An Indian cover of a MJ song.
By Tathagata Mitra
BANGALORE: Even five years after his death, Michael Jackson still remains every bit of the legend that he was. He still manages to rule hearts all over the globe with his music and dance moves.
Recently Sony Music collaborated with composer A.R. Rahman’s KM Conservatory music school to create cover versions of two of two his numbers from Jackson’s Xscape, a posthumous compilation album released this May.
This is probably the first time that an Indian cover of a Michael Jackson song will be created, recreated with a very desi feel. Fatima Rafiq, Rahman’s sister and executive director of K.M. Conservatory School, said that they were thrilled to be part of a prestigious project like this.
“It is a wonderful opportunity for KM students to be creating Indian-influenced covers of these tracks from such a celebrated musician. We hope to capture the spirit and essence of Michael Jackson’s music and infuse them with elements from different Indian traditions,” said Fatima, according to a Deccan Chronicle report.
Fathima added, “More than 12 of our students are enthusiastically working on the official release of MJ’s tracks. The tunes and lyrics will remain the same. We have added more elements to the BGM to get that Indian touch”.
Rahman who admits to be a huge fan of the legendary pop icon, has been considered to have been inspired by Jackson’s music as well as his music videos. The two had met not long before Jackson’s untimely death at Los Angeles at the Oscar ceremony where Rahman had won multiple accolades for Slumdog Millionaire.
According to a Chennai Online report, in an interview following his icon’s death, Rahman had said, “He was bursting with energy and told me that every dance move he did,came from his soul and did a five second stunning example. It was like a lightning strike.” He had added, “He asked me to compose a unity anthem on the likes of ‘We are the World’ for him. I nodded in awe!”