Colonial Cousins is an Indian duo, formed by singer
Hariharan and singer-composer
Lesle Lewis, who also have successful solo careers. Their
eponymous
An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''.
Usage of the word
The term ''epon ...
first album hit platinum in sales in India alone and consistently headed the Indian music charts in 1996. The duo have received numerous awards, notably the
MTV Asia Viewers' Choice Award, 1996, and the US Billboard's Viewers' Award, 1996. On 19 November 1998, the Colonial Cousins released their second album, ''
The Way We Do It''. They also released their third album ''
Aatma'' on 1 January 2001. They have scored two
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
films, ''
Modhi Vilayadu
''Modhi Vilayadu'' () is a 2009 Indian Tamil-language action film directed by Saran. It stars Vinay and Kajal Aggarwal. This is the second time that Saran had worked without his usual music collaborator Bharadwaj after '' Alli Arjuna'' in 2002 ...
'' (2009), ''
Chikku Bukku
''Chikku Bhukku'' is a 2010 Tamil romance film written and directed by K. Manikandan and produced by Sunanda Murali Manohar, starring Arya, debutante Preetika and Shriya Saran, in the lead roles, with Santhanam and Anoop Kumar in supporting ...
'' (2010). Their fourth album ''
Once More'' was released in 2012.
History
Formation
It was during Lewis's jingles career that the idea of Colonial Cousins was conceived. Lewis had called in Hariharan to sing a jingle for him one evening in 1992. The lyrics for the jingle were late coming in. The restless Lewis began crooning something while strumming on his guitar, and Hari felt inspired to jam with an alaap.
Being a ghazal singer in the Indian music industry for over two decades, Hariharan is well versed in Carnatic and Hindustani music. Besides releasing several ghazal albums, Hariharan has also lent his voice to many Hindi and Tamil films, and ended up winning several awards including the National Award as Best Singer for his song "Mere Dushman Mere Bhai" from the film ''Border''.
Debut album
In October 1996, under Magnasound Label, the duo released their debut album self-titled ''
Colonial Cousins
Colonial Cousins is an Indian duo, formed by singer Hariharan and singer-composer Lesle Lewis, who also have successful solo careers. Their eponymous first album hit platinum in sales in India alone and consistently headed the Indian music ch ...
''. The album broke all records including hitting platinum sales in India. The duo also won the MTV Asia Viewer's Choice Award and then later on collected the US Billboard Viewer's Choice Award too.
The song "Krishna" won the
Star Videocon Award for Best Music Video.
The style is essentially fusion, with a lot of songs opening with recognisable Hindustani or Carnatic ragas and then segueing into a more pop style. The musicians who worked on it range from
Vishwa Mohan Bhatt
Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, professionally known as V. M. Bhatt (born 27 July 1950), is an Hindustani classical music instrumentalist who plays the Mohan veena ( slide guitar).
Personal life
Bhatt lives in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, with his wife and ...
to sessions musicians who have worked with the likes of
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
,
Boy George
George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singe ...
,
Annie Lennox
Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the New wave music, new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician D ...
and other well-known Western musicians. It was the first Indian act to be featured on ''
MTV Unplugged
''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...
''.
''The Way We Do It''
On 19 November 1998, their second album, a sophomore effort, ''
The Way We Do It'', was a continuation of, and a departure from, that first effort.
The album was a continuation in musical terms to the extent that Lewis and Hariharan had done what they do best individually, and fused it into a format that enriches and complements each other. The album was also a departure sound-wise from their eponymous first album. While that has a softer sound to it, their second album was edgier and groovier.
The album has some singles such as the title track "Way We Do It With You". Srinivas playing on it, "Dekhoon Main Jahan" penned by lyricist Javed Akhtar, "No Longer Mine" and "Lady".
''Aatma''
After two-and-a-half years in hibernation, Colonial Cousins, recorded their third album Aatma. Released in April 2001, on the Sony label, the nine-track album was a fusion of Indian vocals and contemporary instrumentation. Besides being busy in playback singing Hariharan had cut a ghazal album ''
Kaash
''Kaash'' is an 1987 Bollywood film written and directed by Mahesh Bhatt. It is produced by the comedian Mehmood's brother Anwar Ali. Like several other 1980s films by Mahesh Bhatt, ''Kaash'', was described as a semi-art film and upon release, ...
'' the previous year, while Lewis had been busy composing jingles and producing music.
There is also a song "I Love You Girl" which Hariharan has dedicated to his daughter Divya.
''Once More''
In 2012, 11 years after their previous album, the duo came together to release their brand new album ''
Once More''. To launch their latest album, the duo took to the jostling promenade of Carter Road in the busy suburb of Bandra, Mumbai, in a musical ensemble that worked its way from Otters Club to the amphitheater, all along performing music from their new album on top of a 40-foot canter. The event concluded with the official unveiling of the album ''Once More''.
''Modhi Vilayadu''
In 2009, the Colonial Cousins made a debut as music composers for Tamil film ''
Modhi Vilayadu
''Modhi Vilayadu'' () is a 2009 Indian Tamil-language action film directed by Saran. It stars Vinay and Kajal Aggarwal. This is the second time that Saran had worked without his usual music collaborator Bharadwaj after '' Alli Arjuna'' in 2002 ...
'' directed by Saran. The director of the film required a new trend of music and therefore brought in the Indipop duo, thus opening doors for them to the Tamil Film Industry.
''Chikku Bukku''
Colonial Cousins scored their second soundtrack for the film ''
Chikku Bukku
''Chikku Bhukku'' is a 2010 Tamil romance film written and directed by K. Manikandan and produced by Sunanda Murali Manohar, starring Arya, debutante Preetika and Shriya Saran, in the lead roles, with Santhanam and Anoop Kumar in supporting ...
'' (2010). Its audio was released on 13 August.
[
]
Discography
;Albums
* ''
Colonial Cousins
Colonial Cousins is an Indian duo, formed by singer Hariharan and singer-composer Lesle Lewis, who also have successful solo careers. Their eponymous first album hit platinum in sales in India alone and consistently headed the Indian music ch ...
'' (1996)
* ''
The Way We Do It'' (1998)
* ''
Aatma'' (2001)
* ''
Once More'' (2012)
* ''Rediscovered Gems'' (2015)
;Films
* ''
Modhi Vilayadu
''Modhi Vilayadu'' () is a 2009 Indian Tamil-language action film directed by Saran. It stars Vinay and Kajal Aggarwal. This is the second time that Saran had worked without his usual music collaborator Bharadwaj after '' Alli Arjuna'' in 2002 ...
'' (2009)
* ''
Chikku Bukku
''Chikku Bhukku'' is a 2010 Tamil romance film written and directed by K. Manikandan and produced by Sunanda Murali Manohar, starring Arya, debutante Preetika and Shriya Saran, in the lead roles, with Santhanam and Anoop Kumar in supporting ...
'' (2010)
Awards and achievements
* 1997: MTV Asia Viewer's Choice Award for ''
Colonial Cousins
Colonial Cousins is an Indian duo, formed by singer Hariharan and singer-composer Lesle Lewis, who also have successful solo careers. Their eponymous first album hit platinum in sales in India alone and consistently headed the Indian music ch ...
''
* US Billboard Viewer's Choice Award
References
External links
Official Blog site
{{Authority control
Living people
Indian pop music groups
Indian musical duos
Year of birth missing (living people)