Colonial Cousins
| Colonial Cousins | |
|---|---|
| Origin | New Delhi, India |
| Genres | Pop, rock, soundtrack |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Members |
Hariharan Lesle Lewis |
Colonial Cousins is an Indian duo, formed by singer Hariharan and singer-composer Lesle Lewis. They also have successful careers as solo artists as well. Their unique brand of music fused Indian and Western musical genres instantly won the hearts of young and old alike. Their eponymous 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 films, Modhi Vilayadu (2009), Chikku Bukku (2010). Their fourth album Once More was released in 2012.
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, Hari felt inspired to jam with an alaap, and the result: the seamless fusion of Eastern and Western sounds that has become the quintessential characteristic of the Colonial Cousins.
When Hariharan and Lewis formed Colonial Cousins, little did they realise that their foray into popular vocal fusion would make them the hottest act in town. 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.
In October 1996, under Magnasound Label, the duo released their debut album self-titled Colonial Cousins. 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 exceptional Indian and Western music fusion generated a new genre of music and won hearts of millions of music lovers worldwide.
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