Innovision Cinema is proudly releasing the audio of its Production #1 titled "Ankith, Pallavi & Friends..." on the eighth of May at Prasad's Preview theater. Madhura Entertainment is releasing the audio and the CDs/Tapes will be in stores from the 9th of May across A.P.

Hari Yelleti gives a sneak peek into the creative processes behind the making of the audio. You can also listen to 45 second snippets of all the songs in this album by clicking the relevant link.

1. Premani (listen to the song)
Surprisingly, this is the only duet of the Film. I wanted a beautiful melody with love written all over it. Vinu Thomas initially gave it some very peppy orchestration, I made him score a more soft and mellowed version but with some sparks here and there. Karunya and Gayatri gave their voices.

2. Dost (listen to the song)
This could easily have been another 'O my friend' what with the tremendous success of the slow melody in 'Happy Days', however I wanted a peppier version as it comes very early in the Film and is used to establish the pre-existing friendship among the 5 characters. Vinu has to be commended for the way he blended the pep in the pallavi with the melody in the charanams. Watch out for the distortion guitars in the end, they rock! Ranjith, Balu Tankachen and Geetha Madhuri sang the tune in turns. Vanamali wrote the lyrics. We were working on the lyrics all the way, till the very end of the recording itself.

3. Leletha Poovule (listen to the song)
Easily, the best song of the album. An inspired creation by Ankith, err...Vinu Marvelous Thomas. There is something interesting about this song that I want to share with you. I did not change a single note of what Vinu first gave me. Nor did I change a single letter of what Vanamali wrote for me. Karthik took all but 45 minutes to finish this song. He is one hell of a singer. Gods must love me a lot to send this song my way. An absolute delight and everytime the song is on, I do sing without knowing it myself...

4. Tell Me Emkaavalo (listen to the song)
The craziest song of the album. Listen to the lyrics carefully, this is a clash of point of views song. RJ Sas3 at his best. I love this number for the sheer experimentation that Vinu managed to do. It has pop, funk, rap and melody in it, a beautiful marriage of different genres. And I must thank Vineet for the rap lyrics and vocals. Again this has the combo of Ranjith, Balu Thankachen and Geetha Madhuri.

5. Adagake Allari Vayasa (listen to the song)
Vinu first gave us a beautiful melody for this one but it had a strong sense of pathos in it. I wanted redemption rather than pathos and the result was 'adugake'. Vinu understood this and sang me a tune over the phone and I okayed it instantly. This song alone tells us what kind of work Vinu is going to do in future if he gets the right projects with right directors. I wish him all the best, I have grown very fond of him through the production, he is my new found little brother. .

6. Neelo medilina (listen to the song)
I asked Vinu to create something akin to "Unbreak my heart" of Toni Braxton but in an Indian raga. He didn't disappoint me, I remember people asking me who the music director was, when we were recording at the Sana studios. It does make an impression on you right away.

7. Ara navvulenduko (listen to the song)
You could say it comes under the teasing song genre, but it aint. It has also got strong melody with hints of pain underneath and it does come with a sexy english chorus. Vinu and I spent one and a half months composing this song. It wasn't easy but it is worth the effort in the end. Vinu held his nerve despite my incessant rejections of umpteen tunes. He sent me a folder full of tunes before we zeroed in on this one. A song with its own character.

Special thanx to Madhura Entertainment for letting us put a 45 second clips of audio songs a day before the music launch

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Ankith Pallavi & Friends links:
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Hari Yelleti blogs on APF: 1 | 2