S'PORE COMPOSER IN THE LIMELIGHT
Thursday March 31, 2005
Virtual unknown grabs two awards at international songwriting contest
Razali Abdullah
razali@newstoday.com.sg
SINGAPOREAN composer Rajesh Hardwani (picture) is a virtual unknown in the local music scene.
But the 34-year-old caused a small stir in the world music industry
yesterday by grabbing two awards at the 2004 International Songwriting
Competition (ISC).
Rajesh, the only Singaporean finalist in the competition, won second place
with his song Sushi in the Dance/Electronica category of the competition
and earned an honourable mention for another song titled Crack.
The ISC is regarded as one of the most prestigious songwriting
competitions in the world, with last year's competition attracting more
than 11,000 entries from 77 countries.
Entries in the ISC were judged by a panel which included rock-n-roll
legend Bo Diddley, Sean "P Diddy" Combs, Macy Gray, Darryl McDaniels (one
half of rap pioneers Run DMC) and Universal Records president Monte
Lipman.
Rajesh's two winning tracks can be found on his second album, Black Asia
Vol 1, which he released under his moniker r-H on cdbaby.com and iTunes
music store.
In an exclusive report on March 11, Today said the album received
critical acclaim worldwide following its Internet release in May last
year.
The songwriter, who will receive US$1,000 ($1,652) in merchandise and
services along with his awards, was understandably thrilled.
"I'm pretty excited about the exposure that this will bring," he said. "I
hope this will lead to greater things."
In fact, things are already happening for the composer, who also produces
and does remixes for other artists.
Last week, his song, Tim Sum Vindaloo, was selected by Global Rhythm,
North America's leading world music, culture and lifestyle magazine, to be
featured on their July 2005 CD sampler, which has a worldwide circulation
of 65,000.
This will be the second time that the song will be featured on an
international compilation, having first appeared on Asian Beat Bazaar, an
Asian Underground compilation by Virgin UK.
Tim Sum Vindaloo has also been aired on BBC radio and was rated by BBC DJ
Adil Ray as "one of the most innovative new tracks of 2004".
Visit TODAYonline website at http://www.todayonline.com
Thursday March 31, 2005
Virtual unknown grabs two awards at international songwriting contest
Razali Abdullah
razali@newstoday.com.sg
SINGAPOREAN composer Rajesh Hardwani (picture) is a virtual unknown in the local music scene.
But the 34-year-old caused a small stir in the world music industry
yesterday by grabbing two awards at the 2004 International Songwriting
Competition (ISC).
Rajesh, the only Singaporean finalist in the competition, won second place
with his song Sushi in the Dance/Electronica category of the competition
and earned an honourable mention for another song titled Crack.
The ISC is regarded as one of the most prestigious songwriting
competitions in the world, with last year's competition attracting more
than 11,000 entries from 77 countries.
Entries in the ISC were judged by a panel which included rock-n-roll
legend Bo Diddley, Sean "P Diddy" Combs, Macy Gray, Darryl McDaniels (one
half of rap pioneers Run DMC) and Universal Records president Monte
Lipman.
Rajesh's two winning tracks can be found on his second album, Black Asia
Vol 1, which he released under his moniker r-H on cdbaby.com and iTunes
music store.
In an exclusive report on March 11, Today said the album received
critical acclaim worldwide following its Internet release in May last
year.
The songwriter, who will receive US$1,000 ($1,652) in merchandise and
services along with his awards, was understandably thrilled.
"I'm pretty excited about the exposure that this will bring," he said. "I
hope this will lead to greater things."
In fact, things are already happening for the composer, who also produces
and does remixes for other artists.
Last week, his song, Tim Sum Vindaloo, was selected by Global Rhythm,
North America's leading world music, culture and lifestyle magazine, to be
featured on their July 2005 CD sampler, which has a worldwide circulation
of 65,000.
This will be the second time that the song will be featured on an
international compilation, having first appeared on Asian Beat Bazaar, an
Asian Underground compilation by Virgin UK.
Tim Sum Vindaloo has also been aired on BBC radio and was rated by BBC DJ
Adil Ray as "one of the most innovative new tracks of 2004".
Visit TODAYonline website at http://www.todayonline.com
