Arjun Chandy is an Indo-american singer, arranger, studio vocalist and vocal group coach from Dallas, Texas.[1]

Arjun Chandy in studio

Career edit

Chandy is from a family of artists.[1] His infant years were spent heavily immersed in Indian classical music. He completed his vocal arangetram in Dallas and was accompanied by Shri Poovalur Sriji on the Mridangam and Shri Ramana Indrakumar on the Ghatam. During his school days, he learned to read music and studied music theory, joining the school choir.[1] This helped to understand western classical music. When he was 14, he started singing for a quartet in middle school.[1]

At the age of 15, after getting involved in the world of jazz, he started working professionally, conducting and arranging music for groups in United States. Later, he became a part of The Vocal Majority in the U.S.[1] Chandy contributed to the formation of "NAFS- The Band"[2] when A. R. Rahman called him to Chennai at the end of 2013. Chandy is presently the band's director and conductor.[3] He spent a year post 2013 to train the band.[4][5]

In an interview with Seychelles News Agency, Chandy said: "Rahman always wanted to put together a vocal band of sorts, because he loves vocal groups and harmonies, not necessarily a capella but just the sound of a group singing, even if it's a large choir, if there's vocal harmony, he's a big fan of jazz and all these things."[3]

Year Title Song(s) Media(s) Role(s) Co-artist(s) Reference(s)
2013 Global Rhythm: Blueprints from Across the World Concert Singer, Dialect [6]
2014 Lingaa Film soundtrack Backing vocals [7]
2015 Tamasha "Tu Koi Aur Hai" Film soundtrack Singer A. R. Rahman, Alma Ferovic [8]
Choir Conductor Madras Musical Association Choir [9]
Muhammad: The Messenger of God Film soundtrack Choir supervision

Backing vocals

Adam Creig [10]
2016 24 "24 Carat" Film soundtrack Singer [11]
Mohenjo Daro "Whispers of the Heart" Film soundtrack Singer [12]
"Whispers of the Mind"
2016 Ae Dil Hai Mushkil "Bulleya (Film Version)" Film soundtrack Backing vocals,Backing vocal design Geet, Ashwin & Himanshu
2017 Kaatru Veliyidai "Azhagiye" Film soundtrack singer Haricharan, Jonita Gandhi
2017 Hindi Medium "Hoor" Film soundtrack singer Atif Aslam, Sanjeev Chimmalgi
2017 2.0 Raajali Nee Gaali Film soundtrack Singer Blaaze, Sid Sriram
2018 Sarvam Thaala Mayam Sarvam Thaalamayam Film soundtrack Singer Haricharan
2018 Agnyaathavaasi AB Yevaro Nee Baby Film soundtrack Singer Nakash Aziz
2019 Dev Anangae Sinungalama Film soundtrack Singer Hariharan, Christopher Stanley, Tippu, Krish, Bharath Sundar, Sharanya Gopinath
2021 Thamezharasan Thamizhan Da Film soundtrack singer Nakash Aziz

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e "Music, a numbers game". The Hindu. 20 August 2015. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  2. ^ "A R Rahman launches the first video of his new band NAFS". The Hindu. 12 August 2015. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  3. ^ a b Amla, Hajira (1 January 2000). "Seychelles: Too Jazzy for Indian Audiences? A.R. Rahman's Vocal Group Nafs Performs At Seychelles India Day Musical Gala". Seychelles News Agency (Victoria). Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  4. ^ "A. R. Rahman – The Official Site". arrahman.com. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  5. ^ "AR Rahman's Band NAFS First Video Out | Soundbox". www.soundbox.co.in. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  6. ^ "The University of Vermont Symphony Orchestra conducted by Yutaka Kono and Srinivas Krishnan, Marsh Professor-at-large" (PDF). The University of Vermont Symphony Orchestra. 10 April 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2015. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. ^ "Lingaa (tracklist) - A. R. Rahman - The Official Site". arrahman.com. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  8. ^ "Tamasha (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by A. R. Rahman on iTunes". iTunes Store. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  9. ^ "Tamasha". arrahman.com. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  10. ^ "Muhammad (SAL) — Original Soundtrack – A. R. Rahman (Official website)". arrahman.com. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  11. ^ "EROSNOW – Music Album:24 Songs & Soundtrack – Musician: A.R. Rahman". erosnow.com. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  12. ^ "Music Review: Mohenjo Daro". filmfare.com. Retrieved 1 December 2016.