Striking the right chord

It is a struggle to thrust your neck out from the vast ocean of music and get noticed, but Reju Joseph has left an imprint with hard work and dedication.
Having carved a niche for himself as a lawyer and singer, Reju, who hails from Kochi, in the Indian state of Kerala, has added one more feather to his illustrious cap when he composed music for soon-to-be released Malayalam movie, Thank You Very Much.
“The opportunity came quite unexpectedly,” said Reju, who sang super hit Malayalam songs Ozhukukayayi from Achanurangatha Veedu) and Kaattadi thanalum from Classmates.
“Director Sajin Lal told me about his new movie and inquired if I would recommend any music directors. I sincerely obliged, but to my surprise Sajin asked me to compose the songs and I readily agreed.
“I have completed all the four songs, which includes a lullaby to a new-gen-styled number. Sound tracks were composed in less than two months based on elements of Carnatic and Hindustani ragas. I have provided melody to the beautiful lyrics with an aim to cater to all age groups.
The audio will be released in the second week of February and I’m confident that people will hum these songs for a while,” he added.
The shooting is at its final stages and the movie is expected to hit theatres in March. “We are extremely thrilled and anxiously counting down on days, as we get closer to the release date,” said Reju, who will also score the background music.
On asked how it felt to turn into a composer after crooning hit numbers for other composers, Reju replied: “I’m a very versatile person. The music bug caught me very young. I have been learning, performing, and expanding my talent since then. I love all aspects of music such as singing, composing, directing, conducting, background scoring, recording, mixing, mastering,etc.”
He highlighted further that his first music composition was in 1994 (when he was studying Law) for the album Nilavintai Nattil.
“In 2011, I composed music for the album Kurumbintai Koottukari, which had eight songs. I felt honoured to compose and sing to the lyrics of O.N.V Kurup, Gireesh Puthenchery, Shibu Chakravarthy, Rafeeq Ahammed Santhosh Varma, and R.K.Damodaran.” All the songs were recorded and mixed at his own Sarangy Studio in Kochi.
“I focussed on voice training and performing during my initial years. Having established myself as a playback and Ghazal singer, I shifted my focus to owning a state-of-the-art recording studio.
The music composition was just a natural next step. I was fortunate to work with well-known music directors like Devarajan Master, Ouseppachan, to name a few. I also assisted Alex Paul on 22 films,” Reju took a trip down the memory lane.
Though he is a hardcore musician and creative person, Reju is well aware of his strengths and weaknesses.
“I weigh in multiple factors, such as my adaptability and timing, before accepting a project. For instance, the script, lyrics, theme, timing, and team of Thank You Very Much resonated well with me and I thoroughly enjoyed doing it.”
Reju wishes to create unique and trendy music with roots in Carnatic/Hindustani ragas because those melodies are not easy to compose and they can stand the test of time.
“For example, hit film songs like Malarai, Kannondu mindanu, Mazhakondu mathram are based on Carnatic / Hindustani raga with some western flavour (fusion version),” he remarked.
On his future plans, Reju said: “Discussions are underway to compose music for the next movie. I have a stage show in Kuwait on February 5 organised by AMICOS. My studio is almost booked for different ventures. Above all, if time permits, I would like to create few albums with my signature style composition and singing.”
One may wonder how he continues his love affair with music while practicing as a lawyer at the Kerala High Court. “I always pushed boundaries to have fun and I continue to do that even to this day. My goal is to get into every aspect of music and test different waters. Along the way, I decided to be a lawyer. I believe my creative and analytical mindset along with my interpersonal skills complements my profession as musician and as a lawyer.”
Music has been Reju's life for the past 40 years. He started learning Carnatic music at age of seven from gurus Annapoorneshwari and Perumbavoor G. Raveendranath and later from Cherthala Gopalan Nair, M.R. Madhusoodhana Menon and Pandit Ramesh Narayan for Hindustani. He continues to practice Carnatic music under N.P. Ramaswami and Hindustani classical under Ustad Fayas Ghan.
“I had topped the District and State Youth Festivals while at school. I had also won University of Kerala Youth Festival six years in a row,” said Reju, who is the recipient of Top Grade in Light Music from All India Radio. He also was recently inducted to the Malayalam audition board of All India Radio.
Reju’s wife Manju, owns a boutique and his son Jagan, an engineering student, essayed the younger version of Thilakan in the film Ustad Hotel. His second son Joel, a Grade IX student, of Rajagiri Public School, is a singer and plays piano.