Vande Mataram (album)
| Vande Mataram | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Studio album by A. R. Rahman | |
| Released | August 12, 1997 |
| Recorded | 1997 Panchathan Record Inn (Chennai, India) Sarm West Studios (London, UK) Metropolis Studios (London, UK) Reaktor Studios (London, UK) Sargam Studios (Lahore, Pakistan) XIC Studios (Mumbai, India) |
| Genre | World music, Indian pop, Folk rock |
| Length | 55:25 |
| Label |
Columbia/SME Records CK 68525 (North America) 488709 (international) |
| Producer | A. R. Rahman, Kanika Myer Bharat, Bharatbala |
Vande Mataram is a 1997 studio album by Indian musician A. R. Rahman. It is the largest selling Indian non-film album to date. It released on December 9, 1997 by Columbia Records, a music label owned by Sony Music. It was released on the Golden Jubilee anniversary of India's independence and has been instrumental in instilling a sense of patriotic pride and national unity amongst the people of India. Ever since release, both the album and its title song "Maa Tujhe Salaam" have had a profoundly positive and unifying impact on the nationalistic and patriotic mood of the country.
A critical and commercial hit, the title song from the album is one of India's most popular songs of all time. Sung by Rahman himself, the song has come to represent a feeling of patriotic unity for India and has been performed or played at several national and regional events in the country. The popularity of the song was such that in 2002, when BBC World Service conducted an international poll to choose the ten most famous songs of all time from around 7000 songs selected from all over the world, "Maa Tujhe Salaam" was voted second. The track also holds two Guinness World Records for being the song performed in the most number of languages. Indian singer Sai "Psychuck" Manapragada performed the track in 265 different languages (individually) and again in 277 languages (with chorus) to achieve this feat twice. Rahman was also issued an Guinness World Record certificate for being the composer of the original song which was ceremoniously presented to Rahman after his concert in Oakland, CA, USA on September 12, 2010.
The album won the 1997 Screen Videocon Award for Best Non-film Album.
In 1996, when Rahman had gone to Bombay (now Mumbai) to attend the Screen Awards ceremony, he met his childhood friend Bharat Bala. During this meeting both had discussed a proposal for an album to commemorate 50 years of Indian Independence in 1997. In 1997, the International music label, Sony Music, entered the Indian market in a big way. They were looking to promote Indian artistes internationally. And the first person to be signed up by Sony Music from the Indian sub-continent was A.R.Rahman, on a three-album contract. The financial details of the contract were not disclosed but Industry experts believe it to be the largest of its kind in India. Rahman suggested the idea that he had discussed with Bharat to Sony Music India and was immediately accepted. Called Vande Mataram, it was a tribute to the motherland and featured songs to mark the three colours of the Indian Flag .
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