Daijiworld Media Network - Entertainment

Mangalore, Dec 18: Mandd-Sobhann, the beautiful stage that unfolded 25 years ago with the intent of searching Konkani identity in Konkani music is once again set to demonstrate its passion for music.  On 31st December “Vozram Motiam” the new music album of Mandd Sobhann, billed as the treasure as of Konkani Songs,  will be released at 25 places all over the world including Mangalore. 

The release of this album is fervently awaited by all music enthusiasts especially Konkani music aficionados because Mandd Sobhann is coming out with this musical album after a gap of more than 5 years since its last album.  Moreover, the expectation about this album among music lovers is sky high because whatever Mandd Sobhann does  with its Gurkar  Eric Ozario at the helm, there is the always the stamp of exclusivity and an element of  surprise.  Needless to say the new album “Vozram Motiam”, is projected as the “Richest music album in Konkani … Ever”, and music lovers can certainly look forward to the most veriest of Konkani musical albums.

For Mandd Sobhann too, the release of this musical album, the preparation for which has been going on for the last 2 ½ years,  is keenly anticipated  because in the trajectory of its involvement in multifarious activities with regard to promoting and preserving Konkani’s rich culture and heritage the world over,   it was not able to devote enough time and divet its attention to its first love i.e music. 


This is evident from the fact that this  is the 8th volume of CD from Mandd Sobhann and the first since the release of its last album “Punov” in 2006, a yawning gap especially for an organization for which music is its first love.   Gurkar Eric Ozario candidly admits “Mandd Sobhann is a musical experiment. Music has been our first love and in the midst of our assorted activities our first love music has suffered a great deal.  We have not been able to make music to our own expectations and therefore this album is packed with lot of passion and appetence and would be the best gift for music lovers from our side”.  

So, what can music lovers look forward to in this album, the tunes of which are composed entirely by Eric Ozario?  The album comprises 12 songs, lyrics of which are written by eminent poets of standing in the Konkani literary field like Amar Chafra, Melvyn Rodrigues, Rajoy Pawar and many others.    Cajetan Dias, the music arranger of the album has given his heart and soul and has toiled relentlessly and with maddening passion in putting everything together to come up with this musical treasure.  Cajetan, the winner of the best music arranger 2010 and 2nd global Konkani Music Award Winner, says Eric, “has worked ponderously for nearly 2 ½ years to create this album which can be called as our labour of love and passion and this is evident in the top notch quality of the album. 

 He has taken extra pains and toiled to embellish it with extraordinary musical brilliance”.  The album is also the result of the artistic inputs of about 40 accomplished artistes, singers and musicians and only specialized chorus singers are used for choral singing.  The money, time and creative inputs put in bringing out this album is said to be more than that of any other Konkani album so far. 

There are other features that make this musical album the choicest pick  of  music lovers.  The album has used as many as 14 violinists.  Eminent musicians like Keeth Peters, the bass guitarist of music sensation A R Rahyman and ace guitarist Alwyn Fernandes, a well known name in the music field in Bangalore, are part of the music album.  The album has 11 original tracks composed by Eric and the 12th track “Ujea Vegenth” is like a bonus.  The track is a remix of the songs of Eric remixed by Darrel Mascarenhas and sung by Joel Rebello  Elysium. 

The remix version was gifted to Eric by Elysium in recognition of his contribution to Konkani music and Eric decided to use this track in the album.  The other surprise element is that a non-Konkani Oriyan trained singer Annada Prasanna Patnaik known popularly as Butto, has sung the sixth track of the album “Mhaka Kallona”.

When it comes to quality Mandd Sobhann never compromises and it has put in lot of money and creative liveliness in creating this new music album.  The normal trend with regard to Konkani albums is that people are convinced of not being able to recover the money they invest in the album. Hence, generally people don’t spend from their own pockets but rather take the help of sponsors.  Under such a situation the singers personally don’t feel the financial pinch and hence neglect the vital aspect of marketing the album, resulting in poor sales. 

Many Konkani singers have burnt their fingers and could not be successful due to lack of marketing strategy.   “We have gone against the prevailing logic as we have not hesitated to spend to get top notch quality.  We have sought the help of people and they have been good to us”, Eric points out.

It has been observed that though Konkani music albums have kept pace with modern technology, when it comes to marketing they lag behind.  Mandd Sobhann has decided to go in for aggressive marketing with the splendid idea of “setting an example for others saying we can also do it”, Eric Ozario explains.  “It is our earnest desire that the CD is available o every Konkani all around the world. We want to motivate other Konkani musicians and raise the bar as far as marketing is soncerned..  We also seek patronage of music lovers to patronize us by buying the CD which is priced at Rs. 125/- in India and $8 abroad”, Eric avers

One may say why all this hoopla about this album when as many as 4 Konkani albums including “Vozram Motiam” are released in December?  There is a general feeling that whatever Eric Ozario does, he does it in style and with an imprint of his own.  His impeccable track record has been his hallmark and hence music lovers keenly await the release of his latest music album.   Naturally there is lot of excitement in the air prior to the release of the album.  One can only say that this album schedule for release on 31st will herald the best of both 2011 and 2012 and will give music lovers the toast of good music.