Rangeele – The colour of a breath of fresh air

A chance to meet one of my favourite bands, Kailasa, was all I could have asked for and when my wish came true, the experience was surrea­­l. I reached a little late, only to find out that the band hadn’t arrived yet. Phew! I waited around with friends, wondering all along what I would ask them. My head was brimming with questions and all I could think of was what the band has in store for us.

Kailash walked in first, greeting us and quickly got down to speaking his heart out. That is the only way he speaks, straight from his heart. And he was kind enough to share some of his innermost emotions and sentiments about music, love, truth and reality. He began by sending out a request to all readers and listeners. It is simple he said, if we want change, we must make it ourselves. You want a better country, go vote. Even if you feel there's no appropriate candidate, you need to go register that. Because it counts. You count.

Then he moved to his new album, 'Rangeele'. He believes that the music of their new album, ‘Rangeele’ does not belong to any one genre but is as such an explosion of fresh and innovative sounds, leaving you wanting more. In fact, they belong to a new genre, a genre that the band has created, that stands for everything divine and heavenly – a genre they call, Kailasa. On asking what according to him is the colour of love, pat came his reply with a wide grin and a glint in those eyes, "White!" I asked him, what about truth and he paused, not for long. Then leaned over and said, "Truth is formless. There is no colour. Truth is Truth!"

The album is a melange of songs with a range of impressions; the title track is all about being light-hearted but still being perceptive of the ways of the world. It’s heartening for today’s generation of dreamers and romantics to leap forward to their own calling, still staying grounded and true to their heart. Kailash confessed to being an all heart-no mind kind of individual. He loves love and has countless takes on the different kinds of love that are. Another interesting aspect to Kailasa is that they introduce new words to their lyrics, that Kailash creates himself, in each of their albums. For instance, the word ‘Khaggad’ in Babam Bamm from Jhoomo Re released in 2007, is a word made by Kailash to indicate hardcore. And ‘Rangeele’ also offers a new word; this time around it’s “Kheliya” from the song ‘Albeliya’, meaning player. The song speaks of how the Force is the only “player”, who is merely letting us have our moments of believing that we are calling the shots. And no matter what we do, it is actually the Force that conducts the grand finale.

All songs for Kailasa are written by Kailash Kher and enhanced further by melodious tunes, thanks to Paresh Kamath and Naresh Kamath. And ‘Rangeele’ brings out the versatility of the band this time around, with some never heard instruments that have created a power-packed album, which is easy on the ear. There is lot of focus on the overall resonance of the album, with unique sounds that blend so well with each other, creating perfect harmonies. While listening to some of the songs on this album, I couldn’t help but wonder how enjoyable the experience must’ve been for the guys to get together and make this a must hear. One of my favourites on this album is “Tu kya Jaane”, which even though is complaining of heartache, somehow manages to lift your soul with its striking lyrics and pleasant tune. Another track that touches my heart and will surely have the same effect on anyone who listens up, is “Bab-baji’, a song that is dedicated to Kailash’s little son. It has beautiful lyrics intertwining flavours of love that are so pure and real, quintessential to what Kailasa stands for.

Kailasa has come a long way with “Rangeele”, offering some contemporary sounds in each track on the album. It never leaves Kailash’s distinct style of song writing and singing and yet comes in like a breath of fresh air, whole and immaculate.