor from India Rakhesh Brahmanandan has flourished his career since his debut in 2007. Debuting as a playback singer in Jayaraj’s Malayalam film Anachandam in 2006 the actor-singer is conquering the hearts of audience with his soulful renditions. He has also sung in 200 songs across five languages with some incredible collaborations with prominent music composers V. Dakshinamoorthy, Ilayaraja, and Raveendran. In a recent conversation with City Times, the singer who is currently based in Dubai addressed the country’s role in nurturing high musical standards. Let’s check out the complete details of this story.
Rakhesh Brahmanandan said we can expect Billie Eilish in a Tamil song next
The interview started with the singer’s admiration for Dubai and how it impacted his music. He said, “I strongly believe that any artist, whether a singer or an actor, values appreciation for their art more than money. Of course, we need money. But if an artist is paid less but well appreciated for their work, he’d be happy. If he’s paid well but not respected for his art, he’ll be disappointed.”
He continues, “In Dubai, people are so educated, informed, and literate about music. The standards they keep are very high, whether it’s independent music, cultural music, or any genre. They are well-informed, maybe because of the cosmopolitan nature here. People are exposed to many kinds of music.”
He said of India, “Back in India, there’s a limitation since India is very much into popular film-driven music. Apart from film songs, there is no strong music stream. Yes, we can talk about Carnatic music, but compared to the ratio of film music consumption, it’s not consumed as widely. Now it is changing, with many bands and independent artistes coming to the fore. But when you observe closely, there are always film elements associated with them. The independent music scene in India is yet to come into full-fledged stage. We can’t compare it to the West, where there is only an independent music scene.”
Addressing the development of Indian music in a global scenario, he said, “I would like to take it further, considering the global music scene that’s developing. You can see artists like Akon coming and singing Hindi songs. Do people enjoy that? Yes, we all love it. Recently, Ed Sheeran singing in Punjabi with Diljit Dosanjh took the Internet by storm. We might even expect Billie Eilish in a Tamil song shortly (laughs). So, we can expect it to be pan-Indian, but I believe Indian music is going global.”
As for making collaborations with Arabic musicians,Rakhesh said, “I would love to work with Arabic musicians because I have a deep appreciation for Arabic music, thanks to my dad. He was a legendary singer and a key figure in Malayalam music, and he loved Arabic music. He introduced me to it because, when he visited Dubai, he would bring back cassettes. We found that Arabic music was very close to our ragas, such as Vakulabharanam and Sindhu Bhairavi. We were amazed by the similarities to Carnatic compositions and phrasings. This connection really captivated us, and I would love to experiment with some musicians here and create a video that blends Carnatic and Arabic music.”
Moreover, he also addressed the role of AI in music production, “It’s an incredible change that’s unfolding, and it’s benefiting the world in numerous ways, simplifying complex tasks. However, imagine coming home to find a robot preparing food instead of your mum. Which would you prefer? Mum’s food, of course, because it carries emotions. While AI can simulate emotions to some extent, music with a soul requires a human being with a soul to create it. AI may impress us now, but eventually we’ll circle back to classical music because we resonate with what’s created by flesh and blood, not computers.”
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