A collection of different tracks I've composed/produced and performed various instruments on :)

Show Reel Playlist

This piece is called "Prelude - An Ode to System 3" and features Ainkaran Sivaaji (@ainkaran-sivaaji) playing the caranatic violin.

** Please refrain from distributing this piece of music without permission from both artists. It should be noted that all rights are owned by both artists. Thank you 🙏🏽**


Credits:

Mythili Mahendran :
Arrangement & orchestration, including performance of all other instruments. Production, mixing and mastering (completed in Logic Pro X).

Ainkaran Sivaaji :
Composition and performance of caranatic violin stems. Programming of electronic tanpura. All stems recorded via iPhone and GarageBand. 

How and why was this piece created?
Ainkaran says:

The phrases improvised on the Carnatic violin here were inspired by grand awakening, gentle arousal, the wisdom and brisk pace of elephants and auspicious sunny dawns, which I readily associate with the deity Ganesh or Pillaiyar. I wrote in ragas like Hamsadhwani, Nalinakanthi, Naatai, Gambeera Naatai and Kalyani as well as the Hindustani raga Bageshri for these evoke many soundscapes that are musically linked to Ganesh. They remind me of the ancient temples of Sri Lanka.

Mythili says:

Ainkaran supplied me with almost an hours worth of stems that he had improvised freely in a number of ragams (see his explanation above). His stems were all recorded via IPhone, and we aim to re-record this. However, he did manage to capture some beautiful birdsong in some of his stems! 
I rearranged his stems to craft a gentle melody that evoked a feeling of mysticism, wonder and the expanse of the universe. Once I had rearranged his stems, I added a supporting orchestral arrangement as well as santoor solo. I also included a reharmonised version of the Menu Jingle from Beyond Good and Evil I. My inspiration from this piece is rooted in my love for the Beyond Good and Evil soundtrack.

Prelude - An Ode To System 3

Starlit Path is a galaxy-inspired stem I performed on Carnatic violin and tanpura in the Hindustani raga Bhageshri. 

I particularly love playing this raga at night, and was singing some on this balcony pictured in the artwork - taken from my great aunt's house in Vavuniya last year :D

This may well feature in our upcoming collaborative project Surya Suite!

Credits:
Composition, production, performance, mixing, mastering: Ainkaran Sivaaji
Carnatic violin, tanpura: Ainkaran Sivaaji

Ainkaran Sivaaji's Album

Starlit Path

Imagining chipmunks giving chase to slender lorises and Nilāveli peacocks and the reverse. :) 
This is a stem in Kalyani raga I improvised during jam practice sessions. A cue of Taanam, it has accents of Kalpanaswaram in that it can fit in the 8-beat cycle Adi taalam. Hope you Enjoy! :-)

Credits:
Composition, production, performance, mixing, mastering: Ainkaran Sivaaji
Carnatic violin, tanpura: Ainkaran Sivaaji

Kalyani on the fly

With this composition, I wanted a subterranean vibe that brings a relaxing, transitional mood. 

I started producing this track back in Manchester in 2012 and returned to it recently after it showed up on my external hard drive haha. The lo-fi, ambient feel takes me back to some good times back at Uni :P 

It is a different track type for me :)

Credits:
Composition, production, performance, mixing, mastering: Ainkaran Sivaaji
All instruments: Ainkaran Sivaaji

Lemuria Shoal

Starting 2019 with a brand new composition in a raga that brings many memories of my live violin and vocal performances as a kid!

For this piece, I played Carnatic violin, harp, a little vocals, bells, percussion and bass. I picture this swirling Saraswathi raga piece in the midst of an ancient, mandala-structured tunnel maze, where something is discovered beneath the ruins of the Saraswathi Mahal Library of Nallur, Jaffna...One or two "Ga" swaras (notes) depart from the raga but add to the discovery mood. Most compositions in Saraswathi ragam that I know are in Rupakam taalam (three beat cycle) so I decided to create one in Adi taalam for fun :P ;).

This is the quickest I've produced a track so far - a week hehe :) 

Hope you enjoy :D

Credits:
Composition, production, performance: Ainkaran Sivaaji
Partial mixing, mastering: Ainkaran Sivaaji
Carnatic violin, all instruments: Ainkaran Sivaaji

Saraswathi Mahal of Nallur Theme - Middle of the Library Tunnel

Wooo, I did some more production on this over the last couple of weeks, and feel it's now ready to share with the world! :D 
Here's the full first theme "Ainkaran's Dawn Theme", a little tidbit of which I released the middle of last year. Shoutout to my buddy Shing Fai Lam who told me he loved the first cue - hope you love the full version tooo!!! 
I'm particularly proud of this score theme, as composing with counterpoint on instruments that are new to me is not easy! 
I played with piano, clarinet, Carnatic violin, Western classical violin and strings orchestra to convey an opener of any kind with this one; there may be some leitmotif throwbacks to this theme in the rest of the suite later on! ;):D 
Thanks for listening xxx

Credits:
Composition, production, performance: Ainkaran Sivaaji
Partial mixing, mastering: Ainkaran Sivaaji
Carnatic violin, orchestral arrangement, piano, all instruments: Ainkaran Sivaaji

Ainkaran's Dawn Theme

This piece is called "Prelude - An Ode to System 3" and was made in collaboration with fellow composer-musician Mythili Mahendran (@mythili).

Ainkaran says:

The phrases improvised on the Carnatic violin here were inspired by grand awakening, gentle arousal, the wisdom and brisk pace of elephants and auspicious sunny dawns, which I readily associate with the deity Ganesh or Pillaiyar. I wrote in ragas like Hamsadhwani, Nalinakanthi, Naatai, Gambeera Naatai as well as Bahudari for these evoke many soundscapes that are musically linked to Ganesh. They remind me of the ancient temples of Sri Lanka.

Mythili says:

Ainkaran supplied me with almost an hours worth of stems that he had improvised freely in a number of ragams (see his explanation above). His stems were all recorded via IPhone, and we aim to re-record this. However, he did manage to capture some beautiful birdsong in some of his stems! 
I rearranged his stems to craft a gentle melody that evoked a feeling of mysticism, wonder and the expanse of the universe. Once I had rearranged his stems, I added a supporting orchestral arrangement as well as santoor solo. I also included a reharmonised version of the Menu Jingle from Beyond Good and Evil I.

Click here for some clips scored with the piece:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJVoHhGTXaA

Click here for more info on the inspiration behind the piece:
https://www.mythilimahendran.com/post/beyond-good-and-evil-2-inspired-collaboration

Credits:
Composition, production, performance, programming, partial mixing, mastering: Ainkaran Sivaaji, Mythili Mahendran
Carnatic violin, electronic tanpura: Ainkaran Sivaaji
Orchestral arrangement, santoor, other instruments: Mythili Mahendran

Prelude - An Ode to System 3

This one is called "Chat and jig in Arabhi"! :D 

**Please listen with headphones**
For this arrangement, acoustic instruments were chosen to try and capture a live recording feel, where everything is in impromptu conversation. To help run the gamut of Arabhi raga, I composed with more Kalpanaswaram here and tried to keep it moving with the sound of a boombox stereo fed electronic beat as a base. The sections where I play against my own Carnatic violin are a throwback to my orchestra days! Can you identify the other instruments in the track?

Sorry for the quiet spell, been juggling a few things on the go - hope this makes up for it !!! :P :D xxxxxx

Credits:
Composition, production, performance: Ainkaran Sivaaji
Partial mixing, mastering: Ainkaran Sivaaji
Carnatic violin, all instruments: Ainkaran Sivaaji

Chat and jig in Arabhi

Chat And Jig In Arabhi

Violin, orchestral arrangement, keyboard, all instruments: Ainkaran Sivaaji
Performed, composed, produced: Ainkaran Sivaaji
Partial mix and mastering: Ainkaran Sivaaji

**Please listen with headphones**

A new day, a new piece.
“From Stillness“, a reflection upon departure, renewal and harmony, comes after a few weeks I’ve had absorbing the different patterns of life off the stage, outside the studio. 

It just so happened that this piece flowered from Semmalai Pann / Mixolydian mode, also known as Harikambhoji rāgam. As with all Melakartha rāgams, the swaras of Harikambhoji give room for new discovery through manodharmam, and always leave me in a better, more relaxed mood. After creating the piano foundation early in the process, more melodies came naturally and the later textures were easier to append. Here I achieved Harikambhoji by applying Graha bhedam (shifting of the tonic note) to Shankarabharanam rāgam. And so here we are! Whether you’re a sweet pea spectator, a chocolate craver like your cosmos 👀, or an over-eager Ceylon date palm (the real ones know 😉), wherever you are in the world, I hope there’s something in it for you too!

What layers can you hear? I didn’t want one instrument to overwhelm the piece, and taking that to heart, I evened out the audio production with soft strings, crafted in pizzicato, orchestral chord arrangements and rāgam lifts on my Carnatic violin, while including gayageum and harp flicks, some sparse MIDI drum pad beats, and other DAW patches into the mix. Teamwork people! :) Again, this was recorded with a simple audio setup at my home studio on my iPhone and MacBook via a new mic pickup and is an unfinished mix. There are chirps from more of our free feathered friends in the garden.

This time has been described as a portal to new beginnings and introspection. A better “normal”. In union. From stillness. How does it make you feel? X

🐦🦎🦜🦢🦔🍃🦚🌺🌞🌕🌙🌱🧘🏽‍♂️🎹🪕🎻

To read more:
https://ainkaran.com/blog-post/from-stillness/

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NB 1: If you can, please support the following, who are helping families affected by the pandemic in South Asia, some of which I have been proud to support for a few years:

https://tamilorphanstrust.org
https://milaap.org/fundraisers/support-bhuvaneshwari-muralidharan#update-section?utm_medium=approved&utm_source=campaign_update
https://give2asia.org/covid-19-pandemic-response-sri-lanka/

NB 2: If you haven’t already and would like to subscribe to my mailing list for upcoming highlights, please visit and register at:
www.ainkaran.com/contact/
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Links:
ainkaran.com/the-nest
soundcloud.com/ainkaran-sivaaji
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facebook.com/ainkaransivaajiofficial
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCb_A7rQchZfQuX6ALW2yejw

From Stillness

Award winning violinist, musician, composer and writer - available to work on diverse productions, live and recorded in traditional Carnatic, western classical and exploratative fusion modes.

If you are interested in collaborations, please contact me via my official website or the links below :)

Ainkaran.com